Living Infuzion

Why should we go to church?

2012-01-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

At Infuzion this week, we talked about this and thought I would share it with you:

More and more I hear about people saying that they can be a Christian without going to church, but I think that to be a Christian, part of what you do is go to church. It is one of the ways that God builds and strengthens those that are His for His service. It is something that we are to discipline ourselves to do. It is not something that should just be prioritized out in favour of the football game, or the shopping trip. I watch it all the time too. Because so many people disregard Sunday as a day to worship God, practices and sports events and family events get scheduled there and Christians are left trying to figure out where they should prioritize church.

On the flip side, going to church alone does not make you a Christian. Doing things that religious people do does not make you a follower of Jesus. Choosing to follow Jesus means acknowledging that you are a sinner, asking God to forgive you of that sin, and then choosing to live the way Jesus tells us to in the Bible.

Here was the key verse that I used:

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins," (Heb. 10:24-26).

But why church? What can only be done within the context of the church service?

The Bible tells us that we are to spend time with God, and with other Christians. Whenever Christians were within the same area, they would meet together in the first century church. When there were a few of them, the Apostle Paul would organize them into small groups—usually house groups—or a small church.

As most of the new Christians were still practicing some Jewish traditions, they were still meeting in the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and then on the first day of the week they would meet as Christians. They would break bread together, remembering the things that Jesus did for them, and then Paul would preach and teach to them.

As Christians, God gave us spiritual gifts, but how are those gifts to be used if not in the church to edify the body? The whole gift of the pastor is wasted if not for the church. Prophecy, that the Bible says is for the church, would not even be used.

The Church is sometimes called the Body of Christ, and the way it is described in 1 Corinthians 12 it is quite obvious that all of the parts are meant to work together. We are one, and cannot be separated from the Body. A foot would be useless off on its own. An eye that can see and is not part of the Body provides no information to the rest of the parts. Even if you are a belly button your job in the church might be to catch that lint and dispose of it before it hurts someone?

The New Testament is full of “one another” commands. Take a look at a few. We are to comfort one another (I Thessalonians 4:18), build up one another (I Thessalonians 5:11), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16), pray for one another (James 5:16), and many, many more. How can we obey these directives if we stay away from the gathering of believers?

We go to church to build some accountability into our lives. In the church, God has designed spiritual leaders to watch over those that come. They are shepherds that guard the sheep. If someone answers only to themselves, it is easy to dismiss bad choices or to even justify them. If we submit ourselves to our pastor’s they may challenge us by hearing the word of the Lord from the pulpit to our church. It amazes me how many times a message from my pastor can seem like it is directed at me. I do love being challenged, but at the same time it hurts sometimes.

Going to church allows us to express our love for God collectively with other Christians. It is where we can bring Him offerings of praise, thanks, and honour, which are pleasing to Him.

Going to church builds up our Spiritual Strength. We are in a spiritual battle. The bible tells us about times where spirits battle over issues of prayer. Angels and Demons fight over our well-being. As Christians we have access to the armour of the Lord... The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes that walk the Gospel around the world, the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Going to church brings a special visitation of the Lord's Presence. Jesus lives in each of us, but the Bible teaches “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).

Going to church provides fellowship with other Christians. One of the most important reasons that we go to church is to practice love toward each other in the form of fellowship.

Church is a time for people who have the same attitudes toward God to gather together and share their beliefs and knowledge. It is the interaction that does this. As the Proverb says, we are iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). When two pieces of iron rub together there is friction, and sometimes there are sparks, but in the end when iron is set out to sharpen another piece of iron, both pieces are made better. There are going to be times you will be dragging spiritually and someone will be going through something similar, but that God has already worked through with the. There will be other times that you will do it from some other brother.

Going to church is an act of obedience to God. As noted above we are not to forsake meeting together with other Christians. Some say, “Well that doesn’t have to be in church.” I suppose technically, no... where two or more, right? But there is something to be said for the discipline of putting importance on meeting every week, and not just when you happen to run into other Christians. It would be really easy to just let it go FAR too long. I have friends where I only get to see them a few times a year, and it’s like we try to meet more often, but life gets in the way and it just ends up being a few times a year.

Going to church helps prepare us to lead others in Jesus. Leaders don’t lead by doing things that are easy. They do the things that are tough, and if we are REALLY called to lead then we must show our faithfulness in following. In the Marine Corps the motto is Semper Fidelis; that’s Latin for “Always Faithful.” I have watched people that attend church regularly, and people that don’t and I have found that church attendance is absolutely essential if Christians are to effective in their walk.

Going to church helps us build a spiritual family. God has placed us into the body of Christ for our own protection and blessing. Just like every earthly family, it's not always fun. We don't always have warm and fuzzy feelings in the body. There are difficult and unlovely moments as we grow together as a family, but there are also blessings that we will never experience unless we become relational and connected in the body of Christ. Many people come to Christ, and they are the only one in their family that is saved. Sometimes a family-type relationship develops in the lack.

Going to church is SO important. Don’t marginalize it.

Faithful with the little things....

2012-01-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

Luke 10:16

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”

I was just talking to the Infuzion group about this one the weekend, and I thought that is it was meaningful enough to warrant a blog post. As I was preparing for the lesson on Sunday morning I was reminded of when it was that I first had this verse applied to me. It was in an odd place… the dentist chair… my orthodontist when I was a young. Both he and his assistant at the time were Christians and they noticed that after a few months my teeth were not moving the way that they should have been… See I had this appliance I had to wear. I was supposed to wear it most of the time. I was only supposed to take it out to eat. Of course being the teen that I was, I didn’t always keep it in. In fact, for a few months it was just worn a few days before the appointment each month. Obviously, not enough time to do the change that it was supposed to with my teeth.

So there I sat in the chair. They knew I had not been wearing the appliance. I knew I had not been wearing the appliance. The question was asked, “SO, Jason, have you been wearing your appliance all the time?” I respond with, “Maybe not as much as I should.” I think I should have said, “for the last couple of days.” The Dental Assistant says to me, “Be faithful with the little things….” And she trailed off. Dr. Deacon said, “Amen”. I knew what the rest of the verse was.

Shortly after that I chose to stop doing the ortho treatment. I had gone for several years to get it all done. I had teeth pulled out. I had some worn braces and now here I was nearing the end and I didn’t finish it. I still to this day have the one tooth that Dr. Deacon couldn’t turn because of my negligence.

It was something simple. I should have just done it, and followed through to the end, and look what it did? So as I was preparing this lesson, the verse rattled around in my head. The bible tends to do that to people. It challenges them where they are at. It helps them go where they should go… if they heed its words. What areas of my life had I been slacking off in? What areas should I tighten up and get back to being faithful in?

Youth leader Ron Luce does a teaching on the difference between excellence and obedience. Excellence can look really good to those looking at you, but it really only looks good, and hides the flaws. Obedience complies with how God wants us to live, and doesn’t really take into account how other people factor in for appearance sake.

Dear God, help me be faithful, obedient, and to heed your words instead of the things around me. Amen.

2011 ends.... 2012 begins!

2011-12-31T06:01:00.000-08:00

2011.... The end, the last day of another year. They seem to be stacking up faster as I get older. I look and I have a marriage to the best woman in the world, I have three incredible children that teach me about myself every day. I have some incredible friends that have become “incredible” this year. I have some relationships that have been a struggle but have made progress.

I have had a few changes at work, and have had the chance to establish a positive example of character. I have been able to make relationships with people I never would have expected, and love all the things I am getting to look into.

At church we are still working at building Infuzion, and pouring into those young people. It is a challenge and is so amazing to see. I love each one of them for who they are and they too also have taught me about me, and I thank each one of them.

This year has had its ups and downs. It has had successes and opportunities to try for success again. Such is life... Life in general and the life of a Christian are not meant to be easy but challenging. Jesus never said that if you become a Christian that your life would be easy. He said it would be abundant life... life to be lived... to be experienced.

So what have I learned this year? Take the time to plan before acting, but don’t let the planning be so bogged down that you never get to act. Spend time with your kids because they will teach you so much about yourself, and there is a lot that they can learn from time with their parents. Speaking quietly can get better results than yelling. Don’t be afraid to love people... to hug them... to hear their struggles and be there for them. And cherish each special moment you have with them as you never know when that will be the last time you are with a loved one. Keep reading the Bible. No matter how many times you read it you will always learn more the next time around. Pray... daily... hourly... minutely.... as often as you have a need or something to be thankful for. Faith can move mountains, but it takes a step to put the faith into action. Fear and faith are opposites.

For 2012... Love deeply. Give of yourself. Give like you are giving to God. Keep moving forward, and keep yourself aligned to the cross. Point others there and let God do what he wants with them, not what you want with them.

I love you all and can’t wait to see what God has for us in 2012!

Just some thoughts.... Mumsie

2011-12-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

It is when faced with death that we truly figure out who we are sometimes. I know that right now as I hear the news about my grandmother, Mumsie, that I really feel compelled to live life to the fullest… to the deepest. I am told that she is in her last days. How long that is, is up to God. His breath brought her into the world, and with her last breath she will leave this world. She lived her faith out, and passed it to her kids.

As we approach Christmas day I do find it difficult that it looks like it will be this time of year where she passes, but again, she is in God’s hands.

We found out about another death in the people we know, and mentioned it to the kids. I guess it was sort of a way for us to see how to explain things to the boys. Logan, the fine Star Wars fan that he is, asked if the person’s body disappeared. Trying to explain the concepts of the eternal to the mind of a curious 6 year old will prove difficult.

This year, more than most I find myself trapped in the Ghosts of Christmas past. Going to see my grandparents was always so much fun. They always had a huge tree in the house… often pine. There was the little crèche under the tree. We would gather around the big table. As we got bigger the table did too… with spouses and children. I can remember the distinct sound of my grandfather’s footsteps coming down the stairs, and how he had to duck every time. There is the sound of his laugh that still makes an impression on me…. And the sound of his sneeze from too much pepper. Playing with my cousins while someone used the electric turkey knife, and the smell of it all as they put it on the table.

There is part of me that longs for those days, when life was simpler, when all I had to do was open gifts, eat and have fun. But now, as life does, it moves on. It moves towards a fixed point where each of us must pass into eternity.

I intend to enjoy the journey, to go after God with all that I can, even though there are times of stress, times of hardship, times of disappointment and times of grief. Mixed in there is love, and family. Friendships and hugs. There are experiences and wonder. The life that is travelled will have its ups and downs. Jesus promised us life more abundantly. He never said it would be easy.

As each season of my life concludes I wish more and more that I could keep hold of them, but I also know that there is more there to experience and see. I have my own wife and kids. They have their grandparents and uncles and aunts. Each day my kids do something to bring a smile to my face. Each day they see something that they have never thought of before. Each day a new thought forms…. A new question. Each day I discover how much I know, and how much I don’t know. I am also learning how innocence is powerful.

Life is wondrous. I hope that I have my health well into my eighties so I can tell my one “when I was boy” stories, so I can call the young people “whipper-snappers” and so I can see how the world changes, and try to change it for the better.

So what have I learned from my grandmother? Stay true to your marriage. Have a song for everything. Stand up for what is right. Always have cookies baked and ready for guests. Have people over for dinner to build relationships. Dance. Cheer for your sports teams. Laugh. There are few problems that a cup of tea can't work out.

The Beatitudes of Parenting By Cindy Puhek

2011-10-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

A Bit long... But really good too:

Jesus’s Beatitudes are profound for many reasons, not the least of which is how applicable their lessons are to different life situations. One can apply the Beatitudes to find practical advice on how to be a godly husband, wife, employer, or employee, just to name a few possibilities. In this article, I would like to expound on the Beatitudes by applying their timeless lessons to parenting.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
My favorite definition of being “poor in spirit” is understanding our complete bankruptcy in anything of spiritual value. Parenting seems to bring this bankruptcy to light on a daily basis! The enormity of the task of training up eternal souls, each with unique strengths, weaknesses, and personalities, for life now and for life in heaven, is overwhelming.

But I should remember that when I feel weak, inadequate, and perhaps even like a failure at this amazing job of motherhood, I am blessed. The very knowledge of my weakness qualifies me for an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
One day I was asked by a visitor how I could keep a candy bowl on my table in easy reach. “Don’t your children get into it?” she asked.

While my family certainly has its own areas of weakness, we’ve never had any trouble with our children sneaking sweets. Their dad and I enjoy a piece after dinner, but having it around doesn’t tempt us to overindulge, and our children have followed suit. But as I thought about my friend, I realized that she’s always had a weakness for sweets, and her question indicated to me that her children had inherited this weakness.

While this is a small, almost silly example of how parents unconsciously pass on traits to their children, we see a more serious example in the pages of Scripture. Genesis 12 and 20 record two incidences of Abraham lying because he was afraid he would be killed by pagan kings so they could take his wife, Sarah. Frighteningly, we witness Abraham’s son Isaac perjuring himself in exactly the same way to a pagan king (Genesis 26), even though he was not yet born when his father did so.

Either Isaac witnessed other acts of dishonesty in his father that are not recorded and picked up the tendency to protect himself with lies that way, or there is a spiritual sowing and reaping taking place here that is very sobering. The truth of the adage, “Like father, like son,” should lead us to mourn for our sins for the sake of protecting our children from repeating our mistakes.

Sometimes the amount of mourning I’m required to do can be discouraging. I sometimes think that if I could only be a perfect parent, my children would turn out well. Constantly making mistakes and apologizing to my children seems far from perfection! But I was taken aback one day when I heard the head of a family I greatly admire declare that he walks before his family in daily repentance. I would have thought this family had achieved perfection, but the dad admitted that he makes mistakes all the time that he has to apologize for and then correct.

It struck me that repenting and mourning for my sin in front of my children is more important than perfection. I will never achieve perfection in this lifetime, but if I can show my children an example of humility and brokenness before them and before God, and if I can model for them how to mourn for their sin, I will have given them spiritual training that will serve them well throughout their lives.

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
The most popular definition of meekness I’ve heard is “strength under control.” Jesus was an example of this. As God, He could have ordered all of humanity to bow before Him—and forced them to comply. Instead, He was meek and always submitted His power and authority to God.

As parents, we have a certain amount of power over our children’s lives. We are blessed when we consciously avoid abusing that power. Fenelon, the French educator from the 1600s, said adults should never put unnecessary restraints on their children (the key word here is “unnecessary”; there are plenty of restraints that are necessary). This advice has made me very careful what I ask my children to do or refrain from doing. It is easy to try to control their lives for my own convenience rather than for their good. Frighteningly, I can abuse the authority God has given me and be a tyrant to my children. But I am blessed and will inherit the earth when meekness reigns in my parenting.

The Psalms also give us a definition of meekness. Psalm 37:9 says that they who “wait upon the Lord” shall inherit the earth. When I see a problem in my children’s lives, I often try to rush in and fix it as quickly as possible. I know the disasters that could ensue if the problems are left uncorrected. It’s important to be involved in our children’s lives. But on the other side of the coin, I must wait on the Lord to “fix” my children and cry out to Him in prayer, as He alone is the Great Physician who can make a real change in my children’s souls, rather than just external behavior modification. (That’s not to say behavior is unimportant, but the heart is so much more so.)

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
In the same way our children inherit our weaknesses, they will also tend to follow in our spiritual footsteps. There’s a beautiful picture of this painted in Pilgrim’s Progress. As Christiana begins her journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, her children make the journey with her. These children grow to adulthood and marry while on this journey, and her grandchildren are born on the path to the Celestial City rather than in the City of Destruction as their parents and grandparents were.

The spiritual heritage we are leaving our children should be an excellent motivation for our sanctification. While we cannot save our children’s souls, we can blaze a trail for them and see to it that their spiritual journeys have fewer potential pitfalls. The benefit to our children adds an extra sweetness to righteousness which should increase a parent’s hunger and thirst. I pray that I will make following Jesus look good every day and show my children that there’s no better place on earth than the narrow road that leads to heaven.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
It is a good idea sometimes to remember our failures, as painful as those memories can be. The knowledge of God’s mercy toward us in our failures should help us be merciful to our children in theirs. But we have a tendency to have short memories about such matters.

Ted Tripp tells a wonderful story of a time when he was disciplining his children for being selfish. “How could you be so selfish?” he heard himself asking. God brought to his mind a recent incident when he was carrying two dishes of ice cream, one for himself and one for his wife. As he walked across the house, he was carefully and almost subconsciously measuring which bowl had the most ice cream and therefore would be his. It dawned on him how hypocritical it was to question why his children were being so selfish. He well knew how his children could be so selfish, because that same sinful tendency also rested in his own soul!

Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re all destined for selfishness in one permutation or another. This realization caused Ted to deal with his children with mercy and grace rather than exasperation. I try to rehearse my own weaknesses to my children, especially when I correct them. This always leads me to mercy as well.

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
To be “pure in heart” means to have a single focus. In parenting, that single focus should be training our children to love God and love others. Unfortunately, maintaining this single focus can be difficult. I get tempted by the fear of man (what will my neighbor think if we’re behind in academics?) and the pride of life (won’t everyone be impressed when my daughter wins this competition?), and these things can cause me to turn from pursuing God to pursuing achievement. If I want to see God in my parenting, I’ve got to remember that though my children play all musical instruments, excel on the SAT, and win sporting events, but have not love for God and others, I have failed as a parent.

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Life with children can be noisy and chaotic, but it should not be full of strife. God is a God of peace, and this peace should reign in our homes.

Peace in the home begins in the relationship between husband and wife. A survey was once conducted of a large group of homeschooled teenagers from very conservative homes. These students were asked what one thing they would change about their families if they could. The people who conducted the survey really expected the children to say they wished Mom and Dad were not so strict and would give them more freedom. But overwhelmingly, these children said that if they could change anything, they would keep their parents from fighting and make Mom and Dad love each other. The relationship between Mom and Dad sets the tone in the home, and we cannot expect our children to live at peace with one another if there’s strife between their parents.

We also need to encourage good relationships between our children. I don’t allow fighting or name-calling within my house. Because these things are not allowed, the children have learned other, more peaceful ways to deal with frustration.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, in their book 20 and Counting, give a list of the rules of behavior in their house. I smiled when I read this list because they are very similar to the rules in my own house.

