Reaching into 2021

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Tomorrow is a new year – the year of the Lord 2021. And I believe it will be a year when the Church sees some major changes as the Holy Spirit moves and reveals the next steps taking us back to the biblical model of the Church and church leadership. 

Many people who have never belonged to or attended a Church will find hope and comfort in joining the community of believers. They will be looking for somewhere to belong that brings them the peace and purpose they have not found elsewhere – especially during the uncertainty of the pandemic of 2020. They will not be believers but they are searching for community and connectedness. They want to belong.

As they join in the activities of the local assembly (fondly known as the church) they will feel loved, accepted, and forgiven. This will allow them to open their hearts to actually discover what it is that those who call themselves believers actually believe. In past decades this was the opposite way around. People would discover what the church believed and then join and belong. However, now the need for community surpasses the need to know the beliefs of the group. So, they now come to belong and in the process of being accepted discover what the local church believes.

So follow the train of thought here as we enter into 2021 and the major changes the Church in general will experience. People will join to experience hope belonging before they believe. However, belonging opens the door to believing. Once they believe and are born again and their heart has been touched by the Gospel of the Kingdom they can then be expected to adjust their life style and behave as a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. Careful, I didn’t say obey the rules and regulations or come under the rituals of the Church. As they walk with the Lord they will discover what the Lord wants them to change in the way they think, live, and relate. They will change behaviour and morals and ethics. They will adjust lifestyle and behaviours. Their perspective will be a kingdom perspective and no longer a worldly perspective. This will be a slow process and a journey of adjustment. However, belong becomes believe which then becomes behave.

As their behaviour changes they will become more and more like Jesus. He will mold them and “make them” as He promises to do. Of course, this assumes they are true disciples and thus following him. The faith journey is one of walking with Jesus through daily events in life and responding to Him as He guides and directs within those events and circumstances. Thus we become more and more like Him gradually changing behaviour, words, and actions as we become more like Him.

So we belong which enables us to come to faith and believe in Jesus Christ. As we change what we believe our behaviour changes and we behave more and more like Christ and less and less like the world. As we continue to follow Jesus as His disciple and we behave in accordance with the changes He is bringing about in our lives we become like Him. Then we can be a part of what He is doing and build the Kingdom and the Church with Him. 

Simple to understand not always simple to accomplish. But this is what we are called to daily throughout 2021 – Helping others to enter into the community of faith so that they can begin the journey by belonging with our help…

      • Belong
      • Believe
      • Behave
      • Become
      • Build

 

Being and Doing 2021

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Many years ago the Lord spoke very strongly and clearly that I needed to realize that I was a human being and not a human doing. That He created me to ‘be’ first and then to ‘do’ second. That He was more interested in my character (be) than in my activities (do). And, that what I do should flow out of who I am (be).

Up until that time I was what you would call a workaholic. Someone who was task oriented. If there was a need I met it. If there was something that needed attention I was your man. I got my sense of self worth from what I did. I gained value from what I accomplished. And, in reality, I did not really know who I was because I did not spend time on the inside working through feelings and thoughts … I simply pushed them down as they were in the way of accomplishing all the stuff that needed to be done.

When the Lord spoke to me about “being” before “doing” I realized I needed to make some major changes. I needed to take personal time and make personal space to get in touch with the real me – who I was on the inside. And that was a very painful process because there was a lot of accumulated garbage in my heart and mind . You know, things like unforgiveness, resentment, anger, bitterness, judgemental attitudes, pride … the list could go on. But, you know what I mean. So I began to wade through the garbage tossing what I could and seeking help to do so when I needed help. 

In the midst of this process – and it took a number of years – I came to a point where I realized that I needed to discover who Jesus saw when He looked at me. I needed to discover who I was “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Who did Jesus say I was? Who did Jesus create me to “be?” Another part of the journey.