But for these rules to be effective, Mom and Dad have to abide by them too:

1. Always use soft words, even when you don’t feel well.

2. Always display kind actions, even if you have been mistreated.

3. Show joyful attitudes even when no one is looking.

4. Have sincere motives with no thought of self-gain.

5. Think pure thoughts.

6. Always give a good report of others. Never tale-bear unless physical harm will come to someone. Use Matthew 18.

7. Never raise a hand to hit.

8. Never raise a foot to kick.

9. Never raise an object to throw.

10. Never raise a voice to yell.

11. Never raise an eye to scowl.

12. Use one toy/activity at a time.

13. Never let the sun go down on your wrath.

14. Amendment J.O.Y: Put Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last. Make serving your family a priority.

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We live in a culture that does not value children the way God values children. As a result, if we choose to structure our lives around training our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we will be persecuted. Some of the persecution will be blatant. It might come from family members who oppose the new baby you’ve joyfully welcomed into your household. Or sometimes total strangers will make remarks such as “Are they all yours?” or “Don’t you know what causes babies?”

Blatant persecution can be easier in some ways to deal with than subtle persecution. Our society is organized and prioritized with small families and large disposable incomes in mind. It is easy for little things to creep in and destroy peace and contentment in a mother’s heart. Feminism tells me that our job at home is unimportant drudgery, and I should be out building a career. My neighbor with two children tells me that if my children don’t have access to a wide variety of extracurricular activities, they are being deprived. But my neighbor doesn’t realize that the time and expense for my large family to participate in those activities would tear us apart at the seams! Some of my childless friends, perhaps unintentionally, lead me to dissatisfaction when they give me glowing reports about where they’ve eaten out this week or the long vacation to an exotic location they’ve enjoyed.

But blessed are you if you are persecuted for righteousness sake. We must hold fast to God’s declaration that children are a reward from Him and stay on our guard against the subtle philosophies that bombard us weekly to tell us the opposite. I need to be faithful to the calling God has on my life as a wife and mother and not expect the world (or, unfortunately, even my extended family) to always understand or approve.

The Beatitudes give a very challenging outline of what parenting should look like, but they also promise great blessings and rewards. If you’re feeling a little bit overwhelmed and inadequate for the job right now, go back to the first point: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Feeling inadequate and looking to Jesus for help qualifies us for the first blessing!

The Right Doors Open By Max Lucado

2011-10-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

You try one door after another, yet no one responds to your résumé. No university accepts your application. No doctor has a solution for your illness. No buyers look at your house.
Obstacles pack your path. Road, barricaded. Doorway, padlocked. Do you know the frustration of a blocked door?

God uses closed doors to advance his cause.

He closed the womb of a young Sarah so he could display his power to the elderly one.

He shut the palace door on Moses the prince so he could open shackles through Moses the liberator.

He marched Daniel out of Jerusalem so he could use Daniel in Babylon.

And Jesus. Yes, even Jesus knew the challenge of a blocked door. When he requested a path that bypassed the cross, God said no. He said no to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane so he could say yes to us at the gates of heaven.

It’s not that our plans are bad but that God’s plans are better.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:8–9 NLT)

Your blocked door doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you. Quite the opposite. It’s proof that he does.

Mike Fisher Quote

2011-09-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just reading Mike Fisher's biography "Defender of Faith", and I ran across this quote that I thought was very Infuzion sounding:

“My parents always stressed faith as a central part of my life, and I grew to understand the importance of having a balance in life and finding a purpose through our Creator. I believe we are all gifted in certain areas and it’s our responsibility to use these gifts that God has given us for his glory.”

Forensic Theology By Jill Carattini

2011-09-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

He seemed to brace himself for what had become the typical barrage of questioning after stating his occupation. The once unrecognized field of forensic science now comes attached with visions of beautiful men and women swabbing for DNA, replicating gunfire trajectories, and piecing together the truth with hair, bugs, and CODIS. The tremendous popularity of forensic dramas has made crime scene investigating a household subject. With a real forensic scientist standing in front of me, it was hard to repress my enthusiasm. Predictably, I asked if he watched any of the shows. Humoring my line of questioning for the moment, he admitted that he did not.

The vast public intrigue with forensic science has been increasing as feverously as the viewerships of crime scene television. In Great Britain alone, the increase in students applying for forensic programs is up nearly 33 percent, attributed entirely to the influence of CSI, NCIS, Bones, and many similar programs.(1) They come into their programs believing they already know a great deal about the job because they have seen it all performed. In a more damaging vein, criminologists note the pervasive misinformation that is powerfully influencing criminal justice systems in various ways, particularly and significantly in the minds and expectations of jurors.(2)

Analysts refer to this global phenomenon of forensic pop culture and its consequences as the "CSI Effect," though speculation on the reasons for our feverish embrace of the motif is wider ranging. In my own right, I find something compelling in the movement from mystery and crisis through clues and evidence to truth. In less than an hour, I am taken from dark riddle to conclusive resolution. Truth and justice emerge plainly where deception, obscurity, and injustice once reigned. In the rare instance when the suspect does not personally own up to the crime after the facts have emerged, the science and its expert witnesses are so definitive that it hardly matters. The truth is clear.

Of course, I know in reality that mysteries are not typically so easily dissected nor the truth so mechanically laid out for the taking. But in that brief hour, I am relieved at the clarity of truth, presented to me quickly and with watertight certainty. English professor Scott Campbell further speculates on the allure of "a longed-for world where deceit is no longer possible and where language finds a close, unbreachable connection to the events it seeks to describe."(3) On the nature of truth in such a world he notes, "If we know how to look for it, the truth is self-evident. It will, in effect, narrate itself."

In a world where truth is subjected to the murkiness of taste and opinion, the attraction to a self-evident, one-dimensional truth is understandable. All the lofty humility of the abstract pluralist cannot beautify the noise of a million clashing voices and truth claims; eventually, we grow weary of the end product and seek a less polluted scene. In the words of the illustrious detective Joe Friday, "All we want are the facts."

But here, we must be wary of simplifying the nature of truth in our attempts to simplify our investigations of it. This is precisely what the pluralist must do to make room for all his claims and voices. But in the world of the Christian, the world of truth is far from flat. Nor is its true song a raucous cacophony. Quite the opposite, Swiss theologian Hars Urs von Balthasar oft reflected on the truth as "symphonic." Elaborating, seminary professor Anthony D. Baker explains, "Truth is not simply a completed score, but the action of playing it back to God the way it was written. Only by following Christ into the cacophony, by descending into hell ourselves, by actively engaging in the redemption of fallen melody, can the church be alive with the resurrective power of the Spirit."(4)

In other words, truth is not simply something passive that we intercept, like the outcome of a CSI episode that leaves us entirely certain of "what really happened." Truth certainly has this definitive element; to be sure, the Logos which became flesh is God's definitive account of truth. But this is something far deeper and more dimensional than cold, unresponsive facts, as further evidenced in John's description of Christ as one "full of grace and truth" in himself. There is a corresponding, interactive quality to truth, which takes longer than an hour to absorb and is best understood by engaging its depth and character within a world of impersonal, simplistic alternatives. For if truth is personal—indeed, a Person—it demands a lifetime of shared engagement with the one who is truth and the Spirit who actively leads us into a discovery of this truth.

Without any doubt, the mystery of the Christian religion is great. Paul's description of Jesus is as full of inscrutable truths as it is compelling evidences: "He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). Evidences of the heights and depths of this divine truth can indeed be received as factual, definitive fingerprints. But so they are clues that point to a multi-dimensional, inexhaustible Person full of grace and truth.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Teaching Your Daughter Modesty by Shannon Ethridge

2011-09-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
~ 1 Timothy 2: 9-10

The "guards" were heavily armed and ready to protect the bank from any "bad guys" that might wander in. Matthew (four years old at the time) stood on one side of the entrance to the bank lobby with a toy bow and arrow in ready position. On the other side of the door stood his friend Cameron, also four, with an impressive plastic sword drawn from its sheath. As I stood in line at the teller window, I noticed that all the bank patrons, relieved that they were in such capable hands, were looking on appreciatively at these self-appointed guards.

Then she walked in, a long-legged young woman in high heels, a formfitting miniskirt, and spaghetti-strap top. The young guards glanced at each other with eyes wide. The rest of the onlookers turned their heads back and forth between the little boys and the young woman as if watching a tennis match, eyeballing the woman, then the boys, then the woman again. As this scantily-clad bombshell strutted across the bank lobby, made an ATM transaction, and then strutted back out through the armed doors, I sensed that everyone in the lobby was holding their breath and wondering, What could those boys be thinking right now?

As soon as the door closed and the woman was out of earshot, Cameron satisfied everyone's curiosity as he leaned over to Matthew and loudly exclaimed, "The Bible warns about women like that!"

Of course, the entire bank erupted in laughter! The incident happened years ago, but it's no laughing matter that today we often see young women dressed more like stereotypical hookers than modest young women.

Here are two of the most valuable principles we can teach our daughters when it comes to how they dress:

You teach people how to treat you.
and
Whatever bait you use determines the type of fish you'll catch.

If a young woman dresses seductively, guys are likely going to treat her as if she wants to be seduced. She's going to get attention from lustful guys, not godly ones who want to guard themselves against sexual compromise. If we want our girls to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, we'll teach them to dress modestly. If we want to protect them from boys who are more interested in their bodies than in their minds, hearts, or spirits, we'll teach them to shop for clothes that present a passion for purity rather than a plea for attention.

I want to challenge you, the parent, to consider what you can do to help your daughter become a smart shopper who values modesty and responsible stewardship.

Who's in Charge?

On occasion when I speak to parents about encouraging our daughters to dress modestly, some will retort with statements like these:

• Wearing the latest fashions doesn't make my daughter less sexually pure. If we look at sexual purity in strictly a physical sense, then granted, a girl is no less a virgin if she wears immodest clothes. But as followers of Christ we are to pursue not just physical purity, but mental, emotional, and spiritual purity as well. Do you want your daughter dressing in such a way that boys flirt wit her and try desperately to get her attention? Do you want older guys noticing her? I believe that when parents let their twelve-year-old dress like she's twenty, they are not protecting her from vulnerability to unhealthy, premature relationships.

• I don't want to spend my hard-earned money on clothes that are going to just hang in the closet. If this is our mind-set as parents, we need to reconsider what we value most. Will we sell out our daughter's sense of modesty and her reputation so that she'll get more mileage out of what's hanging in her closet? While inappropriate clothes may get worn more often by an attention-seeking preteen, eventually a parent's hard-earned-money may have to go toward professional counseling to get her out of the relational messes she'll find herself in if she continues to dress provocatively.

• I can't control what clothes she wears. Funny how some parents say this about their preteen daughters, yet in truth, these same parents facilitate their daughters' bad choices by driving them to certain stores, whipping out the credit card to buy the clothes, and standing at the door when their daughters leave for school in the morning, wearing those clothes. Regardless of how powerless we may feel, we do have control over our daughters' wardrobe as long as they're living under our roofs. We simply have to be secure enough in our role as parents to exercise that control.

If you feel that your preteen daughter is calling the shots when it comes to what she wears, you may need to seek counsel for how to regain the parental control you've abdicated to her. Remember, the battles will only get more significant, and if she's accustomed to getting her way, you will certainly travel some bumpy roads ahead.

• But my daughter wants to wear what all of her friends are wearing. One of the most significant ways we can help our daughters is to teach them to lead rather than follow, especially when it comes to fashions. Think about it. If your daughter looks to others to determine what she should wear, she will be more likely to look to others to tell her what to do in other areas of her life. She will be more likely to follow the crowd into sexual compromise. Teach her to blaze her own trail through life -- one that will steer clear of the many pitfalls to sexual compromise.

• She doesn't even have breasts and hips yet, so I don't think she's turning any guys' heads by what she wears. News flash: your daughter may not have a rounded figure just yet, but guess what? That's only temporary. Better to prepare her for modesty in the near future by expecting it today, during her tweener years. In addition to teaching a sense of modesty we can also teach our daughters to value practicality and quality, as well as how to be responsible stewards of resources.

Taking Charge of Your Investments

It alarmed me when my daughter developed a hearty appetite for shopping when she was only eight years old. Anytime we went into a store, Erin felt she had to pick something out for herself, regardless of whether she needed anything or not. If I told her I didn't have the money for the purchase, she'd sometimes say, "But Mom, you can charge it on your credit card!" She had no concept that at the end of the month her father and I would have to pay the entire bill or we would start accruing interest on those purchases. Greg and I knew we were heading for trouble and that we needed to teach our daughter how to spend money wisely.

So when Erin turned nine, we started an annual tradition for back-to-school clothes shopping trips. We buy the basic updates she needs (new socks, underwear, and bigger shoes if necessary), but she has to make nonessential new clothes purchases from the cash we give her for those shopping excursions. We determine the amount of money she gets each year by multiplying her age times ten dollars, so when Erin was nine, she received ninety dollars. She could spend that money however she wanted, as long as her choices were modest. She could either buy one pair of jeans for forty-five dollars and one sweater for forty-five dollars from an upscale store and be done with her shopping trip, or she could shop in stores where clearance sales and bargain racks abound. Fortunately Erin proved to be no dummy when it came to math. She figured out quickly that she could get lots more bang for her buck by steering clear of brand names and posh department stores. That year she purchased two pairs of jeans, a dress with a jacket that could be worn with other things, two casual shirts, a sweater, and a pair of capri overalls with her ninety dollars. She was proud of her new clothes and her shopping savvy.

A pastor and his wife recently told me how they teach their children to appreciate the limited value of a dollar. As soon as their children are old enough to have a checking account, the parents begin depositing a set dollar amount each month. The kids are expected to tithe 10 percent off the top, and anytime they need something, it comes out of their own account. When they walk into Wal-Mart, they each grab a cart and go their separate ways. Mom purchases the family groceries and household items, but personal items such as makeup, toothpaste, hair-styling products, clothes, and school supplies come out of the child's own checking account. While Greg and I have not implemented this plan with our children yet, we do plan on asking the bank about the minimum age requirement on a checking account! What a great way to teach kids valuable skills, such as comparison shopping, budgeting, and accounting.

Make sure your daughter understands that money doesn't grow on trees. Teach her to discern her wants from her needs. As parents, we always want to provide for our kids' genuine needs, but when it comes to their wants, we must teach them moderation.

The Power of Responsible Consumerism

We also need to teach our girls responsible stewardship and consumerism. The money we have to spend doesn't really belong to us, but to God. He owns everything. Therefore tithing isn't a matter of how much of our money we are going to give to God, but how much of God's money we area going to keep for ourselves. I believe God blesses us financially so we can be a blessing to others. Tithing and charitable giving should not be options but regular acts of worship. The more money we spend on ourselves and our selfish desires (things we don't really need), the less we have to help those who truly are in need.

Because all of our money belongs to God and He entrusts it to us, I feel we have a responsibility to channel our resources in directions that honor Him. One day I had an incredible opportunity to teach my daughter this concept. We were shopping, and Erin found a T-shirt that she liked. It wasn't overpriced and was relatively modest, but I suggested we continue looking to see what else we could find. As we made our way toward the back of the store, we saw young girls looking through racks of shirts and bins of miscellaneous items, so we thought we might find some cool stuff there. Upon closer examination, I discovered that many of the shirts broadcast sexually graphic messages and the bins were filled with gag gifts such as "boob pasta" and "gummy penises." I wondered where the parents of these girls were, and if they knew their kids were rummaging through such things.

Trying to keep my cool, I walked back toward the front of the store, and Erin followed right behind. I asked her, "How much do you like this shirt you are wanting to buy?"

She replied, "Mom, I don't want the shirt that badly. I can find something better at a store we can feel good about. Come on, put the shirt back, and let's go." I breathed a prayer of gratitude that she and I were on the same page.

Unfortunately, many people don't make the connection between how we spend our money and the explosion of irresponsible sexual messages in retail stores. For example, many kids (and parents) know how offensive Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs and graphic window displays are, yet they are still regular patrons of the store. They say it's okay because they don't buy the really seductive clothing. However, they are fueling a business that is contributing to the moral decay in our country. If Christian consumers don't send the message loud and clear that they want clothes and companies that support their values, no one else will.

For years Calvin Klein has targeted young adults and teens with sexually provocative black-and-white advertisements. The company manufactures clothes, yet their models rarely have any on. They blatantly use sex to sell their products. I coach consumers of all ages, "I don't care how great their clothes look on you or how good their cologne smells, don't pour your dollars into Calvin Klein's pocket so he and his company can continue putting borderline-pornographic advertisements in kids' faces."

Again, we teach people how to treat us, and retailers are no different. If we reward them with our business, they are going to assume we like being bombarded with sexually inappropriate advertisements. We can turn the tide by channeling our dollars away from rather than into companies that use sex to sell their products.

Lessons That Last a Lifetime

As a parent, you may feel it's not worth the fight to try to control where your daughter shops, what clothes she buys, and what she leaves the house wearing. It seems so much easier just to give her the freedom to make her own choices and hope for the best.

The same could be said for many other parts of her life. It would be easier just to leave her alone and let her do her own thing rather than getting her out of bed, taking her back and forth to school every day, helping her with her homework, and attending teacher conferences. Why do you make education a priority? Not just because it's the law, but also because you want the very best for her and you know a good education will take her where she dreams of going in life. It may seem easier to let your daughter do whatever she wants on Sunday rather than dragging her to Sunday school and church every weekend. Why do you make church activities a priority? Because you want her to develop a strong spiritual life and enjoy an intimate walk with the Lord.

Are values of modesty and responsible stewardship any less desirable? Of course not. Since you are reading this book, I know you want to develop the strongest character possible in your daughter. You want her to have a sense of pride in how she presents herself to others, to enjoy the respect of peers and adults, and to attract like-minded friends and a healthy, future romantic relationship.

Every struggle you may experience along the way toward instilling these values is worth the fight. Every ounce of energy you pour into encouraging these concepts is a worthy investment. These lessons on modesty and responsible stewardship will guide your daughter not just through puberty and her upcoming teenage years but also throughout her lifetime.

Shannon Ethridge is the best-selling author of Every Woman's Battle and coauthor of Every Young Woman's Battle, as well as a wife, mother, speaker, and lay counselor. Previously a youth pastor and abstinence educator, Shannon has a master's degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University, and she speaks regularly on the Teen Mania Ministries campus and in a variety of other church and college settings. Shannon lives in east Texas with her husband, Greg, and their two children, Erin and Matthew.

This article originally posted on Crosswalk in June 2005

Saddened....

2011-08-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just happen in a way that is tragic. After being involved with some things with 4MYCanada I have been able to meet some of the different MP’s in the country. I never had the chance to meet Mr. Jack Layton, but I did respect him as an MP, and I honour him as one that made sacrifices to lead in Canada. I do have several differences in my political leanings than what he had, but I still find myself being sad by hearing the news of his passing away. He really was a passionate politician who knew how to connect with people, and knew how to make his little piece of the House of Commons make a lot of noise. And with this last election, he gained so much ground in becoming the official opposition in the House. Jack Layton was one that believed what he said and acted on it. As I walk to the Tim Horton’s to get my tea, all I keep hearing is people talking about Jack Layton. He was obviously very well-liked from all sides of the political spectrum. He seemed to take any opportunity to be in the face of the public. I listen regularly to CFRA where several of the radio shows are notoriously conservative, while Mr. Layton was more the socialist. He would call in, or be in studio if called upon.

I don’t know what Jack Layton was like from the perspective of his faith. I don’t know if he was a man of faith. But his life, and now death brings to mind something that we can all learn from. After this last election Jack Layton and the New Democrats were able to make the greatest advances in Canadian Parliament for that party, decimating the Liberal party, and being the official opposition, or the second largest party. This was HUGE! Mr. Layton had been able to lead a major advancement. He had battled prostate cancer. He was on a roll. But recently he came forward and announced that he had another kind of cancer. Many people noted how weak he looked in that announcement. It was tough to watch. And here we are today mourning the loss of this Member of Parliament.

This man had given his life for politics at various levels, and had made some big accomplishments, but look how life can be. All of the work he did is lost to him personally. What if I had been the one? What if I had worked so hard to get all of that, but had neglected my soul? All of what I had done would mean nothing.

In Mark chapter 8, Jesus says, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”

Our lives are but vapours, and we are on the world stage for but a few moments compared to all of the other people that are on earth now, or have been on earth since Adam and Eve. What are you going to do with it? How will you spend your time? How will you treat people? We are here for so short a season, and those things that are invested in the kingdom of God are those things that will last. Spend your time investing in the things of God. Spend your time loving people. Spend your time moving for positive change. Don’t waste anything. Don’t waste any time. You only have so much of it.

My thoughts and prayers are with Olivia Chow and the family of Jack Layton. May other people follow your example in saying, this is what I believe in, this is who I am both in public and in private. Follow me towards the goal.

Why God Won't Go Away - A Book Review

2011-07-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Why God Won’t Go Away was a good book, and took me some time to get through because of how much of a thinker it was. As a Christian, and someone that shares my faith with others I have had some encounters with atheists where they just ridiculed and name-called and the tone that all of their discussions came through was in anger… at me for believing in God… In religion in general.

In this book Alister McGrath writes about what he calls the New Atheism. You have probably heard of some of their “big guns”: Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and the like. I have tried to read some of the writings of these authors, and each time I picked up a book they were so filled with sweeping judgements about all religions as a whole, and using the negative things done in the name of religion to say that ALL religion is evil that I had to shake my head at their lack of understanding.

Why God Won’t Go Away is divided into three parts. Part one is about defining what he means by the New Atheism, and how it is contrasted from moderate atheism. Part two addresses three core themes of the New Atheist proponents. McGrath addresses the claim that ALL religion leads to violence. He addresses issues in reasoning and I think quite soundly shows the limits of science and what science can prove. Part three examines the New Atheist movement in where it is today, and then shows some of the ways that it is falling off in momentum.

McGrath closes off the book with a story about a young man that approached him after a speaking engagement seeking an autograph. The young man shared about how he had been lead to Christ because of reading a Dawkins book. He felt that the book was so unfair and one-sided that he was compelled to find out the other side of the issue. In looking at the other side, he had now become a Christian.

Why God Won’t Go Away is an excellent book. You will come away seeing some of the weaknesses in the claims and omissions of the New Atheists. I was provided a complimentary copy of the book for review by Book Sneeze. Click the link on my right side bar for more information.

Daily....

2011-07-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

I was just doing some reading to prepare for the barrage or questions for "Stump Pastor J" this coming Sunday. One of the first verses I read was Jesus telling his disciples that if anyone is going to follow him they will have to DAILY pick up their cross and follow him.

A few thoughts.... First, Jesus' road to the cross was hard. It was painful. It took all of his life but because he endured it, we can be saved.

Secondly, Jesus told them to be prepared to take up their cross DAILY. Every day we need to examine our lives based on the standard of the Bible, and give our lives for Jesus. That might not mean as much for those of us living in North America, but Christians in other parts of the world literally have their lives threatened. It can happen here too.

It may not be in the form of dying for Jesus. I heard a leadership thought that brought this verse in Luke 9 to mind. A leader chooses the corporate good over personal pleasure or preference.

That is SO tough! Making choices like that could cause discomfort or hurt is not a favourite passtime of mine. As Christians we are to be leaders. We are to make disciples... to model being a Christian. Sometimes it will mean making hard choices where we have to make the sacrifice in favour of something for the cause of Jesus.

Patience...

2011-07-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I struggle with having patience in difficult situations. I have noticed it a LOT lately. With work, and kids, and dog and relationships, and people that oppose me, and keeping the house clean, and cooking…. Well, life just gets to me. Notice my wife is not on this list? I think she has been the one that said the thing that really made me think most in this. I’ll get to that later though.

Recently on Facebook I had a bit of a scuffle with an atheist that didn’t like the perspective I was taking. I have no problem with people not believing what I do, but I begun to lose patience when the person began to focus the attack on me personally. I didn’t like it, and I tried to respond to each of the things they were saying, but each of my replies brought out more aggression (I perceived).

The dog…. I know that my dog wants to do what she is supposed to, but sometimes her curiousity gets the best of her. She barks at things that go by the back yard, or the front door. It’s like my commands are not even heard. She is so caught up in whatever it is that she just goes until someone goes to get her. Guess this one is my fault for not spending enough time training her.

Kids…. Sometimes it would have been easier if they didn’t develop personalities… As much as I love my children, and as cool as I think it is to see them grow and learn, along with it comes some resistance to doing what they need to be doing… Don’t fight with your brother… Clean up your toys…. Don’t hit your sister…. Bring your plate to the kitchen…. Go to bed… Don’t fight with your brother… Don’t throw your toys… From what I hear this is only mildly different from those of you that have ‘tweens experience… but it gets to you after a while.

Cleaning is so tough… you go from one room to the next and by the time you go back to the first room after cleaning it the stuff is all back off the shelf…. One meal is usually enough to get the kitchen back into a tizzy. Sigh…

And then there is getting the kids to events, running our own events, getting together with friends, and helping others run their events… Wow… Tough… None of this is to try to garner sympathy. I know all of you have your own things to do as well. I have just been noticing that I have not been processing it all very well. Irritation comes a little too easy, and I snap at the kids or my wife a bit too easily.

So this is what I do when God puts his finger on something, I go back and take a look at what the Bible says about something. So here are a few verses I am praying through….

Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”

Colossians 1:11
“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,”

James 1:3, 4
“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Psalm 37:7
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

There are others…. But here is the thing that resonates in my mind most. It was one of those “Boi-oi-oi-oing!” moments. I thank God for a wife that wants what God wants, and knows how to speak into my life. I was talking to her about how I was noticing the quick to lose patience thing in me and she said something like, “Well, you are a Christian, and you should have the fruit of the spirit…. You’re just not walking in that.” (That was the stun moment.) I was reminded of this passage.

Galatians 5:22-25
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

There it was…. Right there in Scripture… If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit, and here is what that should look like… see above list. So it is not easy by any means, but it is something that I am trying to work on. I’m praying it through. I have to crucify the flesh and walk in the Spirit... and I thank God for my wife.

A Review of "Billy Graham in Quotes"

2011-06-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

“Billy Graham in Quotes” is a book that I asked for out of curiosity. I have been a long time fan of Rev. Graham. I was able to see him in my city when he came. When I saw this was available I wanted to read it. It is set up as a collection of quotations from the written works of Billy Graham. In the table of contents you can see that there are topics from anger and anxiety to marriage and young people, and once you get into the quotations you get to see the depth and wisdom of the man. It is so refreshing to dig into these quotations. I have seen many books of late where there is such a weak proclamation of right and wrong, let alone the Gospel. This man’s writings come from decades spent studying the Word of God. The way the book is framed is that Rev. Graham writes from what he reads in Scripture. As I read through it I could see that. As I read from topic to topic I was pleased with how directly his words addressed what the Bible says. Some topics would have most people pleased with Rev. Graham’s perspective, while others will step on people’s toes. As a student of the Bible and a student of Christian history/biography I count this as a valuable volume for my shelf for future reference. It has a ton of quotes for teaching others, preparing sermons or just posting a challenging Facebook status. Each quotation is referenced so I can go back and pursue something further if I need to. Such a great idea from one of Christendom’s most well-known preachers. I was provided a complimentary copy for review by Booksneeze.

http://www.booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9780849946493

Great to watch young people...

2011-06-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Leigh-Anne and I have been working with the 9 to 12 year olds in Infuzion for a few years now, and it has been so good. Helping them get into a regular time with God is one thing, but when you help them try something new and you see the look of delight on their face when they find something new that they like doing or that they are good at from the start. I love seeing them do something creative. Sometimes you just have to refocus them a bit and keep them positive while they try something where they may be a little insecure... That's part of it... We have to help them try new things, and have to help them work through the insecurity while they learn and develop.

Review What's in the Bible? Disk 5

2011-05-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

I loved this disk of What’s in the Bible? I have really been a big fan of concise and yet whimsical writing on these DVD’s. Each one has been able to take deep theological ideas and link them to fun ideas so they stick in your mind. I still love the one from Disk 4 with the description of what it meant to be holy, and Pirate Pete talking about how his mashed potatoes being set aside, and therefore being holy. It was then clarified what holy really meant, but the funny was there to make it stick.

This disk is no different. It is fast-paced, quick-witted and brings out Biblical truth. There are a couple of reactions that I would like to note. When the package arrived, and I pulled out the disk, my two oldest children (A 5 year old and a 3 year old) started to jump around the room wanting to watch the disk right away. The oldest started to sing the song. The two of them love these shows. My wife and I love to see our kids get excited about something that teaches them about God.

I also gathered some of the young people (Aged 9 to 12ish) that I work with for a screening that Sunday morning and they love the show. The thing that I noted from this screening was that it inspired them to want to get back into working with puppets again. Some of the topics that we were discussing were also answered in the shows like what is sin, and what does it mean to repent?

In episode 1, we open with Michael and Pierre discussing who gets to be on camera. Michael observes Pierre’s bitterness. This moves to a discussion between Phil Vischer and Buck Denver over what the most important book is, the Phone book, or the Bible. It’s a pretty funny bit, and of course leads us into the themes song. I love the theme song!

We go back to Buck and Phil Vischer talking about the importance of the Bible, and he emphasizes that unlike the phone book, the Bible doesn’t just tell us where people live, but why people live.

Pirate Pete... Wow, what an interesting, zany character! Last time to be different, he wanted to sing some songs from a hot air balloon. This time he wants to sing from his submarine. It is a very creative graphic. There is also a funny bit about how he knows things are right because he can feel it in his sword.

One of the points that some of the older audience members will be able to pick up on is the bit between Buck and Marcie about whether the insurance policy covers Pirates.... even law abiding pirates. Each show goes through a kind of review to keep the focus on the Rescue Plan God has for us. This time Sunday School Lady (love how she has a picture of herself on her shirt) uses the magic flannelgraph to show us the timeline of events, and of course that allows her to go over a description of what sin is.

I loved the comment from Pirate Pete and how the book of Judges was like a classroom left without a teacher. There would be a bunch of kids with spit wads flying everywhere. This leads us to brief review of Ruth, and leads us into the books for the upcoming shows, 1 & 2 Samuel.

Who was Samuel? We get into who he was, and how he was instrumental in carrying out the requests of the people of Israel to have a king to lead them. As a prophet, Samuel leads based on what God tells him. The Philistines were there threatening them, and they wanted a king to lead them to fight against the Philistines. They kept being beaten and pressed for a king. God relented and Israel’s first king is Saul. Soon Saul became full of himself and was not under God’s spirit. As Saul did more things without God, and going after his own deeds, it came time for David to be anointed as the next king.

There is an excellent explanation of the Trinity using a triangle.

There is a great parallel between those space movies and Saul going to the dark side. The writers were good about making sure to emphasize that the space movies were not real, and the story of Saul and David was true history.

The episode ends with Phil asking if you want to be part of God’s rescue plan?

The second episode on the disk opens with Michael talking about how he once declared himself the king of the backyard, and he and Pierre got into an acorn fight with the kids next door. Poor Pierre. Michael does what any big brother would do I guess and uses his brother to shield himself from the attack.

We go through the process that David went through to get to the point where he became king. We note the time where he was able to attack Saul, but would not. We note the jealousy from Saul about David. I was even pleased to see how they dealt with the David and Bathsheba affair. It was to the point and in a way that a kid could understand.

This gives Pastor Paul the chance to explain what repentance is, and we go through how David is different than Saul. Saul makes excuses and refuses to do as God says. David makes no excuse and begs for God’s forgiveness.

This episode focuses on the book of 2 Samuel and then creeps into the book of 1 Kings to cover the good part of Solomon’s life. The story is left as a cliff-hanger for the audience to either look up, or wait until the next disk to see. My 5 year old is still asking me what happens to Solomon. I’m glad he is interested in the Bible.

Do you want to be like Saul or David?

There are a few interesting extras on the disk. The popsicle stick theatre performance of The Boy Who Cried Melon Monkey is great. It is a humourous play on the old boy who cried wolf story. The outtakes are always a treat. I love seeing some of the performances without all the computer effects. I love when you hear Phil talking to the puppet and then responding in the Puppet’s voice. I loved the deleted scenes with Michael and how he was determined not to create an outtake scene while he created an outtake scene. On a last thought I went to the Chapters menu and there was a great gag from Pastor Paul and his favourite chapter in the Bible. Very funny.

I was given a free copy of the disk in the exchange that I would review it.

What's in the Bible? DVD 5

2011-05-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have a certificate for a free copy of What's in the Bible? DVD 5. I will give it to the first person that has kids that live in their house, and contacts me with the correct answers to these 3 questions:

As Israel's first king, what made Saul stand out to Samuel the Prophet?

What did David do to attack Saul?

Who did King David send to the front lines so that the soldier would die and David could take his wife?

Email, post a comment, facebook whatever.... Whoever is first gets it!

Happy Guessing!

New "What's In the Bible?" button on the blog.

2011-03-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

They sent me a new banner to promote the new DVD that is coming out. It will now take you to the What's in the Bible website.

For those of you reading by email, my blog is at: http://livinginfuzion.blogspot.com/

Follow the link to the website that is on the right side of my page it you don't know what What's in the Bible? is.

Congratulations! You've been selected to be a member of the What's in the Bible Street Team!

2011-03-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened. Leigh-Anne “liked” What’s in the Bible? on Facebook, and then she saw this opportunity to apply to be a part of the “Street Team”, a group of people that promotes the DVD series. So I started doing what I've grown more and more in love with.... I started writing. They wanted to know how I used the DVD’s in my home, and how I would use the DVD’s outside of my home.

The home part was so easy. Both my boys love the What’s in the Bible? DVD’s. They sing the songs, they can identify the box across the store, and last time we were at Salem they wanted me to buy disc 4.

I also wrote about how I worked with young people and they both like the episodes and we used it to help inspire them in building a puppet ministry. I also mentioned that my parents were the children’s pastors in my church as well.

That being said, take a look into this DVD series and see if you know of a family that could benefit from the teaching on the disks. I have always wanted a series like this.... really good information.

Oh, and check out the new banner on the blog... comes from the WITB people.

Here is their site right here.

I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH!

2011-02-01T04:29:00.000-08:00

I have spoken to many people over the years that try to tell me that they can be a Christian, and not go to church. They will tell me that they can just spend time with God on their own, or watch some TV ministry to get some teaching.

It seems pretty clear to me that the Bible teaches that we need to gather corporately. Hebrews 10:25 says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

See? It, says, encourage one another. God wants people to learn from each other in the church and be a support to each other. Then I ran into this list of other ‘One Another’ verses from the Bible. Take a look at all the other things God wants us to learn by spending time with our church family:

Love one another. (John 13:34)

Accept one another. (Romans 15:7)

Forgive one another. (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13)

Be gentle to one on another. (Ephesians 4:2)

Be clothed in humility with one another. (1 Peter 5:5)

Weep with one another. (Romans 12:15)

Live in harmony with one another. (Romans 12:16)

Don’t judge one another. (Romans 14:13)

Be patient with one another. (Ephesians 4:2)

Admonish one another. (Colossians 3:16)

Greet one another. (Romans 16:16)

Wait for one another. (1 Corinthians 11:33)

Care for one another. (1 Corinthians 12:25)

Serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

Be kind to one another. (Ephesians 4:32)

Be devoted to one another. (Romans 12:10)

Be compassionate toward one another. (Ephesians 4:32)

Encourage one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Submit to one another. (Ephesians 5:21)

Make allowances for one another. (Colossians 3:13)

Stimulate love in one another. (Hebrews 10:24)

Offer hospitality to one another. (1 Peter 4:9)

Minister gifts to one another. (1 Peter 4:10)

Rejoice with one another. (Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 12:26)

Don’t slander one another. (James 4:7)

Don’t grumble against one another. (James 5:9)

Confess your sins to one another. (James 5:16)

Pray for one another. (James 5:16)

Fellowship with one another. (1 John 1:7)

Don’t be puffed up against one another. (1 Corinthians 4:6)

Carry one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)

Honour one another. (Romans 12:10)

Depend on one another. (Romans 12:5)

Prefer one another. (Romans 12:10)

Comfort one another. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

That is 35 things that the Bible tells us we should be like with other people that are Christians. Two things, you can’t do any of those things off on your own. You have to get involved in the church to do them. Second, this is a long list, and it is a hard list, and I have a long way to go in learning these things too.

List quoted from The Unshakable TRUTH by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell.

Just a concept I want to apply to my own life...

2010-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

As quoted from The Unshakable TRUTH by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell.

Accepting others as Christ accepts us means we must take the time to be with people.