So, I was removing the world’s influence and a lot of the pain and clutter from experiences and past relationships… while discovering who I really was based on God’s Word and His plan for who I am. During this process character became a focus along with discovering and experiencing the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Over the years a completely new foundation for my life was laid upon which He then began to build my ministry and what He had called me to do. 

Now I don’t find my identity nor my sense of self-worth in what I do. I find my identity and self-worth in who I am – in my relationship with Jesus and who He has created and called me to be. I know who I am “in Christ.” That’s different than “Christ in me.” And, equally important. 

Out of this identity, knowing who I am, I can then set out a direction for my life with greater wisdom and insight than before I discovered this truth. I can look at the coming new year and determine where the Lord wants me to go and what He wants me to be involved in. And, none of that effects my identity as they are in the “do” category and not a “be” issue. As a result change is much easier; criticism is not personally destructive, I am not devastated when people don’t like me or reject my ministry … I am secure in who I am. And open to whatever the Lord wants me to do. And, because of this transparency I continue to see growth in the area of my character, gifts, calling, skills, and talents. 

So, before you set your goals for 2021 it might be a good idea to review who you really are separated from what you do for a living. Who are you “in Christ.” Then begin to set some goals that enable you to be the best you that you can be. Leave the “do” for later… first things first. Major on the major issue and not on the minor issues.

That will, of course, bring great honour and tremendous pleasure to God, your heavenly Father. 

Goals for 2021

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As 2021 is just about upon us my mind turns to goals for the new year. There are two steps to this for me personally and professionally.

First off, I review my 2020 goals seeing which ones were accomplished, partially finished, or simply never touched. I revamp the ones that were not achieved if they are to be carried forward into 2021. Fine tuning them because I have moved forward in life and made substantial changes during the past 12 months. If they were not accomplished and are no longer part of where I am at and where I am heading, I simply remove them from the list of things I want to do or feel that the Lord is telling me to do. 

Then I add to the list those new goals that appear because of the circumstances I am now facing – such as Covid and being unable to travel. And, I add any new ones the Lord leads me to set for the gift of a new year of life, health, and ministry. As well, any personal goals that I would like to aim for – weight loss, learning to paddle board, trying out new campgrounds.

These are all jotted down on paper or on screen and then comes the time to arrange them and fill in the details of the goal… 

I do this by listing the general categories … 

      • Personal – weight, exercise, rest, reading…
      • Family – gatherings, birthdays, anniversaries
      • Financial – saving, investing, spending, house repairs, budget
      • Friendship – what I am looking for in a friend (another list)
      • Fun (vacation and days off)
      • Faith goals – what I am believing God for 
      • Household goals – repairs, painting, decorating
      • Ministry goals – the call and the message for the new year 2021 
      • Study and reading goals – number of books and areas to study
      • Marriage goals
      • Writing goals – blogs and books

And then filling in the goals for that area being as specific as I can. Of course, a goal can be changed, adjusted, revamped, or eliminated as the year begins and situation and circumstances dictate. These goals are simply to help me to know the direction I am aiming in each of these and other categories. Remember, if you aim at nothing you are sure to hit it. 

I schedule time in my annual calendar for a review and revamp every three months. So, the goals are solid but fluid. Change is inevitable. But the overall direction of life for the year remains the same as determined by the big picture of all the goals together. 

So, much more detailed than …

    • More sleep
    • More music
    • More coffee
    • More books
    • More sunsets
    • More creating
    • More long walks
    • More laughter
    • More hugs
    • More dreaming
    • More road trips
    • More fun
    • More love

However, if this is your first time doing goals for your life and the new year this would be a good start as an outline that then needs to be filled in somewhat.

The Coming New Year

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Well we have managed to get past Christmas and are now heading into a brand new year. So, my thoughts turn to the future and what it is that the Lord would want me to focus on in 2021. Oh, I set personal goals in many areas of my life … financial, relational, friendships, spiritual, family, personal growth and development, and on the list goes. But, before any of that is examined and goals set I first want to know what the Lord has for me to be doing – my involvement with Him in 2021. Once that is settled and agreed to then I can fill in the other areas of my personal life.