The pressure was on. The book deadline was fast approaching, and I (Josh) needed to focus on writing and editing. Although the memory of this experience takes me back more than 30 years, I recall if vividly. I was right in the middle of editing a chapter when two-year-old Sean wandered in.

“Want to play, Daddy?” he chirped expectantly.

As an experienced parent (we had already been through the two-year-old stage with Kelly), I should have realized that Sean really wanted only a hug, a pat, and a minute or two to show me the new ball he was carrying. But I was working on an “important” chapter and felt I just didn’t have even two minutes to spare.

“Son, how about playing a little later?” I replied. “I’m right in the middle of a chapter.”

Sean didn’t know what a chapter was, but he got the message. Daddy was too busy, and he’d have to leave now. He trotted off without complaining, and I returned to my manuscript. But my relief was short-lived. Dottie soon came in and sat down for a “little chat.”

She began, “Honey, Sean just told me you were too busy to play with him. I know that this book is important, but I’d like to point something out.”

“What is that?” I asked rather impatiently, because now my wife was keeping me from my all-important project.

“Honey, I think that you have to realize that you are always going to have writing to do, and you are always going to have deadlines. Your whole life will be researching and doing similar projects. But you’re not always going to have a two-year-old son who wants to sit on your lap and ask you questions and show you his new ball.”

“I hear what you’re saying,” I said, “and you make a lot of sense as usual. But right now I’ve got to finish this chapter.”

“All right, Josh,” she said, “But please think about it. You know, if you spend time with our kids now, they will spend time with us later.”

I did think about it, and the more I thought, Dottie’s gentle words were like a knife slicing me to the core. She was right. I would always have deadlines to meet, contracts to fulfill, phone calls to answer, people to see, and trips to take. But my children would only be children for a short time. Soon the years would sweep by. Would I have any more time for them next year than I did this year?

I knew what the answer would be if I didn’t change my ways. Quietly, without any big speeches of fanfare, I made a decision. I took Sean out in the yard and tossed the ball with him for a while. Ever since, I have tried to place my children ahead of my contracts, deadlines, and the clamor of a world that wants me to get back to them ASAP. And it has paid off.

As 2010 closes and 2011 prepares to start….

2010-12-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, as we have come to the end of the year, I have tried to speak into the lives of those I interact with. This year my focus is on parents…. Those that God has entrusted to raise the next generation.

If I could say one thing to you as we come to the cusp of 2011 it would be this:

Do not underestimate what your kids are capable of accomplishing.

One of the ways that Leigh-Anne and I pour into the young people of Infuzion is to try to give them a bit more responsibility than most would allow them. Some young people have looked at us stunned that we would let them try. Others have thrived because of it. Others have not quite been ready for the responsibility that we have put upon them.

I just wanted to share a few examples of young people in the Bible who accomplished some great things. God loves to use young people!

King Josiah was 8 years old when he was made king of Judah. He did some great things to bring God’s people back into proper relationship with God. You can find his story in 2 Kings 22 and 23, and 1 Chronicles 34 and 35.

King David is probably best known for his battle with Goliath, but when you look at the story it is interesting to note that he was anointed as the next king of Israel and THEN he goes to feed his brothers at the battle where he hears about the challenge from Goliath. The current king was letting this giant threaten and mock the people of God, while David, seeing what God saw, was able to accept the challenge and win the battle. Many scholars believe David to be in his mid teens when this battle happened. You can find his story in 1 Samuel 16 and 17.

The prophet Jeremiah even doubted God’s call on his life when God began to prepare him for ministering to the people of Israel. Read Jeremiah 1:1 – 10.

Consider Mary, the mother of Jesus. Tradition suggests that she was also in her early teens when she gave birth to Jesus, which would have been the norm for that time period. Luke 1:26-38 shows how she had to weigh out the massive request and responsibility that was being put on her. She was obedient to the Lord and birthed our Saviour.

Jesus, of course, is known for his ministry and the death and resurrection, but what about in his early life? We see very little written about that time period, but what we do see has a young man that is learned in the Scriptures and who sets himself as one (at 12) of being found in the church(temple). Luke 2:41 – 49.

So where does that put us for this coming year? Here are some points that I would like you to pray through:

1 – Do what you can to guard your children’s hearts from evil.

2 – Pray for your kids every day.

3 – Encourage them in all of their talents, and be their biggest cheerleader when they get discouraged.

4 – Do everything you can to move your family closer to God.

Creating a Church Where Teens WANT to Come

2010-12-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is a repost from a blog by Ron Luce of Teen Mania. I just thought it would be good for some self examination, and to encourage others who either have young people, or work with young people:

"Imagine a place where young people are on fire for God. They can’t wait to see their friends, hear the preacher, take notes and be challenged. They are not only absorbing, but they are also pouring what they learn into others.

Imagine a place where young people come together and worship passionately with all their heart instead of just standing there through the worship service. They are so excited to be there that they actually run to the front at the beginning of worship. They are lifting their hands and down on their knees singing with all their hearts.

Imagine a place where adults have rallied around students so that there is no “us and them” mentality. Young people are embraced by every adult, and teens are actually involved in church ministry, from the worship team to the prayer team.

What does it take to build this type of church? Here are a few keys that I think must be part of making a church that welcomes and inspires teens.

Examine Your Hearts

To create a church that teens love, we must first examine our hearts. Students know when they are loved and accepted. Students also know when they are being judged. They are used to being looked down upon and criticized by the adults in their life. In return, they avoid these adults and the places associated with them – like church.

Do you show teens unconditional love and acceptance? Does your church?

Make Services Relevant to Students

It’s important that young people don’t just “do time” when they come on Sunday morning. They should feel a connection to the pastors leading service and even embrace what the church stands for. So how does that happen?

Pastors can lead the way by incorporating students into their messages. When preparing messages, plan on engaging young people specifically with a few nuggets just for them to chew on. You can even ask for their input and perspective when planning your sermons. Let them know that they are a part of the church right now, not just an appendage!

Create a Subculture

Today every student is surrounded by a worldly culture that welcomes them and lures them away from God. Is church exciting, interesting, and a place they want to be? It can be when you create a subculture in your church to attract and pour into young people.

It is possible to create this type of subculture—just take a look at Hillsong Church in Australia. Amidst a very secular society, Hillsong has created a subculture for young people and adults now 30,000 strong. This type of culture inspires teens to do great things for God. It empowers them to take ownership and be in leadership roles. Most important, it clearly communicates to teens that you are committed to them in a very deep way.

To engage and disciple young people, we must create a culture in our churches that teens want to be a part of. Church as usual has to change, because church as usual is not reaching the next generation."

Here is the link in case you want to check out more from Ron Luce's blog:
http://www.ron-luce.com/index.cfm/pageid/1587/postid/641/blogid/36/index.html

Train Up a Child....

2010-12-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Ran into this in some reading lately. Just thought I would share it here.
(As quoted from The Unshakable Truth by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell)

"Yet each of us is an original. No other person is designed just like us. Just as no two snowflakes are ever alike, no two humans are ever created alike. We have similarities, of course. If you have a brother of sister, you can probably see the likeness that comes from being of the same family. Yet you also know that each of you is different. Parents can certainly attest that no two children are alike. Each of us, as a human child and child of God, has an original identity. You are a one-of-a-kind original. You have been been given distinct and special qualities that make you relationally unique. God has placed within you special gifts, talents, passions, and a distinct personality that make you uniquely you.

Scripture recognizes our originality. One subtle but powerful indication of this is found in the familiar words penned by King Solomon: 'Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6 NASB).

Unfortunately, this verse is often misunderstood, and misapplied, by those who are responsible for the training of young people. Some think it means, 'Have family devotions, make sure kids attend church and youth groups and a Christian school, and then when they are all grown up they will not depart from the faith.'

The real emphasis of this verse, however, centers on the phrase 'the way he [or she] should go.' The writer is referring to the child's way, his or her learning or bent. The root meanings of these words suggest guiding each child according to his or her own uniqueness, abilities, interests and talents--and then draw out and develop that uniqueness. Train the child to be the unique person God relationally created him or her to be.

The same Hebrew word that is used in Proverbs 22 is translated 'bend' in two Psalms and refers to the bending of the archer's bow (See Psalm 11:2; 64:3). Today, with precision manufacturing, almost anyone can pick up a bow with a 45-pound draw weight and do a fair job of hitting the target.. But in biblical days, nothing was standardized. All archers made their own bows, and each archer had to know the unique characteristics of his own bow if he hoped to hit anything with it.

God's Word is telling us that you have an inborn uniqueness that your parents and caregivers are to identify and train accordingly. In the Ryrie Study Bible, a note for Proverbs 22:6 explains that ''the way he should go' really means 'according to his way; that is, the child's habits and interests.' The instruction must take into account his individuality and inclinations, his personality, the unique way God created him, and must be in keeping with his physical and mental development.'

My (Sean's) parents understood this truth and guided me to understand my 'bent'--those talents, gifts, inclinations, passions, and the distinctiveness that made me, me. My dad saw that I had an inclination toward playing basketball. I'm not a tlal person; neither is my father. But as a young person Josh excelled at basketball, and he sensed I had the same talent. He encouraged me to pursue it, coaching me as I learned the game. And I eventually fulfilled my dream of being a point guard for Biola University.

My parents also picked up on my inquisitiveness. I wanted to know things; I enjoyed figuring out why this was true or why that was true. And I enjoyed sharing what I was learning with others. Because they cultivated my natural inclinations in these directions, I ended up majoring in philosophy and theology and becoming an educator and speaker. All this resulted in my understanding who I am--the unique person God created in his own relational image."

Parents, find those things about your kids that make them unique and nurture them and move them forward towards what God has for them....

Coming down to the end of another year.....

2010-12-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

I was out to breakfast with a friend and he noted that I had not updated my blog in quite some time. I looked and my last post was about vision in 2010. And now that we are coming down to the end of 2010, I thought I would look at my own life and measure it agains the two focuses of the Infuzion ministry.

I have spent a LOT of time over the past few years studying the idea of Calling, as in being called by God. What does it mean? How does it work? Why do so many people run from it? How does God prepare you for the things that he wants you to do? Are there things that all people are called to? I really got into this and I came to a point where I realized that it was settled in my spirit, and I didn't have to dig further. I'm hoping at some point to be able to articulate the thoughts and feelings in my life and help others as they search out their own calling.

Now, I feel that I am supposed move onto something else.... a different area of study.

I have gotten some other ideas for direction to go with Infuzion. It is a slow process, but we do see the impact that working with these young people has on them. I know that part of the Infuzion ministry is also to be there for parents as well...

I have so many ideas, and keep trying to advance them. I committed that if I was going to teach young people to go after God, and to use all of their talents, that I was going to do the same.

I will still strive for that in the new year!

Take a look at your year. What have you done with your time? Have you wasted? Have you nurtured your gifts? Have you gotten closer to God this year? What areas are you weak in? What gifts have you neglected?

I'll try to be a bit more on the ball with writing here in the new year.

Vision in 2010

2009-12-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the end of one year, and the beginning of a new year. People begin to reflect on the things that they have done… areas where they succeeded, and in many cases, areas where they have failed. Some people try to come up with some thing that they can resolve to do (or not do) in the coming year. Most people fail pretty quickly.

My thought on the cusp of the New Year is found in Proverbs 29:18. It says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” If you look at some of the other translations of the Bible, you get the sense that this vision is more of a God-guided thing. The NLT says, “divine guidance”. The ESV uses, “prophetic vision”. Basically, it there is no guidance from God, no goal that is lead by Him, then people get distracted and lose focus on the goals that He has for them.

So as you start out this New Year, I suggest two things… Choose to get your life right with God. (Check out this link)

And then come up with some goals for the year. God has given each of you some talents and abilities that you are to use for Him. When you look into planning in the corporate world, companies come up with a statement, or sometimes a slogan that focuses them on a specific goal. I did a little digging. Here are a few examples.

This is from Microsoft:
“As a company, and as individuals, we value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. We are committed to our customers and partners and have a passion for technology. We take on big challenges, and pride ourselves on seeing them through. We hold ourselves accountable to our customers, shareholders, partners, and employees by honoring our commitments, providing results, and striving for the highest quality. Your Potential. Our Passion.”

This is from IBM:
“ Dedication to every client’s success. Innovation that matters – for our company and for the world. Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships.”

This is from Build a Bear:
“At Build-A-Bear Workshop®, our mission is to bring the Teddy Bear to life. An American icon, the Teddy Bear brings to mind warm thoughts about our childhood, about friendship, about trust and comfort, and also about love. Build-A-Bear Workshop embodies those thoughts in how we run our business everyday.”

This one is from Teen Mania:
“To provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth!”

They also listed core values:
“Faith -- We receive direction, provision, and motivation directly from God and His Word to take the Gospel to the World.

Integrity -- We are who we say we are; and we always do the right thing, regardless of expediency.

Relationships -- We have servants’ attitudes, and we go to heroic lengths to meet the needs of others.

Vision -- We dare to dream as big as God dreams and believe that with God on our side, we can achieve the impossible.

Excellence -- We demand of ourselves uncompromising quality and strive to be people who demonstrate excellence in everything we do.”

This is from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries:
“Ravi Zacharias International Ministries seeks to reach and challenge those who shape the ideas of a culture with the credibility and the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With a team of individuals based in six countries, RZIM is committed to reaching this generation around the world - in the university, the arts, politics, business, and the church. Through open forums, community outreach, and various media, we seek to remove the barriers to the cross for the skeptic and we prepare Christians to give a reason for the hope within us.”

This is from Ray Comfort/Living Waters:
“Inspiring and equipping Christians in fulfilling the Great Commission. In our passion to glorify God, magnify His grace, and exalt His Son, Jesus Christ, it is our mission to serve the local church by assisting in globally educating God's people in the principles of biblical evangelism; Exhorting them to fulfill the Great Commission; and equipping them with every necessary resource along the way. We do this primarily through the teaching and preaching of God's Word, strategic conferences, academic and practical training opportunities, networking platforms, and the production and dissemination of various printed and audio/visual media.”

And this is from Infuzion:
“Downloading Jesus Christ to this generation so they can stir up the gifts and talents within themselves, and Holy Spirit can challenge, inspire and empower them to reach the dreams, visions and plans God has for them. Experiencing an INFUZION of power from God to bring out creativity, encouragement and a desire for righteousness. Walking IN FUZION in the direction the Holy Spirit leads so that seeing the supernatural becomes natural.”

So now you have seen some ideas for a vision, or a mission statement. What about writing one for your life? You know the talents that God has given you. You may be afraid to step into them, but you know they are there. What about your relationships? With your family? With your friends? With those that may rub you the wrong way? What about your work? Your school? Your personal study with God? Your worship? Your attitude? Your feelings? Your areas of struggle? Begin to write something that defines who God has called you to be. It may need to be changed as you learn more over time, but start with something. It is easier to turn a moving car.

Now think of three things that you can set your mind to do for God. Keep your focus on sharing your faith with others. Make them maybe behaviours that you have to change in yourself. Maybe some project that you can accomplish over the course of the year. Dig out those old skills and talents that maybe people don’t know you have. Nurture them. They are there for a reason.

Why should you do this? It's a good way to focus yourself on certain things, and then you can measure when something doesn't move you towards your goal. With so many things trying to get our time, sometimes we just need to focus on what is our priority. As one preacher put it, "It is easy to tell someone who you are, but sometimes you need to be able to tell them who you are not."

Above all, be loving to all people during the coming year. Choose to love them where they are, and be there when the need help. Find a need. Fill a need.

I wish you all the best in the coming year. May this one be the best you have ever experienced. If you are a follower of Christ, may it be filled with success. If you are not, may the hounds of heaven be on your tail. :)

Changes in Leadership…

2009-11-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

At work we have a tracking system for people to note behavioural skills that they have mastered. One of the lesser noticed ones is Change in Leadership. Although the system is not fool proof, I think it does help people learn what skills they will need to successfully advance in their career. I have heard a few people looking at the list and understand competencies like Effective Interactive Communication, or Teamwork and Cooperation, but they get to Change in Leadership and you can tell they either don’t get it, or don’t get how big this one can really be.

In my life in the church I have seen several changes in leadership. Sometimes it has been due to a bad situation. Sometimes a good situation. Maybe someone had to lead something else. Maybe they had to go across the country. It’s tough. In the best circumstances there is a time like in a relay race where one person runs, then both people run together, the baton is handed off, and the second person runs. From my experience though, most times it is just that one stops and the other runs in their own direction. Sometimes the hand off is not a long enough period. Sometimes the second person has to pick up the baton from the ground.

I think a big problem with the change in leadership, for those that are already in a job, and are the ones being lead, is that often they are pouring their hearts into it. The new leader can come in and change the way things are done… Sometimes with good reason…. Sometimes just because… In Hebrews 13:17, it says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” As things change over, it is best to just try to do what they need, and to talk with them about how they would make changes. In the end, arguing and bickering is not productive, and that just makes things hard for the new leader. They are watching over your soul, and that carries a great weight with it. Help them to do the best job that they can.

I’ve been through so many of these changes in my life that you would think that it would be easier, but it takes effort to make the change in my heart and in my mind every time. Here are a few things that I have learned:

With each leadership change there is a period of time where the leader has to earn the respect of their team. Respect seems earned, and not just handed over like a Metro news paper at Greenboro station. If you are the new leader, spend the time with your team getting to know them, getting to know how they do what they do. Find out where their passions lie, and what makes their eyes sparkle and their mouth water. If you are the one that has had a leader change, do your best to make the transition as easy as possible.

As a leader, I find that I found that I had to sit back and learn about all of what made my team successful prior to my being there. There are always things that work well and there are always things that could be better, and there are things that just don’t work. It takes some time to figure that out. The last thing I wanted to do was try to swoop in like Superman and save the day when the day was going pretty good already. Can you imagine how uneventful the Action Comics would have been if Superman did that? But it didn’t work that way, he really came in and helped people when they earth needed it. The police were still there to do their job too.

In Exodus 18:13-26, Jethro, Moses’ father in law comes to visit Moses, and he observes something that he thinks he can help Moses to solve. “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"

Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."

Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”

There are a few keys here. Moses couldn’t do everything himself. He needed to teach people, and know that those that he was working with were of good character, and let them handle the everyday stuff, and then he could deal with the tough stuff. If you are new to a position, it is even greater when you have people that know their job already, so they can do what they have been doing. Once you know things better, then you can lead them towards the goal.

I remember in one of my jobs, a new manager came in with limited experience at the level she was now working at. A decision had to be made and she really made the wrong one. She consulted her team leaders. They all told her it was the wrong way to go based on their experience, but she told them to do it anyway. Let’s just say that a lot of work had to be done to catch up on work that was abandoned. People with experience have a lot to say.

I watched every episode of Star Trek The Next Generation. Captain Picard often asked his senior staff for options and Guidance. When he had gathered the information, he made a decision and they followed what he said. He had earned their respect. In this one two-part episode, Captain Picard was on a mission and another captain was put in command of the Enterprise. It was tough to watch the crew as they adjusted to the new captain’s style of leadership. I found myself saying, “But Captain Picard wouldn’t have done it that way, “ I was right. But Picard wasn’t the leader at that point either.

As Christians, I think we have it even tougher. Most of the time our work in church is with volunteers. People from all walks of life, come together to serve in the church, but people volunteer only when they feel plugged in. If something causes them to feel put off for long enough, some run, some leave, some press through. I guess that is why the diamond analogy works so well. Huge amounts of pressure in the ground makes the diamond form, but it also takes skilled people to find it, refine it and make it shine.

If you’re one stepping into a new leadership position, take the time to lead people and bring them along with you in the direction that you want to go. If you find out what they want to do for God and you help them reach that goal, they will bend over backwards to help you reach yours too. It is all about love, and pouring into people. I use these principles in my job as well. It works.

If you’re the one with a new leader, let your speech always be grace seasoned with salt. Give them time. Love them. Help them learn. Be patient. God isn’t finished with them yet.
If you are the leader or the lead, spend the time really talking things out. Share ideas. Pray for each other. Pray with each other. And in all cases remember that we are all trying to build a Kingdom, and not just our own castle. We need to impact the world for Jesus. That must be our focus.

Teeth.... and Discipleship.

2009-09-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

They help us chew our food, which in turn allows our body to gain strength, build muscle, harden and strengthen bones, be healthy.

If we care for our teeth, we brush them, floss them, be careful not to eat too much junk, our teeth will last. But even if we do all of these things, there can still be problems. That’s where the dentist comes in.

A while back I had a piece of my tooth fall out. For a while I just tried to make it work. I ate on one side. I kept it clean. As time went on it began to hurt. I ignored it for a couple of days. I began to hurt more. I worked up the courage and went to see a dentist. I SO did not want to see a dentist. I SO did not want to see the dentist. Dentists do things that hurt. I was afraid. No wait… I was terrified.

He was good. He went in, froze the tooth, did some cleaning and put in a temporary filling. That was uncomfortable. He said we would wait and see what would happen. If there was pain, I was to go back in and they would do a root canal… There they were…. A heart-stopping couple of words…. Root Canal. He emphasized … “It’s expensive.” I was gripped with fear. I was sure I was going to have to endure the procedure.

Once the temp filling was in, I noticed every twinge of pain. I was sure that it was going to be the root canal. I found myself able to tolerate a little pain to avoid going back. Besides, how was I going to pay for the procedure? As a way of paying came up, I called and asked the price. $1000. Good thing I have dental coverage.

I booked the appointment and braced for the worst. I was convinced that I had a root canal on the way. I was telling everyone that. When I sat in the chair the endontist did some spelunking around in my tooth and said that he was just going to fill it. Phew! Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t easy. The dentist was good though. Very gentle. Consoling. Sympathetic. I had one of those epiphany moments.

I was in the chair because of how I had neglected my teeth over the years where my dental coverage was sporadic. It was sort of how some people live their Christian life. They coast. They went to the altar once when they were young, but never allowed it to change how they lived their life in a moral and spiritual sense. Often those are the kids of “Christians” that drift away for a while and indulge in stuff that they know is wrong. Some people even end up in a very dark place because of their choices. Sometimes it takes God going in like a dentist and fixing the damage. We have to make the appointment, and it may still hurt, but in the end God allows it to make us stronger. We may have to give some things up that caused the damage. We may have to get ourselves back into a cycle of maintenance of our faith. That is why the Bible says to examine yourself daily to see if you are in the faith. It says to be faithful with the little things. It says to think of the things that are excellent or praiseworthy.

Discipleship takes discipline. Work at your faith daily.

9/11 and the Truth...

2009-09-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

With 9/11 having come and gone for another year, I have been watching a lot of the specials on TV where people sit and debate as to what actually happened on the day. Most of us just seem to think that it was just as we saw. A group of terrorists hijacked some planes and ran them into the Twin Towers in New York City. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed just outside of Virginia. All the evidence and witnesses seem to point in this direction as well. Several higher institutions have done examinations of the events with the blueprints of the buildings and specs of the panes involved, and what happened as we saw it on that day (and in my humble opinion) seems to be very plausible.

Most of what the “truthers” (I don’t get to see why they get to have truth attached to their name) seem to do is argue from lack of evidence. They tend to be George W. Bush haters. They use all kinds of argumentative fallacies. Just in general, they are really disrespectful of the fact that people lost loved ones in the attacks of 9/11. There are always groups of them yelling and harassing people at the memorial ceremonies.

The best of the theories that just had me stunned that they actually considered this was that all of the three planes that hit the buildings were replaced by empty planes at some point during the flight, while the real planes landed at a secret airbase. All of the people that were on those flights were put on Flight 93 which was eventually shot down by the US government. An NO ONE HAS SAID ANYTHING IN ALL OF THIS TIME.

Piece by piece, these people had demonstrations and explanations of the science and all the data was shown to them and each time it was like the covered their eyes and said, “I just don’t see how that could have happened.”

Arguing from lack of evidence… They say something like, “There was no video taped record of such and such, and so it must have not happened the way we think it did.” They set themselves up a false dichotomy. They try to make it seem like there are only two possible explanations for the way something happened. When often there are several, and some of them are even plausible.

I have seen these people argue a slippery slope as well. They go from pointing out a small detail to the position that the whole government is corrupt and obviously out to get us in the blink of an eye. I guess it just reveals their real intent. They hate George W. He could have made the whole world be at peace, and all wars stop and they would still hate him.

Ok, so now, why all of this? I thought about how these people seemed to want to hear nothing that could discredit their view of what they believe happened on 9/11. Is that how I am with my faith? I believe some things that many people find strange. Is what I believe based on the evidence? Or is it based on my emotions? Or is it based on some hatred? These were tough questions for me to look at. I really had to examine myself. I have spent many years looking into the reliability of the Bible. I do not want to believe something that is not true. Even though there is still a lot of evidence, there is still an aspect of faith. As one preacher puts it, “Even if we were there, we would have to take Mary’s word at the virgin birth.” There seems to be a strong amount of evidence to support what the Bible teaches.

I guess the biggest difference for me is that I do let my faith get tested. I have held up what I believe against ideas that oppose the Bible. I let the Bible filter it through and see what is left on the other side. If the Bible is not true, then there will be nothing left. If it is true, it will stand in the end. That is one of the claims from within its pages. People have scrutinized the Bible for centuries and the people have come and gone. The Bible has lasted. People’s lives have been changed. Even when people try to rewrite it (ie: The DaVinci Code, The Last Temptation of Christ), the Bible stands. When people claim that God is dead, and they die, the Bible still stands.

My one concern is that I always test everything that is being said to me. The Bible has stood in my life to this point.

Employed by the Church

2009-07-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

Sometimes there is a bit of a line that is blurred between work where you get paid now, and work where you will be paid in heaven. There is also a difference between volunteer work and ministry. There is a difference between Sunday School and babysitting as well. In that last one, it is usually a choice.

Think about this for a second. Most people go to work , and they know what is required of them. They have a start time and an end time. There are times where they need to be at their post, and allotted times for breaks and lunch. If you’re not where you’re supposed to be, usually there will be a managerial type that mentions it. If you keep ignoring your guidelines, there may be some sort of disciplinary action.

At work, if I just don’t show up, I’ll lose my job. If I can’t be there for some reason, I am required to call and let my manager know. If I no longer want my job, I try to give a customary grace period to allow someone to come in and replace me.

Recently at work, the dress code policy was reiterated. It outlined what clothing was appropriate to wear in the workplace: nothing that was worn out or torn, nothing that is revealing or immodest, and nothing that is unsafe or too casual for my position. I am representing my division. If I worked in certain areas of my building I would have to wear appropriate protective footwear or a hardhat.

Also, at work, there are things that people can talk about, and that are appropriate to talk about. People are supposed to keep focused on their job and save personal talk for their breaks.

Now, let’s step back for a minute. What if people treated their work that they do in the church the way someone with a strong work ethic does? What if people showed up on time and were prepared for their job? What if they stayed focused on their work while they were on duty in the church? What if people just showed up to do the job that they had agreed to do? If for some reason they could not be there, what if they called to let someone know that they could not be there, and they took responsibility for their work… no, for their ministry. And what if they took a few moments to think about dressing for the job that they were going to be doing? And what if they kept their personal issues away from those around them, until the time is appropriate (ie: you are not on duty)? What about coming in with a positive attitude and a prayerful focus for the time serving in the church? Can you imagine how differently the church would run? Can you see how well it would run?

That’s the difference. In a church, it’s not just volunteer work. It is MINISTRY…. No matter where you are serving. It is worship. It is about serving God and others.

If you’re in nursery, you pray for the babies, and you serve the parents by allowing them to be fed. You give the kids a place to be loved. You may not see what they live in at home.

What if you are doing cleaning? You serve the pastor. You serve your brothers and sisters. You help keep people safe and healthy. You have the opportunity spend some time praying in the church.

Ministry also helps you grow in your faith. Challenging times…. Times that test your faith and your resolve do not happen when you are focused on God or in prayer or worship. What about the times where a kid tries your patience? What about the other sacrifices you make to serve? Have you ever been challenged when you are not expecting to be tested? Too many people shy away from ministry opportunities because of people or situations that they find hard. That is the time to focus on why you are there, and dig in and love God and love people. More of God. Less of you.

Imagine a church like that?

Who gets the message?

2009-07-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a podcast this morning by one of my favourite apologists, Ravi Zacharias. His message was called “Mind Games in a World of Images”. He was talking today about some people in the film industry and how they make films and won’t let their kids go and see them. Dr. Zacharias asks why it was ok for these people to make the films and then let someone else’s kids go see them.

I love the media, but it can be a friend and a foe. I love what you can do with it. I love how messages are transmitted. I love the creativity of messages and how they are structured, BUT I am also cautious about the messages that I indulge in. As a person with some degree of maturity, I approach all messages with a reasoning mind. Many people do not. They just take into their mind whatever they hear.

Think about how dangerous that can be with the messages that are being sent all over… Music… TV… Web…. Movies… News… Comedy… School…. YouTube… Video Games… and the list goes on. Each message we encounter comes from a specific perspective…. The worldview of the author.

As a Christian, I see two issues. Whatever message I cover, or send out, I have to be very responsible for how I present my perspective. Secondly, I have to be that I keep my filters on. I filter everything through the Bible. There are some tough topics that people discuss, yes, but I have to make sure that whatever message I transmit is true.

There is great responsibility when you use the various forms of media, and especially easy since most things can be done from your PC.

Matthew 12:35-37 says, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Whatever the message I send, I want it to be something that builds up and encourages… not matter the media… from my mouth or from my computer.

I have new hero!

2009-07-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at church we had a guest speaker, Mrs. Elsie Black. She is one of the pillars of the church at 88 years old. She sat on a chair on the platform and read some notes about some times in her life. Some were good and some were tough, but through it all her family trusted God and that got them through. We got to see a side of her that not many see. She was charming, articulate and had a great sense of humour. When she was finished she lead us all in some classic Christian songs.

Pastor Syd stood at the end and told us that just heard an excerpt from a book Mrs. Black was writing. I just sat and thought WOW! I have heard of too many people that as they get older, they try to start winding down when God still can use them so much. She, on the other hand, was taking something that she could do, and using the talents that God gave her, and she was trying to reach others.

The same spirit that God filled her with is the same spirit that lives in me as well. There is no kids spirit, no teens spirit, no senior citizen spirit. There is just God's Holy Spirit.

Remember that the most valuable piece of land in any city is the graveyard. It is tragic that there lies books that were never written, films that were never made, banquets that were never thrown, talents that died having never been used. Even approaching 90, Mrs. Black was using the talents that God gave her. I think we should all follow that kind of example.

Nightmare

2009-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

I woke up a few nights ago at about 2:30 am from a nightmare. It was really disturbing and grotesque. I dozed back to sleep and went back into the same dream. It was like I picked up where I left off in the story. I woke up again from the nightmare, this time from seeing something even more grotesque and graphic. My heart was pounding. I started praying against what I thought might be a spiritual attack. I was afraid to go back to sleep. I watched the clock. The longer I laid there, the more the fear gripped me, and the more I was motivated to pray for God’s comforting peace.

Sometimes the church is called the sleeping giant. Too often the church as a whole becomes complacent and comfortable with what it does. There is no sense of urgency within it. If we take a moment to look into our culture that we are living in, and see the nightmare it is, we would wake up in a panic and with urgency. We would be motivated by what we saw, and cry out to God and take action.

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a raoring lion, seeking whome he may devour."

Sunday Blurb,

2009-07-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

On Father’s Day, I was given the chance to speak co-operatively with my father, to our church.

I have to say that I found it a bit intimidating. I looked out on those in attendance and there were these men sitting there that had raised children that were strong in the faith. I was looking out to see other fathers that seemed to be off to a good start with young kids. Those fathers were there. They are plugged into the church, and into their kids lives.

The thing that disturbed me about Father’s Day was thinking about how many young people are growing up without a father. You see it more and more, either as a teenager, a young woman gets pregnant and has her baby. The boy sticks around for a bit and then leaves. Sometimes after a few years of marriage a couple breaks up and the kids are usually left with the mother. This really is a fatherless generation.

My point during my talk was that men need to step up and set an example both to young women who will be out trying to find a husband, and to young men as models of Godly fatherhood, husbands and just what it means to be a man.

Fathers have to lead by example.

Annoyance....

2009-04-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but in my neighbourhood, at least once (if not more) in any given two week period, we encounter them.... The energy peddling agents. They knock at your door as if they are the first person to ever present you with the idea of signing on with an energy company. No matter what you say, it seems that they will not go away. I guess that is the life of a door to door sales person, "Don't take no for an answer." I have tried polite, and I have tried being rude. Recently, one knocked at my door. If the front door is closed we just ignore it, but this day the door was open. He knew someone was home. I saw him, I saw the tell-tale clip board and the ID badge hanging from his jacket. Of course, he was all smiles. He began his speech and I cut him off. I told him that I had already signed on with an energy company. He kept going in the usual script about wanting to see my bill. I cut him off again. I said, "Look, since I moved to this house, I have been harrassed by what seems like 15,000 people asking me to do this. When I say that I am done, then I'm done." I was angry. I can't stand this confrontation. You'd think that I would be better at it by now. I finished, "...I'm done", and there was Logan right there saying, "Yeah, I'm done too." Ouch. This was one of those moments where you freeze in time for a moment, and realize what just happened. What was I teaching my son? What did he just see me do to a stranger? What kind of example did I set for him? I left the door because the seller was gone. I stopped and prayed, "God, please give me wisdom to know how to handle these people in the future, and help me to be a better example to my son." One thing that I have noticed in being a parent, is that I have to watch what I say. I have a little sponge that repeats everything he hears. If I say things in anger, or that are rude, there is a good chance I will hear those same things shot back at me sometime soon. Thank you God for my little mirror of words.

What messages are you getting?

2009-04-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone that really knows me knows that I am a person that believes in the Bible, and specifically in the account of creation. My purpose today is not to get into that debate. If you really want to get into issues about whether the creationist view is plausible, check out somewhere like Answers in Genesis.

What I want to do is start to play a bit of a game with those of you that read this blog. Everytime you catch a reference to the theory of evolution in the TV or movie or commercial or whatever media you are using, note it and send it to me. I'm not looking for the obvious ones (Eg: a dinosaur show on Discovery Channel), I'm looking for the subtle ones like the dinosaur bone found in Bob the Builder where they say it was from millions of years ago.

See what you can come up with.... Let's all play spot the evolution, but then take a minute to think about the implications of what message is being taught, especially in shows for kids or young people.

You can post them here on my blog or send them to me via email. See who can find some things the fastest.

Review of the movie Fireproof...

2009-03-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Some have noted that in my last commentary about Fireproof, I said that I had not seen the film, but had commented on it. This is true, but now I have seen the film, and have a few comments that I would like to share.

Let me start by saying that there has been a whole lot of improvement when it comes to Christian film in the last few years. I would think that this has to do with the greater access to technology in film and because there is a growing demand and market in the area.

The production team that made Fireproof was also the same company that made Facing the Giants which was the first of this church's movies to catch my eye. Basically, this is a Baptist church down in the states that has a few people that know how to make movies, and a whole bunch of people that volunteer to help them. The results have been quite successful.

With Fireproof they have added star power in Kirk Cameron. Most people will remember him as Mike Seaver on the 80's sit-com Growing Pains. He has made a bold statement about his faith in recent years being involved with The Way of the Master, and his own ministry Camp Firefly. He is also known as Buck Williams from the Left Behind films.

Basically, this film brings us into the middle of a marriage that is in struggle. It shows how if both people want to work at it, and if they will submit to the biblical model for marriage, they can fix their relationship and move forward. It plays on an excellent symbol with Caleb being a fire fighter. It's not that there won't be fires, but that when the fires come you can get through them. With Caleb, he learns that in his job and in his marriage, during the fires, you don't leavve your partner behind.

One issue that this film deals with head on is internet pornography. With the internet, pornography has become something that is far too easily accessible. Too often it finds its way into even Christian marriages. Huge hurt and trauma has come to marriages where a husband's secret is exposed. (http://xxxchurch.com/)

I really enjoyed this film. I think it is something that all who are either married, or getting ready to get married, or even those young people that want to learn about how to find the right person can learn from. Also keep in mind that the producers published the Love Dare so it can be followed by couples.

Defining Generations

2009-03-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

Much of what goes on in the current generation has to do with young people doubting the validity of the the Bible. They have been let down by so many, and in many cases the people they should be able to most trust... parents... pastors... etc.