Of course, whatever the Lord calls me to focus on is first founded upon the call that is on every disciple’s life. That is to “follow Him” (Matthew 4:19). Our task is to walk closely with Jesus in a personal love relationship. This is a daily walk. And, as we walk with Him we will find Him bringing changes to the way we think, what we believe, and how we live. These changes are part of the process of Him “making us into fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). This is the foundational call on every believer’s life. 

So, I am focusing on building a deeper relationship with the Lord than I have experienced in 2020. Every year I work to do more than stay in touch with the Lord. I work at changing whatever needs to change to deepen my relationship so as to know His heart better and to hear His voice more clearly. Often this means changing routines, adding something after removing something. I try not to get hung up in the structure as it can and does change … different time, different version of the Bible, different place, different approach to prayer, different way of reading and studying the Bible. Everything is up for grabs as these are all just tools to get to know Jesus better. Sometimes we see them as rules – read 3 chapters a day, pray for an hour… But really they are simply tools to build a better and deeper relationship with the Lord. 

Then the second thing I focus on is evangelism or sharing God’s love with others. I first examine the track record from the current year and see what apparently worked or didn’t work. Again, the methods are not sacred, just the message. So, I look at the methods I have used and fine tune some while tossing others and adding new ideas. Then I have a look at what I should be doing to become more effective and even more efficient in this task of winning the lost. This is the mandate of the Church and we are the church. So, everyone of us is called to “seek and save the lost” as Jesus did (Luke 19:10). He expressed it in Matthew 28:18-20 when He said, “Go into al the world and make disciples.”

Only then do I then concentrate on what He has called me to do for Him. I look at my apostolic ministry and see what changes need to be made. Some changes and adjustments are made because of the leading of the Lord. Others simply because society has changed and adjustments need to be made so as to continue to influence and impact the culture. This is much more than the message and how it is presented. It involves the upcoming changes the Lord is making in His Church worldwide and my role in announcing and implementing those changes. After all, this is foundational to the Church that Jesus is building (Ephesians 2:20 and 4:11-15).

So, it is a week of looking back, forward, up and inward as I prepare for 2021. 

If you feel like sharing what you do to prepare for your New Year of life … please comment.

Sometimes the Fire Dies

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The Scriptures frequently comment on living the Christian faith with passion

It is very clear that as believers we cannot be passive

We must embrace the truth and engage with the world for that truth

Jude 3b “I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” 

TPT “(I) felt the need … to challenge you to vigorously defend and contend for the beliefs that we cherish. For God, through the apostles, has once for all entrusted these truths to his holy believers.”

“vigorously defend and contend…” Read more

Christmas Day 2020

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A short prayer …

“After the season is over, the Christmas lights come down, the fragrance of pine dissipates into the air, and the Christmas music no longer plays on the radio, we may ask, ‘What happens next?’ The wonder and awe of Christmas is just a beginning. Christmas reminds us that the babe born in Bethlehem has given us purpose for living, and what happens next to us largely depends on how we embrace our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and follow Him.”

An ancient prayer…

“The feast day of your birth resembles you, Lord

Because it brings joy to all humanity.

Old people and infants alike enjoy your day.

Your day is celebrated

from generation to generation.

Kings and emperors may pass away,

And the festivals to commemorate them soon lapse.

But your festival

will be remembered until the end of time.

Your day is a means and a pledge of peace.

At your birth heaven and earth were reconciled,

Since you came from heaven to earth on that day

You forgave our sins and wiped away our guilt.

You gave us so many gifts on the day of your birth:

A treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick;

Spiritual light for the blind;

The cup of salvation for the thirsty;

The bread of life for the hungry.

In the winter when trees are bare,

You give us the most succulent spiritual fruit.

In the frost when the earth is barren,

You bring new hope to our souls.