This is an article from Jim Carattini from RZIM.org that I wanted to share with you. Take a look:

Many years ago I was involved in a conversation with a young mother whose son had recently been caught at school with drugs. Within her lament was the repeated declaration of embarrassment, “How could he do this to me?” “Why won’t kids today just take our word for it?” she cried. Her fiery questions masked a genuinely pained heart.

As she spoke the emptiness was unmistakable. Drugs and promiscuity once captivated her own life, stealing her youth, while forcing guilt and heartache into the crevices of her existence. She described the plaguing questions that led her down destructive pathways, the longings she tried to answer unsuccessfully. Sadly, it became more apparent that the deepest lament in her heart was that she had still not found the answer. She had learned in her years things that were not the answer, but the restlessness in her heart remained. Now she watched as her own son walked down the same empty roads, searching for answers himself, yet refusing to take her word for it.

No doubt, she too, had been pointed in different directions, each offering the tempting promise of better life, a better hope. But we live in a distrusting age. The generation of young people before us is much less trusting of the words and promises of others than previous generations have been.

A recent survey asked people of all ages to describe the single most defining attribute of their entire generation. As you can imagine, factors of war, economic depression, and political unrest were common answers for older generations. But the youngest group interviewed had a response that I still find unsettling, even as I believe it to be true. The group collectively responded that their generation was most defined by “broken promises.” The cynical spirit felt on today’s university campuses affirms the validity of such a response.

When the disciples rushed to tell Thomas the news of Christ’s resurrection, Thomas scoffed at his own friends. “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25). It was undoubtedly a harsh response in wake of their life-changing news. Yet, the gospel accounts note that Thomas continued to gather with these disciples, all of whom undoubtedly remained ecstatic about seeing Jesus alive just days before. Like all of us, intrigued by the hope of a promise, Thomas wanted to believe Jesus was alive. He just needed personal affirmation.

The good news of the gospel for a cynical generation is that Christ does not ask you simply to take someone’s word for it. The gospel accounts depict a truth that confronts us personally, the Christ who demands to know, “Who do you say that I am?” When Pilate stood before Jesus asking if he was the King of the Jews, Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” (John 18:34). Jesus wants more than a simple nod in his direction; he asks you to take his life and find life in his name. He asks that you find him personally. It is a call that has defined countless generations.

To the doubt-ridden disciple, Jesus drew near. “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27). “My Lord and my God!” Thomas cried. Might our own encounters with the risen Christ be equally defining.

What?!? Really?!? Wouldn't want to watch that!

2009-02-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Fireproof.... The movie... I haven't seen it yet, but the content and the promos suggest to me that I am going to enjoy it. My wife has also read the book, and she has been pretty impressed... But two things:

First, I just heard a story about a pastor in this city that went to go rent the film at the local video store and the clerk stopped him at the cash warning him that there was a very religious theme to the film.

So what you mean to tell me is that you can go out to the video store and rent a film with adultery, abuse, swearing, brutal/graphic violence, sexuality, fornication, rape, murder, torture, the occult, witchcraft, sorcery, lying, cheating, manipulation, greed, jealousy or any other of a list of other things and no one will say anything. I have rented several movies in my life and never has anyone stopped me and tried to warn me about the content. How odd? Is that what it means to be a Chistian? You go to rent a film that shows your faith, and it is assumed that you don't want to see that? You must be warned that there is "religious content"? Not sure how you see this one, but I would have called the manager over, and asked if this is standard policy for his store, and pursued the matter until they saw the point. Sheesh!

Second, I heard about a review of the film from an obvious non-believer, where he rated the film as too long, too religious, and not worth seeing. It promoted the idea that marriages could be fixed by believing in God. Sort of a misnomer though. Belief in God does not make a marriage. I guess also as evidence the reporter can point at the church and say, look! The divorce rate in the church is the same as the divorce rate in those that are unchurched. And I guess he would have a point there. But I suggest that this just shows that belief in God does not make a marriage. There is a big difference between believing in God and surrendering your life to what He has for you.

A healthy marriage is based on God, the standard set in the Bible, mutual submission to each other, and submission to God. It is "until death do us part". It takes work. It cannot survive on the warm-fuzzy feelings. There are days where you don't even think about warm fuzzy feelings. It has to be based on the Bible's definition of love. Love is something you choose to do, not something you fall into. It takes work. It is selfless. In a world where we tend to focus on what we want for ourselves out of life, it takes real love to choose to get married. That means that you try to put the other person's needs first.

When it comes to this film, from what L-A tells me, there will be some toes stepped on. There will be some people that will not be up for the challenge. There will be those that will be offended.

Should you be warned about this film? Yes, if you have the guts to face some things, and to take a look at yourself and how you perceive others, then watch the film.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Take a look at that....

2009-01-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing those words. I don't know why they have stood out to me, but they just have. Everywhere I turn, there they are. I hear them. What does it really mean though? There is not just looking involved with those words. There is looking, analyzing, critiqueing, filtering, sorting, resolving, assimilating, accepting, endorsing, rejecting, subverting and taking action (not necessarily in that order). So many things go on with just that little idea, but really it is a big deal. Just going to take a look at that.

What do you just take a look at? What do you analyze, critique, filter, sort in your mind, resolve, assimilate, accept, endorse, reject, subvert and take action on? What kind of person do those things make you? Do they bring good through the windows to your soul, your eyes? Do they help you make your mind match the mind of God? The eyes are the lamp of the body. Do they bring in light? Or do they bring in darkness? Everything we just "take a look at" affects us.

Ever hear someone say, "I'm going to take in a movie"? Well, they are doing just that, taking in all of the ideas and thoughts portrayed on the screen. Does the person watching agree with what is on screen? Should they? Are they able to truly disregard it?

Just something I have been thinking about lately....

Still, after all of this time....

2009-01-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

I have heard about it all of my life... There is a battle going on inside each of us between our flesh and our spirit. Today I watched something happen inside me that should have been a no-brainer. We were out at Wal-mart. We had a few things to pick up. We went through the line, paid for our stuff, rewrapped the kids, and went out to the car. We loaded everything in, and as I picked up Logan, I noticed some buttons that L-A had wanted sitting on the bottom of the cart. My first thought was that they had just fallen out of one of the bags, but when I thought about it for another minute, I realized that it had probably been missed.

Then it happened, my flesh jumped me. I thought, if I don't check the receipt, then I won't know if they got it, then i won't have to go back in. Then I checked the receipt. It wasn't there. They had missed it. I thought to myself that it was only something small, I'm not going to worry about it. I talked to L-A about it, and was thinking that I hate the line-ups at Wally and didn't want to go back in. As if I was thinking all of this. Should have been a simple solution.

I looked over at my sons. That was the thing that tipped me back into reality. What do I want them to see their father do? Should they see him do the right thing, or the wrong thing?

I went back into Wally and faced the line. I was in and out before you know it though. This was the first time in all of my years dealing with Walmart that there was not a huge line-up!

I guess I write this to draw attention to something that I observe among fathers. Many times they want their kids to grow up and be good Christians, but they are not willing to lead by example or do anything to guide them. It is like they want the kid to just stumble upon the truth.

How long will it be before a father that does not attend church runs into the kid that doesn't want to go to church to be like dad? My Dad did that. He stayed home from church when we were little. I wanted to stay home and watch Star Trek on Sunday Morning with Daddy.

Dads have to lead by example.....

2008... down to the last few hours....

2008-12-31T17:16:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to note for the purpse of this blog where things were when the end of 2008 came. What a year it has been! I just watched the year in review on A-channel. So much has happened in Ottawa, and the world.

We sit on the edge of economic uncertainty. We hear of wars and rumours of wars in the Middle East. Canadian troops are still fighting in Afganistan. The Parliament is prorogued until the New Year.

I have to sit and look at me though. Where have I been through this year? I have seen many people make advances in their lives. I have seen others fall back. I have made my own advances, and have managed to keep the falling back to a minimum. Still through it all I try to focus on God and what He has for me. I still have many ideas of things to do. I still feel like there is a lot to do in the city.

As this new season of 2009 begins, I will hold the course and keep going....

Happy New Year all!!!

Question....

2008-11-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

When it comes to raising kids, I think there is always this fear in the back of our heads as parents that maybe we will do the wrong things. I ran across a quotation that Josh McDowell is famous for:

"Rules without relationship equals rebellion."

In light of the way you observe kids relationship with their parents and in light of what things you observe in your own kids' lives, do you think this quoatation applies? Why or why not? (Sorry to get all English class on you all)

Alarm?

2008-11-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago, Leigh-Anne and I were woken up by our fire alarm. That alone would be a bit unnerving to anyone, but for us especially since the house beside us burned down in October 2007. (See “There’s A Fire. Get Out!” on my Facebook page for more info)

I was a little disoriented when I woke up. At first I thought it was my alarm clock. Then I noticed all the lights on and Leigh-Anne scurrying around. Both kids slept through the whole ordeal. Leigh-Anne went around the house looking around to see what was causing the alarm to go off. She told me later that once she verified that there was no fire in the house, she collapsed in the living room. As it turns out, the fan near Logan’s room had a motor that burned out, and began to smoke. No danger. THE KIDS SLEPT THROUGH IT ALL!

Immediately, once I realized that we were safe, I had an idea to write about. My kids slept through the whole thing. It was loud. It was glaring. It signalled danger. They didn’t know it was something they should respond to.

Maybe you’ve seen those news stories about how the noise from a fire alarm doesn’t register in a child’s mind. They are beginning to make smoke alarms that parent’s are able to record their own voice as the alarm. I have seen the kids have a huge difference in the way they respond.

Now what was my point? I got this idea that my children sleeping through this potential danger was like the way young people are being raised today. There are people telling them about some guy called Jesus. People wonder why some swearword would have any effect on them? Many people today don’t think that there is a standard for right and wrong in our culture. Young people hear mixed messages. They don’t know who Jesus is anymore, or they only get some view of Jesus that is skewed by someone that is angry at Christianity. Young people may hear the words, but they don’t tend (unless they actively try to learn about Jesus) to have a good understanding of Jesus.

We, as followers of Jesus, need to take some time in sharing our faith to really explain why we believe. We can’t just sound the alarm and know that people will wake up from sleeping as the fire burns. They have have to understand that there is an alarm before the fire consumes them.

In the Bible, in the book of Acts, there are two situations. At the beginning of the book, Jesus’ disciples were speaking about Jesus in a culture that had all the foundation of Jewish culture. People had seen the miracles of Jesus. It was fairly easy for people to follow the way of Christ.

But as the book continues, time has passed. We see the Apostle Paul preaching to people that had not been a part of what went on in Jesus' time. They had not seen or heard about the miracles. They were from a different culture. That is were we are now. More and more people don't have Christian roots in their family. We have to teach them, not from, "For God so loved the world", but from, "In the beginning".

People need to know yes, that there is an alarm, and also what the alarm is telling them. Be ready to take the time to sit and answer people's questions. Study the Bible for yourself, so you can be ready when the opportunity comes.

The Power of a Supporting Husband

2008-11-05T14:16:00.001-08:00

Having been married for 9 years now, and after observing several marriages over the years, there are a few things that I strive to do as a husband. I guess, let me start by saying that I have been nowhere near the perfect husband. I have had successes and I have had failures. I have encouraged and discouraged my wife over the years. And I have seen marriages where the men do acts of amazing love, and I have been unfortunate to have seen some men crush their wives. (If I was honest, I would have to say that there have been times where I have been guilty of it too.) So as I write, I'm writing as a husband that strives to be a strong man of God, and as a man that wants to help his wife become the strongest she can be. That means being a cheerleader, and an advisor, and a wall to bounce things off of, and shoulder to cry on, and one to gently motivate in the right direction. It's not easy. Sometimes things just don't fit together. Marriage is about two becoming one... Two people, two wills, two sets of ideas becoming one. It takes time and effort.

Ephesians 5:25-29 says:
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.

This is like the husband's commission. It has a pretty tall order to it. Husbands are supposed to lay down their lives for their wives.... to consider their needs before their own. It says that as husbands we are supposed to do what Jesus did. He was willing to die for the church (His bride).

The passage also notes that Jesus prepares His bride by the washing in God's Word. As a husband, I do take some responsibility for helping my wife in all that she wants to learn about theologically. We both sort of pushed through the Bible School thing. It was tough, but I know that both of us are better for it now.

Jesus also sent the Holy Spirit to empower and comfort His church when He went back to heaven. As a husband, I see it partly as my role to be a comfort to my wife, and to empower her to do what God has for her. When I see a talent, or a desire to try something new, I encourage her to the best that I can. I have spent a lot of time listening to ideas she has. I do all that I can to help her accomplish what it is that she wants to do. I am her biggest cheerleader (no, I don't dress up in the little uniform :) )

When it comes to comforting her, I keep my shoulder there as one that she can drench with tears, or just snuggle into. Some suggest that when it comes to issues and feelings, women feel things much more deeply. Imagine a rock. If you put it on the back of a rhinoceros, it would barely feel it (like most men). If you take the same rock and put it on a butterfly, it will crush it (much like many women). I try to be understanding to the things that my wife thinks and feels. I admit though, that sometimes I don't always understand why she feels that way she does. Sometimes, it is best to just listen, and not try to solve the problem.

As my pastor would say, "Happy wife, happy life." I fully agree. If happy is defined as being close to God, and feeling safe and secure in life, then if my wife is happy, many other things fall into place.

Three words that i think men forget once they are married are love, honour and cherish. People that renew their vows are amazing! All married people should do that. To love someone is not about a fuzzy feeling you get when they are around. It is an act of the will. I do get that fuzzy feeling with my wife, but I cannot rely on that to tell me if I love her. I love her because I choose to. To honour her is to treat her with respect, and to put her before myself. I need to learn sometimes to have more patience, and to treat her like my queen. And to cherish means to value something very highly. Sometimes I have not valued the woman that God had for me. God hand picked her for me, and had plans for me to accomplish with her. We are working together.

In the end all of this can be summarized in being selfless. I can give to her, and love her and encourage her, and not expect anything in return. But she loves me too, and so she tries to do all of the stuff I have been talking about for me as well.

Marriage is for a long time.... true marriage. I just pray that more men step up and take the responsibility that they should with the selfless love of a husband. They need to support their wives. They need to bring the best out of their wives until death do them part....

Just little things....

2008-10-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I have posted and I wanted to write something again. My problem has been that I get these moments of insight and I don't have a computer with my blog nearby. I was thinking this morning as I was walking into work about this sermon I heard where the preacher (Michael Rowan) spoke about something that he called the "Unsanctified Slide". It was the idea that where a parent lives in their walk with God, and with compromise that the children will follow along but farther behind. The number of times I have seen a parent that smokes say that they would never want their child to smoke, and then their kid smokes, is ridiculous. Parents, our kids follow our example. Recently I lost my cool with Logan. I snapped something at him, and with what I imagine is the same face that I had and with the same voice tone he yelled back at me. Parents, our kids follow our example.

Then I was thinking that there are some areas that I really need to tighten up on with my life to set an example for my kids. Do I want them to think that it is ok to lose their temper at the fall of a hat? No... Then I have to control mine. Do I want them to treat women with respect? Then I have to set that example with how I treat their mom.

God put his finger on some little things.... or so I thought were little things, and then I ran into this article. These are all things that I know, but they have not always been something that I have lived. Winkie Pratney speaks about how a true test of our faith does not come when we are at church in a mode of prayer and worship, but in the times where the unexpected happens. Some Christians will rip the face off of someone that they are playing a sport against. Traffic jams are an excellent test of patience. But those are just little things right?

Harmless Petty Sins? -- J.M. Njoroge

"A familiar fable tells of the hunter who lost his life to the leopard he himself had saved as a pet for his children when the leopard was just a cub. The moral of the story can be deduced easily from the title, Little Leopards Become Big Leopards, meaning that sin is easier to deal with before it becomes a habitual practice that eventually defines our lives.(1) Though the story as it stands is a beautiful illustration of a profound truth, there is a deeper lesson regarding the nature of sin that is easily concealed by this line of thinking and which, I believe, lies at the very essence of our call to Christ-likeness. The problem is that the parallel between little harmless leopard cubs and little harmless sins can be dangerously deceptive.

Whereas leopard cubs are indeed harmless, there is no stage of development at which sin can be said to be harmless, for individual acts of sin are merely the symptoms of the true condition of our hearts. It is not accidental that the call to Christian growth in the Scriptures repeatedly zeros-in on such seemingly benign “human shortcomings” as bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and malicious behavior (Ephesians 4:31). In his watershed address, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus placed a great deal of emphasis on lust, anger, and contempt; behaviors and attitudes that would probably not rank high on our lists of problems in need of urgent resolution. Armed with firm and sometimes unconscious categories of serious versus tolerable sins, we gloss over lists of vices in the Scriptures because they seem to be of little consequence to life as we experience it.

But when we fail to grasp the subtleties of sin, we run the risk of rendering much of biblical wisdom irrelevant to our daily life and practice. While we appreciate the uniqueness and necessity of the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf, his specific teachings can at times appear to be farfetched and the emphasis misplaced. Does it not seem incredible that the God who made this world would visit it in its brokenness, dwell among us for over thirty years, and then leave behind the command that we must be nice to each other? Can the problems of the world really be solved by having people “turn the other cheek” and “get rid of anger and malice”? To quote a close friend, “Hello!”

Unfortunately, those “little” sins are not only the mere symptoms of a much bigger problem; they are also effective means of alienating us from God and other human beings. How many careers have been ruined only because of jealousy? How many people have been deprived of genuine help as a result of the seemingly side-comment of someone who secretly despised them? How many relationships have been destroyed by bitterness? How many churches have split up because of selfish ambitions couched in pietistic terms? How much evil has resulted from misinformation, a little coloring around the edges of truth? And have you noticed how much we can control other people just through our body language? From the political arena to the basic family unit, the worst enemy of human harmony is not spectacular wickedness but those seemingly harmless petty sins routinely assumed to be part of what it means to be human.

According to a NASA scientist, a two-degree miscalculation when launching a spacecraft to the moon would send the spacecraft 11,121 miles away from the moon: all one has to do is take time and distance into account.(2) How perceptive then was George MacDonald when he uttered these chilling words, “A man may sink by such slow degrees that, long after he is a devil, he may go on being a good churchman or a good dissenter, and thinking himself a good Christian”!(3) Similarly, C.S. Lewis warned that cards are a welcome substitute for murder if the former will set the believer on a path away from God. “Indeed,” he wrote, “the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”(4)

Now the decisive path out of this quandary is not just a greater resolve to be obedient to God. Such a response is usually motivated by guilt, and the duration of our effort will be directly proportional to the amount of guilt we feel: we will be right back where we started from when the guilt is no longer as strong. The appropriate response must begin with a greater appreciation of the holiness of God and a clear vision of life in Him. It is only along the path of Christ-likeness that the true nature of sin is revealed and its appeal blunted. Yes, brazen sinfulness is appallingly evil and destructive, but it only makes a louder growl in a forest populated by stealthier, deadly hunters masquerading as little leopards. It is no idle, perfunctory pastime to pray with King David:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
And lead me along the path of everlasting life (Psalm 139:23-24)."

(1) For example, Paul White’s, Little Leopards Become Big Leopards, published by African Christian Press.
(2) John Trent, Heartshift: The Two Degree Difference That Will Change Your Heart, Your Home, and Your Health (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2004), 17.
(3)George MacDonald, in George MacDonald: An Anthology by C. S. Lewis (New York: Dolphin Books, 1962), 118.
(4) C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, in A C.S. Lewis Treasury: Three Classics in One Volume (New York: Harcourt & Company, 1988), 250.

I don't care....

2008-09-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

I just had this thought one day recently when I said to someone, "I don't care...". I don't know why that particular day was any different than most, but for some reason, I guess God saw me as teachable. It wasn't just that one incident that I thought about, but as I kept going with my day, and the days that came after, I ran into the idea of the "I don't care" in several places. I'm a Christian. Should I not care? Any act of love should come because I do care.

A Christian friend of mine was at his job. I watched a few times as he interacted with his client. He had become so frustrated with his clients that he was to the point of the "I don't care". But then that raised some questions in my mind. How would the person that he was interacting with feel? How did that represent the job that he was doing as a representative of the company he was working with? How did that reflect on the people that might know him as a follower of Christ? How would Jesus be represented by him with the "I don't care" attitude?

Not to point a finger because then I started to notice the "I don't care" in areas of my life. My son would whine something that he wanted to do, and in exasperation I would say, "I don't care....". Something would come up between my wife and I, and there were those little words again, "I don't care".

What does "I don't care" really mean? If you think about it for a minute, it is so selfish. I don't care. You are sharing something with me, or you are expressing an idea to me, and I couldn't care less about what you think or feel. What I want is what matters. I have pushed aside your thoughts and feelings with little or no consideration. It is all about me getting what I want. ME!

So I had some self examination to do. I had to pray about patience. I had to pray about learning to love others AGAIN. Some things will just always be something to learn over and over. I had to pray for wisdom to try to learn tact when speaking into people's lives. Some people will hear, but others just KNOW that they know everything. I'm just learning in so many areas, but I have learned so much in my life through my own mistakes and experience and that of other people.

In reality, I DO care, or I would not do so many of the things that I do. I live through a lot of frustration for the cause of Christ. Working with people can be trying at times. They all have their own agenda. Getting people to support a common goal is tough. Showing them love and caring about their well-being is incredibly hard. Sometimes in frustration when we say that we don't care, we need to really stop and see that we DO care.

Just some thoughts....

The CRY: Abortion

2008-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

A key issue surrounding the CRY this time was that of abortion. It wasn't really what all of the event was about, but there was significant discussion and prayer about this issue.

One of the men on the worship team got up, identified himself as a Catholic, and went on to tell his story about how he pressured his ex-girlfriend to abort her baby (his child). She plunged into depression and drug addiction after her abortion. He talked about the difference that he now saw in life. When his girlfriend was pregnant, he was not just a potential father, he was a father already.

During a part of the day where the First Nations people were doing some prayers, one of the women that stood on the platform told us a story about her mother. On the day JFK was assassinated, her mother was on her way to abort her baby. She was so distraught about all that was going on with the President, that she went to her sisters house. In the process of speaking to her sister, her plans to abort her baby came up, and her sister was able to talk her out of it. The woman telling the story identified herself as the one her mother was going to abort, but she chose not to. This woman felt that God had restored her mother. She was born on Mother's Day.

The most poignant part of the day with respect to abortion was that of the Life Siege. All the people on the Hill were given a piece of red tape with the word Life/Vie written on it. We all took it and taped over our mouth with it. The idea was that we were silently praying on behalf of the unborn. It was very symbolic and moving. For 15 minutes we prayed in the direction of the Supreme Court. 15 minutes was towards the House of Commons, and 15 minutes was in the direction of the Senate. Several people were deeply impacted. Several people had old wounds healed. Leigh-Anne took some very cool pictures.

The next day at church we found out about someone that was deeply touched by the experience. He was asked to share what he had gone through in the past. He was impacted by the man that stood up and spoke about being a father already. In this man's life (the guy from my church) he had gotten into drug and alcohol addiction. He admitted through tears about having pressured 4 women into abortions. He found comfort in the fact that he would see those innocent children in heaven. "Honey, when we get to heaven we're going to have 6 kids", he said as he left the platform.

One thing that this giving the Order of Canada to Morgentaler has done is remind people how they feel about abortion. It still hurts. It still brings a sense of injustice. People seem to have such a passionate view one way or the other. When we live in a country like Canada where there is no abortion law, the church must stand up on behalf of those that cannot speak for themselves... the unborn... the innocent...

Sometimes you just need a good CRY!

2008-08-24T19:11:00.001-07:00

I was involved with something on Saturday August 23rd, 2008. It was called the CRY. It was about young people of the Christian faith getting together to pray and cry out for Canada. Some may read some of what I write about over the next few entries, but these will be some of my reflections of what I saw and experienced.

The body of Christ has a chance at true unity. I saw and was a part of this event. Involved also were people from other evangelical churches, people from other parts of Protestantism, people from the messianic Jewish community, and people from the Catholic church. There were French, English, Metis, Inuit, and other First Nations people. There were national leaders, a letter from the Prime Minister blessing us in our event, and a minister of Parliament.

All people cheered on, and prayed as Jesus was preached, and as issues like abortion, and pornography were prayed against, all in attendance for the Rally agreed. We began the day on the Quebec side, in Jacques Cartier Park, and part way through the day we marched across the bridge to Parliament Hill.

I saw people praying from deep within them. I saw people praying in symbolic ways (One woman had a small Canadian flag and a Quebec flag and was praying over them. Several First Nations people came in full dress that they had consecrated to God. Their stories were incredible.) We did something called a Life Siege (which I will talk about in a different post), and we got burned to a crisp in the heat. (I look like a raccoon)

My point for this post is just to say that if that diverse of a group can meet together to pray, and seek God for Canada, then why not all of us. People put aside their differences and worshipped God. We all do things a bit differently, but God is not wrapped up in a denomination. His church is those that follow after Him, and choose to follow after His example.

More soon....

Wow... That was loud!

2008-08-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Let me just begin by saying that this entry may end up all over the place.... much like my Friday night to Saturday morning.

Sometimes living Infuzion is about having ministry events that are a bit of a calculated risk. We had an event with the girls from Infuzion. We called it "An Evening of Honour". We had the girls that were available sleep over. Leigh-Anne had some crafts for them to do. We played some video games. We watched a movie. We ate pizza and chips. I guess we never did get to the nachos (Sorry M)

I saw this as a positive event, and I think there were a lot of issues spoken of (mostly in our fun time), and we got to know each of these young women better. They all have such potential and such energy. We also had some time to talk to them about the way our culture tries to define what is beautiful, and then we talked about what the Bible said about what true beauty was.

1 Peter 3:3, 4 says:

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

There was quite the discussion from all of them about how people at school were, and how people were treating others and how people responded to feedback on clothes and peer pressure to dress in certain ways. This is just the first of many ways to reinforce that it's ok to try to look your best, but if your character stinks, how do you take a shower to get rid of the AO (Attitude Odour)?

There were a few points where I sat and thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?" There was screaming and giggling and laughing and they loved Casey's toys. These 9/10 ish girls kept playing with toys aimed at a 6 month old child.

At one point the room sort of took control of itself. There were markers being used to draw mustaches on each other. Some of the drew armpit hair in. Some wrote words on their arms. Good thing they were water based markers. It took them a little bit of time to get them to clean off. Some wanted to go outside and show people. We nixed that idea.

The decibel level in my house with that many girls was incredible! How could such tiny people make such huge noise? They worry about the weirdest things. They rearranged who they were going to put their sleeping bag beside several times. They were fascinated by Nestea water-bottle crystals. They like extremely plain pizza. They don't like popcorn. They have siblings that drive them nuts, but still they love them. They loved my swords and lightsabers. They were ok at Wii Bowling, and seemed to struggle with Mario Kart Wii. They loved the little glow in the dark bracelets we gave them. They love to express themselves. They all wanted our attention at the same time. They got along. Put Logan or Casey into the middle of it and the energy was greater. Casey sort of wanted to stay back out of it though. He was best, just off sitting with Mommy or Daddy. He had this look on his face that just expressed confusion, and uneasiness. "Mom, you never told me that the human voice could be so loud!"

I think there is really no way I can express all of what I saw this weekend. I still shudder to think that at some point I will be crazy enough to do that again. It was fun in a scary kind of way.

Leigh-Anne and I spent time loving and pouring into each of them where they were at. What an incredible group of young women! Get ready world, here they come and you better brace yourself!

Millions... Of years.... Ago.... (Let's all bow together)

2008-08-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, we took Logan to the Museum of Nature, you know, the castle museum in downtown Ottawa. We thought it would be a good thing to take him to see. He loves dinosaurs. He loves animals. There is a lot of the building that you can't even get into right now. They are doing a big renovation of the museum. It does look like it will be very cool when it is done.

I found the place very disturbing though. For those that don't know, I tend to lean towards Intelligent Design or even Biblical Creation as the theory of choice for the origin of the universe. I have been studying the issue for about 20 years, so it is not that I haven't run into these things before.

I guess what got to me was that several million dollars were being pumped into this place for the "worship" of the theory of evolution. There were several things that I saw that threw out the caution flags in the way that some of the things were presented. Maybe it is me being the natural skeptic, but if you want me to buy into this whole theory of evolution, you're going to have to show me some good solid evidence. With the way that museums are done now, you never know what things are real, what things are replicas, and what things are diagrams or models from someone's imagination to illustrate what they think MIGHT have happened, but is presented as what DID happen.

The dinosaur display was much better than when I was a kid. It used to be one small room with some bones around the outside and a main skeleton in the centre of the room. Now there are three or four main rooms. One has some extrapolated replica dinosaurs, one has some "transitional" skeletons. There was an elevated area with more "prehistoric" stuff, and there was a big room with some INCREDIBLE skeletons.

So much of it was presented as fact, when there is NO WAY anyone could "know" what happened millions or billions of years ago.... if such history even existed. No matter your worldview about origins, it comes down to faith and our best guess based on what we can see today. I was disturbed to see some people just swallow the whole thing hook, line and sinker. Where is the skepticism that they would have put forth if they were in a creation museum? Where is the critical thinker?

Let me be honest. I believe in a literal 6 day creation 10,000 years ago. I have answered several questions that I had in my own mind, and I still have many questions to find answers to. My faith is in the Bible.

Most of this debate has nothing to do with where people think that they came from. It seems to focus more along where you want to live your life on the line of morality. No God = no rules (But don't let me catch you saying that there can't be a God because of all the evil in the world though.) God = He makes the rules. And people have several different views in between.

Anyways... Think... ask questions.... Don't assume that a museum designer has it all. Textbooks are rarely accurate. I can remember my science teachers telling us in class that things were not correct in the textbooks. There are many perspectives.

Oh, and I can't stand that "Darwin" sticker that makes fun of the Christian Ichthus fish. One of the staff members at the museum had one.

I have a theory…. Has sex become God?

2008-08-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

People in our culture worship sex. Sex has become God, and it seems that the more secular the culture gets, and the farther away from relationship with God the society gets, the more it puts sex in God’s place. The more people put faith in a Godless creation and strengthen evolution’s hold, the less value there seems to be on life. It is a slippery slope. If people believe there is no God, then things that just a few years ago were respected, are just walked over and trampled under foot. Things that used to be considered sacred no longer muster the respect that past generations gave them. If there is no God, and nothing is above the human race, then why bother? People then are free to pursue pleasure for pleasure’s sake.

Sex seems to be the pleasure of choice for most that live in this world view. All things revolve around the lead up to the next time (or the first time) and there seem to be few rules. Practice safe sex. What does that really mean? If you live in the worldview where sex is a toy it means that you wear a condom to be safe. If you live in the Godly worldview then safe sex means waiting until you are married and staying faithful to one person (of the opposite sex) until death do you part.

Look at all the things around, and how much money is made or spent around the sex act. TV commercials thrive on the slogan “sex sells” and it really does sell. People see no problem with indulging in lust as they view a person half naked for a shower soap commercial. Gum commercials seem to focus on having fresh breath only so you can “make out”. Is that the only time people should have fresh breath? What about when in a car beside someone driving? What about after eating onions? What about when you are praying with someone? There is nothing like praying with someone that seems to edge on the whole Hallelujah Halitosis.

Some of these body spray/deodourant commercials should be sued for false advertising. Most people wear deodourant. Of all of those people, how many people have had some perfect stranger go running at them in pursuit of “sex now” when they walk in the room? How many of them have had some random person start dancing inappropriately in the grocery store to get their attention? Come on!

Now there is an ice cream company on the radio that does a whole monologue where they insert the product name in where they imply you should replace it with the word ‘sex’. How desperate are they to sell their ice cream? Can ice cream really be that powerful?

New technology is almost always used as a part of the worship in the lust for sex. I think at one point I had heard that the Internet was 80% pornography. I know that number has gone down since then because other companies and businesses have gotten online, but still it is tough to navigate the web without running into an ad for a screensaver with a woman in a swimsuit, or a link to a dating service marketed on it’s ability to find people one night stands. You can’t really predict it. As a man striving to do things God’s way shutting down a window becomes an art form in speed. I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a woman…. I think I read that somewhere before (Job 31:1)

Let’s not even get into the really trashy stuff that is on the net. Suffice it to say that the junk is out there. People can’t get enough of it. Young women ruin their lives for a bit of money… How sad! Some think that it is a good way to pay for college, and end up selling themselves like prostitutes. They think they are safe because the man is on the other end of the webcam watching in carnality. Safe sex? Or virtual prostitute? Too bad virtue was not on either of the minds of the people involved. Magazines, sex toys, movies… The list just keeps going on. For those that have seen, and have come to salvation, they wish they could burn the images out of their mind.

There are so many other things people do to chase after the ultimate sexual experience. Certain foods are supposed to enhance their performance. Pills, which seem to be advertised daily in junk e-mail make the process last longer some say. The right alcohol mix in some gets the process started.

TV shows broadcast it like people can have sex with anyone, and there are few consequences. Don’t even get me going on the topic of soap operas. One musician put it, when describing soaps, “Every immorality known to man, done by everybody, to each other, every day, all within and hour… Hey what a deal!” He was being sarcastic of course, and was in no way endorsing soaps. Sometimes the shift in morality is subtle. Shows that begin as wholesome slowly over their 7-year-run get darker and to keep ratings up, add sensuality. Sometimes it is overt, and sudden. Dive for the remote! (Those of you that choose not to worship the god of sex)

Forty years ago there was a shift in the culture. In 1967 there was a shift towards free “love” (more in the line of lust and sex outside of God’s plan), and towards sexuality that was open, flagrant, without limits. The Bible, in the 10 Commandments says that we, as people, are not to have any gods, before God (Yahweh, the God of the Bible), and that we are not to make idols to worship. Most people when they think of the idea of an idol, they think of something out of an Indiana Jones movie, a little gold statue, or a Buddha with his big belly to rub for luck, but really what is an Idol? It is something set up to worship, that takes the place of the real God.

As people moved from the idea of worship of God, and from a close relationship with Him, other things fell into that place of worship. In 1962, kids prayed every morning in the classrooms of the United States. “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and beg for thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.” They prayed that every day. In Canada, I can remember back in grade 3 and 4 (in the early 1980’s) praying the Lord’s Prayer every morning in my classrooms. I can remember receiving a New Testament in my Public school classroom in grade 5. (From what I understand, they still receive the New Testament in the Catholic school board, but they are not allowed to read it in class, and in the public school board, young people have to have their parents sign that they want the New Testament, or they don’t get it.) If it wasn’t so serious, it would be funny… “Dear parent, we request that you respond to this letter. A group of people will be distributing a piece of religiously specific literature in the classroom next week. Do you consent to your child receiving this book? We cannot name the item as it does not comply with the school’s code of tolerance. Suffice it to say that it is not Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist….” The reply goes , “Dear school, I do consent to my child receiving this book if nothing else but to figure out what the heck you are talking about.”

Slowly, but surely there does seem to be a push to remove the traces of the Christian roots of Canada. There is a strong Christian root in this… in our culture, and there are pieces of evidence for it all over the place. History books are filled with people motivated by their faith, that set the moral standards of our culture in government, in business, in education, and in the arts/media.

But now there is a strong push for all things Christian to be removed. We live under things called tolerance and political correctness. All religions are acceptable EXCEPT Christianity. All things religious have been pushed and manipulated into “That’s just your philosophical view”, or “No one can ever know if they are 100% right, so my view is just as valid as your view.”, or “That may work, for you, but this works for me. I have a god I am ok with. You worship your god, I’ll worship mine.” Listening to Josh McDowell recently, he spoke about the process that a pilot goes through before take off in their plane. Can they ever be 100% sure that the plane will not crash? Obviously, no. But does that mean that they won’t check out the plane before they take off? Definitely, NO! When it comes to one faith versus another, would you check out the facts and the evidence to see if what you are going to believe in is true? Or do you have it backwards, and say that something is true because you believe it?

Listening recently to a preacher named, Stuart McAllister as he was addressing this idea that far too many people have about the truth not being attainable. His attitude was that finding the truth is hard work. Just because something is hard, it doesn’t mean that it should not be done. So what has been the result of the sexual revolution? What is the result of the worship of sex in this culture? We do have to face the truth. Of the people that read this, and try to live a life as God would have them live it, how many have been exposed to the following terms? Tantric sex, safe sex, casual sex, sex toys, cyber sex, softcore porn, hardcore porn, internet porn, adultery, infidelity, rape, date rape, spin the bottle, seven minutes in heaven, sympathy sex, one night stand, cheating, emotional adultery, flirting, kiss on the first date?, sleep together on the first date?, blind date, lust, abortion, AIDS, sexually transmitted disease, French kiss….. I could go on and on with this list, but I will stop there just so that nothing gets too vulgar. Even those that have lived a life waiting until marriage will encounter many of these terms without trying.

Since there is a push to remove genuine relationship with God, and to experience His reality, the shift has now moved to the worship of sexuality, and in many cases with little or no thought about the consequences of the participants. If people do not have a framework of right and wrong, then they tend to move towards depravity. They indulge in lust and selfishness. When all they see and watch focuses them on having sex, getting sex, finding someone to have sex with. What good reason do they have to abstain if there is no God?

I wholeheartedly believe that the evidence of life points towards a God, and the history and archeology seem to point to the God of the Bible. On the other hand, Sex is what most people believe is the ultimate in human experience. Diving into sex with no understanding of the depth of intimacy it is designed by God to have, and not knowing the rules He set up for our safety has lead many people to great hurt and disillusionment.

Who would have thought that I would be hearing about the idea of “Making Out” being applied to someone in grade one, or to a girl of the age of 12 getting pregnant? The shift that has been moving slowly for decades is hitting our culture hard. Let’s go through some of the history of it….

In the late 60’s there was a big shift in culture. The sexual revolution began. It was all about free love, and empowerment of woman to be able to be sexual and overt like men were. The thought seems to have been to bring people closer together by being free with sexuality. It abandoned the ideas of their traditional parents who still believed that right and wrong were unchanging. The young people moved towards the attitude that said, “away with right and wrong, just ‘love’ everyone”! But what was love to them?

The 70’s had the repercussions of the 60’s. People still saw marriage as the right way to go, but there was some allowance for sex with people that you loved. Watching some 70’s TV in reruns and understanding more now than I would have back then, I see this attitude of guilt in it. People were having sex outside of marriage, but there was also this attitude that they had to hide that they were doing it. They knew it was wrong, but did it anyways. The idea of homosexuality seems to have crept into TV in this decade too. Absolute truth seems to be only held by Old People, and young people on TV agree with their elders to their face and then behind their back do whatever they want.

The 80’s are huge with terms like ‘common-law marriage’, and ‘casual sex’, and you start hearing about young people wanting to lose their virginity. It seems to be a prize to be held to the girl, and a prize to be lost to the young men. Divorce rates edge higher. You see the big push for the woman in the workplace, and children letting themselves in, and being alone until mom and dad get home from work. Relationship in the family moves towards a weaker spot. Women could do anything they wanted except the one thing they really wanted to do, raise a family, and in the 80’s the idea of STD’s got the spotlight. Now there was this super disease that no one knew what to do with called AIDS. Safe sex is the response, not increase in morality… Big mistake.

In the 90’s the Internet really took off. As I was saying above when a new technology comes out, it seems that the sale of sex follows it, and the Net sprouted many new sites to quietly, and with anonymity, hook men (Mostly men, but some women) to pornography. It used to be that people wanting pornography had to go to the corner store and hope for a brown bag to cover up their magazine, or they had to go to the shop on the corner with the frosted window to hope no one saw their dirty little secret. Now they could sit down at their computer, and with a bit of credit card information they could view the images when it was convenient, and they were alone to indulge in the sin of lust.

Internet chatting has become incredibly popular in this time as well, and along with it comes the idea of people chatting either to line up anonymous sex, or for play. The number of marriages I have heard of that have taken a hit from one partner getting hooked into an emotional affair, or people developing a physical affair through chat rooms, is sickening. Marriages have been destroyed because of it.

The 90’s also brought out much in the way of subjective truth (This concept has been around for a long time, but really got a push in the culture in the 90’s… oh, and wait to see the push in the new millennium.) Basically people seem to think that something is true if you believe it, rather than (the more logical) I want to believe something because it is true. Of course that opens up the idea that people can be as sexual as they want, with whomever they want, if they are one that believes that their own personal view is more important than what is true. Either God spells out Truth, or man determines truth. Most people want to set up their own set of rules.

When we hit the year 2000, as it was presented in my grade school years, everything became perfect….. Ok, so that thought from the 80’s didn’t come true… The new century brought with it more watering down of right and wrong. Homosexuality seems to have come to the forefront. If you believed the marketing, everyone is gay. In reality that community is a small percentage of the population. Kids in my day grew up and assumed that they would marry someone of the opposite sex, where now people present the idea of experimenting to see what you like. I don’t think I have seen women more exploited than in this current decade. Since there is no moral compass to the majority of people, sex is seen as a toy, or a bargaining chip, or a power play to control people. It is really gross when you hear about what some people are willing to attempt sexually for the purpose of a dollar. There is such loneliness in young people, and they congregate in places where they are accepted.

It is also quite gross what people are willing to do for what they perceive to be love. Sex is not love. Love is selfless, and not about what you get out of it, but what you give. The idea that love is selfless has been tossed out by many and more hurt has happened because of this all being backwards. Do you think that if a person is suddenly incapable of the sexual act, that it means you can leave them? Love would stick by them while lust would try to find “a new best friend”. Young women growing up in single parents homes, with little interaction from a father, and with no positive role models of manhood, seem to tend towards throwing themselves at guys to get the affection that they crave.

Movies are the church of the modern world (an idea put out by George Lucas), but what is the stuff that gets produced and screened? It is the stuff that indulges in what the Bible would call wickedness. It is, however, fiction. This world of fiction is intense in stirring up the emotions of people. Sexuality is practiced with little to no consequences, and is portrayed in a way that suggests that you MUST have sex to live. Can you look at a person and be able to tell if they are, or are not having sex? NO! Can you look at a person and tell if they are or are not eating? Or breathing? YES! Over long periods of time people that do not eat, tend to lose weight. Think of pictures you have seen of young women that have anorexia. You can tell. They have not been eating. And why do they have this disorder? From trying to look skinnier, so they can attract people to be able to have a boyfriend. (among many other reasons. I know, there is more to it in many cases)

There is also a push to do things based on what feels good. I hope some people will sit and think about the dangerous nature of doing things based on feelings. Take a simple example… some days people wake up in the morning, and want a bowl of cereal. But yet another morning, people wake up and say, I don’t feel like cereal today, I feel like a chocolate bar. What would happen if they always felt like a chocolate bar? How healthy would they be? Now what about a person that has been ridiculed at school many days in a row? What if they wake up one morning and say, “I feel like killing those people that made fun of me.” How proper is that? (Or as recently a man stabbed another man over 40 times in a bus in Manitoba and then cut off his head. What was he feeling?)

To all of you people that would argue that people all are entitled to their own set of moral standards, and that people have to do things that are right for them, then you have a logical issue that needs to be overcome. If you agree that each person’s view is as valuable as the next person, then you must conclude that when you hear about school shootings, that those young men are heroes! They were following their own code of right and wrong. Obviously, people are not willing to agree with that, so there must be some standard of right and wrong. I guess the problem comes in when it is our personal desire that is the thing that the standard says is immoral. I’ll go back to this soon.

In this time, there seems to be a push on young people aged 9 – 12. It is like marketers know that if they can hook them onto their product now, they will have them for the rest of their lives. From a Christian perspective for a moment, this is also the age where young people are able to most strongly root their faith in Jesus Christ. To those preaching the Gospel, this is an important time in the spiritual development of a young person. It is like how a child, in the first 6 years of their life is developing who they are going to be, so also is a young person in this age for the things of God. (Not to say that people can’t get saved after this age)

There is something called “Age Compression Marketing”. Basically, the stuff that before was aimed at people in their early teens, is now aimed at kids between 9 and 12. Much of what is being sold to them is overtly sexual, but in many cases the young people do not realize what is being sold to them, or the implications that go with the things they are buying. Some of the slogans that you see on the T-Shirts of young girls are things that make me wonder about the parenting skills of these moms and dads that would allow their girl outside with something so suggestive. Really, most of these young women don’t realize the message they are sending out to the people around them. There seems to be a dulling of the importance of sexual purity. Some people don’t even know what that means anymore. When you have the “teen” magazines telling girls that they should not have sex with someone until they are sure that they love them, and you have boys finding their way onto free porn websites getting “turned on” without the effort of love, or the security of a committed, married relationship, this is not a good situation. Sex has become like a toy. Most young people don’t know why they want sex, or even if they want it, but (especially from the perspective of young girls) they do want the attention.

What kind of example has the adult world set for kids? Divorce rates are through the roof, both inside the church and outside the church. Sexual immorality is rampant in the church, and commitment to relationships are sketchy at best. When pop culture keeps emphasizing “just do what feels good” no wonder people violate their marriages. Sex feels good, but it was designed by God for the strengthening of marriage and the building of a family. It is not something that should be shared between all people. Imagine a world where marriages lasted for life, people stayed faithful to their spouse, and husbands guarded their eyes from things that would cause them to lust. I am considered to be the odd ball because I have never been to a strip club, and because I respect my wife by not checking out the “sunshine girl”.

The very act of sex has been reduced to an animal instinct. People use that as an excuse all the time. If you believe that you evolved from animals, then of course the leap to instinct is not far. If you believe that God created you, then knowing that he has established boundaries for sex is a good thing. These conflicting worldviews are always at war. With all of the hurt, and disease, and broken homes and hurt wives from husbands with pornography addictions, and kids learning sexuality in a way that puts them at risk, does it not make sense that something is wrong? Can’t people see it? Rather than dealing with the issue of faithfulness in marriage, people just find ways around the boundaries God set. This is not just a guy issue either. Women struggle with this too.

Even consider the idea of abortion. People have sex outside of the standard God set, and when they get pregnant, they kill the child of their union. Sometimes it is to hide an infidelity, or out of convenience, and sometimes it is just due to a lack of moral fibre. Why should that child be killed for the purpose of convenience? Why should it’s potential be snuffed out. I hear some liberal thinkers argue that there are a whole bunch of unwanted children out there, and that rather than having unwanted children living in the foster system, we should abort them in pregnancy. Somehow I think they misdiagnosed the problem. If people only had sex in marriage, would there be so many people scrambling to hide their sin?

And let’s put all the pro-choice people to the test. This is a little off topic, but I think it bears a look. Recently I was reading an opinion piece written by a doctor suggesting that mothers that know that they are having conjoined twins should be required to abort them. He actually suggested that the government should be given the authority to make the decision that a baby should have to die. This is the opposite side of the coin, and the implications are huge. Now rather than having a mother choose to kill her child, and call it abortion, the government could remove her right to choose and kill it for her. This is not the current law, but was what this doctor was suggesting. How far should it go? Should it just be conjoined twins that this force is there for? What about a Downes Syndrome child? Should they be allowed to live? What about a blind child? To quote an old Carman song, when he was talking about abortion, “It’s selective breeding. We eliminate human life in the name of convenience, like the Nazi’s and the Jews and with the government’s approval.” Why should someone be able to decide the life or death of an innocent child? Just because life may be hard, it does not give people the right to kill. Each life is planned and created by God.

Bottom line, people need to stop worshipping sex, and refocus on the God that gave them life. They need to acknowledge that he is the one that gave people the gift of sex, and he set up boundaries to keep his children safe. Just because something can be done, does not necessarily mean that it should be done. Get you life right. Worship God. The consequences of the worship of sex go beyond the life here. If you live in your sins, you will be judged based on God’s standards.

(After I posted this the first time, someone sent me this to add)

Check out this quote from Peter Kreeft, Catholic theologian and philosopher:

"Where can the world find infinite passion without God? The obvious alternative is sex. Sexual passion is modernity's substitute for religious passion. Saint Thomas expalins that "man cannot live without joy. That is why one deprived of spiritual joys goes over to carnal pleasures" (ST II-II, 35, 4ad2).

We Christians are accused of being 'rigid' in our mind (our doctrines and principles) by those who seek this property only in a lower organ. There are ten commandments, not just one, but the modern mind has only one infininte passion and projects its passion onto the Church, accusing us of being fixated on sex. It's like a teenager on drugs complaining to his parents, who gently disapprove once in a blue moon, 'You're always harping on that!'

Any addiction blinds the mind, including the addiction to sex. Paul Johnson, in his book 'Intellectuals', and E. Michael Jones, in 'Degenerate Moderns' have documented how most modern ideology came from sexual deviants and their deviance."

Rules with no relationship equals rebellion.

2008-07-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is a famous buzz phrase that renown youth speaker, and apologist Josh McDowell is known for. Parents and young people, sit and think about how meaningful the phrase is.

Parents, I was just listening to a Winkie Pratney podcast where he tells the story of a young man that, while he was growing up, had a prophetic word on his life that he was going to sing in front of thousands of people for the purpose of evangelism. His parents (who I believe were a pastoral couple) cracked down hard on him to keep him on the "straight and narrow". Because they were so involved with their own ministry duties, they didn't really have the relationship to be able to parent him the way he needed. The young man rebelled and became famous on the world stage, as a music artist. You can see traces of his struggles in his music, but for a time, he didn't want anything to do with the church. Eventually he did come around. He left his "world stage" band and began a solo career, where his Christianity came through.

It is a tragedy that happens too often. When I was reading through the book, God's Generals, it was disturbing how many times there would be a story of someone doing incredibly well on the mission field, or as a preacher, but they would lose their kids due to neglect and the bitterness that the kids would have.

Ministry should be an overflow of the heart. What you put in your heart is also what fuels your heart. What you get out is a direct result of what you put in. Garbage in, Garbage out. Are you at a point where you think only of yourself? Are you at a point where you consider your family only? Are you at a point of overflowing to others?

Love your kids. Spend time with them, even when you are too tired. I sat and watched the shark special with Logan last night. He loved it! It was about whale sharks. He kept thinking about the Go Diego, Go! episode with the whale shark named Lucy. It was cute. He fell asleep before the end.

I plan on building the relationship with him, and working on building trust with him, so that when the times where rules have to be made, he will know that I have his best interests at heart. It's not that I don't expect resistance from him, but he will know that I love him.

With the hectic nature of our culture with working long hours and doing our best to survive and keep up with the person next to you, we can sometimes get too busy to actually parent our kids. If we don't establish the relationship when they are young, it will be that much harder to do when they grow up. The way I see it, my first ministry is to my family, and then the overflow goes to others. If my family is not in order, what business do I have trying to speak into other people's lives?

Here Comes Trouble!

2008-07-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

We were out clothes shopping for our kids one day. I came across this T-shirt that would have been for someone about Casey's (my youngest) age. I don't know, maybe I am just getting too sensitive as a parent, but I wouldn't want something like that on my son. The message that it puts on my child (even jokingly) is that he is "trouble", that he will cause an issue, or that he is misbehaved. I wouldn't want him to think that he was trouble to his parents. He's amazing... full of potential... a little rough and tumble boy. He's fun.... ready to take on the world.

I was checking my email the other day. I got an email from one of my favourite youth ministries. Teen Mania/Acquire the Fire has a new theme each year. A few years ago it was "Live the Difference". Last year released the idea of "Battle Cry for a Generation". This year's theme was released recently... "Here Comes Trouble".

If you know anything about Ron Luce (Founder of Teen Mania and ATF), you know him as a man of faith, love and vision. His goal is to reach this generation for Jesus Christ. He pours out his energy finding ways to speak to teens in ways that are relevant, and shows then the importance of the Christian life. He also works at training other Christian leaders to do the same.

ATF events tend to be causing controversy more now than in the past years. Often liberal media tries to paint ATF events as "Ron Luce's Army", even though no one attending would agree. People have begun to protest ATF events claiming that attenders do not think for themselves, and that their morality is being forced on culture. There is such a lack of objectivity in much of the coverage, but at least there is coverage.

Anyways, here is the focus. It is all about how living the Christian life will create opposition. Christians are supposed to walk in love, gentleness and meekness, but also speak the truth. It is that truth that people often have strong opposition to. God's Word is the standard the Christian should live by.

Now, being a father and a person working with young people, I hope and pray that I will be able to help my children and those I minster to come to a point where they choose to follow Christ. I pray that they will find the strength of character to live out their faith. As they do I'm sure there will be those that will see them and say, "Here Comes Trouble".

A Beginning...

2008-07-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

With all of the tumult of life, and with emphasis on how busy my life already is, I have decided to add a blog to the things that I do. My wife and I are leaders of a ministry to young people aged 9 to 12 years old. We call the group Infuzion. Infuzion has two basic focuses: 1 - on helping young people move as far along in their walk with God as they are able to understand, and 2 - helping those same young people find and develop their talents and giftings, and then encouraging them in them while they use them to serve God.

The concept is this... When a person is young, like under the age of 6 years old, most of who they are going to be is established. Most call these the formative years. We have a theory from watching others and from our own experience. Those same formative years seem to occur in a person when they choose to follow Christ. I have seen many examples of people that have come to Christ, and then been under some sort of authoritarian church leader, and I have seen some that have come to Christ and then been lead by someone that encourages their flock to become all that they can be. I have also run across many situations where someone comes out of the bad situation, and they still lives unde the negative beginnings of their faith. They never quite feel like they are good enough, or that they can do something that they really want to do.

A person's faith formative years can define who they are going to be for the rest of their life. It can be good, or it can be quenching.

What I want to try to do with this blog is to apply the Infuzion principle to different aspects of life. Infuzion has never been an idea that was meant to just hit the 9 to 12 year olds that we minister to. It is something that all who wish to be Christians should apply as well. Too many people have been squashed by words and attitudes of other people. God should be the one that defines who we are. Wasn't he the one that created each of us?

My pastor uses this little anecdote that he heard at a conference a few years ago. He says that the most valuable piece of land there is, is a graveyard. Think about all of the potential that died with those people... the books that could have been written.... the inventions that could have been made.... the businesses that could have been built.... the sermons that could have been preached.... the songs that could have been sung... all of the things that people could have accomplished but didn't because they didn't reach their full potential.

As a beginning, let me encourage you to reach for those things that you dream of. Try those things that you are interested in. Who knows? You may be incredible at them! Go after all that God has for you. Don't be afraid to try, and yes to sometimes fail. Learn from the failures, and pick up and try again... or even something else. Some people have talents that they have been afraid to use out of fear of what others might say or think. Others have talents that they have not used in years just out of neglect. God gave you those abilites. Go back and use them... refine them.

It is interesting the doors that you can unlock when you just apply these two ideas... Go after God, and use ALL of your talents for him. It is a change when you choose to be Living Infuzion.