In December when seeds are hidden in the soil,

The staff of life springs forth from the virgin womb.”

— St. Ephraim the Syrian

A comment …

We remember the birth of the Son Of God, Jesus, in the crib in the manger in Bethlehem

However, we need to remind ourselves that His birth is directly connected to His death on the cross.

Jesus was born to die – to die for our sins. So, without the cross, the crib really has little meaning.

And, as we look forward to His second coming we remember that He is King and so He wears a crown. 

He was born King … and He died King. He will return as King to rule forever. 

Crib — Cross — Crown – the full meaning of the birth of the Saviour that we remember this Christmas Day 2020

Christmas Eve 2020

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My favourite Bible passage for Christmas Eve … often used at Christmas Eve celebrations around the world regardless of the tradition or denomination a local church belongs to. 

The Scripture: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is from the Gospel according to John, Chapter 1, verses 1-14

This is what Christmas is all about. It is more than a baby in a manger. It is God taking on human form and dwelling among us. He experienced life as a real human being and so, as God, can relate to what we face in daily life. And, He revealed to us the heart and nature of God, His Father. He knows and understands what it means to be human and to live life from our perspective. And we come to know God by knowing Jesus who is God in human flesh.

For those who believe they become the children of God. They are born again. And, God gives them a gift of eternal life

Romans 6:23b  “…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This gift of ‘eternal life’ is not to live forever because every person ever conceived lives forever. So He would not give us a gift of something we already have. The definition for the gift called ‘eternal life’ is found in John 17:3

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

This is truly what Christmas is all about … God becoming one of us so He could experience the life we live. And, God becoming one of us to revel to us who He really is – His heart for us, His nature, His character, and His plan for each one of us as His children. 

Christmas is about “knowing” God … having a personal, intimate, love relationship with the God of the universe. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

It Is No Secret!

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It seems that believers have forgotten that preaching and sharing the Gospel is the call upon the life of every believer. As Christians we may fool ourselves into believing that making money or being liked is more important than the preaching of the Gospel. Success, notoriety, and influence can call to us like sirens, pulling up into their unfulfilling whirlpools. Clever deception masquerades as authenticity, and temptations abound.

We live in a day and age when sound doctrine is being replaced with self-serving ideas devoid of spiritual truth. Churches across the world are dying because they no longer accurately preach and teach God’s Word. It is quite possible that we have arrived at the dreadful hour Paul warned his disciple Timothy about. A time “when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3)

Paul also predicted that there would be terrible times in the last days. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5, he writes, 

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power…”

Does any of this sound familiar to you? To love oneself is humanism. To love money is materialism. To love pleasure is hedonism. All three are major motivations in the world today. Even among believers.

Since its release in 2006, a self-help book titled The Secret has sold more than nineteen million copies worldwide and has been translated into over forty-six languages. The premise of the book is that you can create whatever you want by using the power of your mind. It is a self-centered philosophy that is actually nothing more than recycled Hinduism and New Age folly. Many people think if Oprah endorses something, that makes it okay and truth.

According to the book, to attract your perfect weight you just think it in your mind and then you become it! (Oh, if that only were true — I would have six-pack abs and a full head of hair!) The book also suggests that everyone has his or her own personal genie standing with a “your wish is my command” policy. I want to share with you what one fan of The Secret wrote — not to poke fun, but to demonstrate how far the world has come in creating substitutions for a relationship with Christ:

“The one thing that stuck with me was the Genie. I immediately felt a connection to this concept. I drew a Genie with a handsome face, a look of satisfaction and a perfect body to compliment it. He is there in my room on the wall and he is like the most perfect thing that ever happened to me! Be it exams, practicals, relationship problems, health problems, or just something I am scared of, I just tell it to Genie and believe that he will manage it somehow. After telling my problems to Genie and asking him to take care [of] it, I just stop thinking about it. Somewhere in my heart I feel that he’ll take care of it, and trust me, he has never failed me once! He is my universe, my personal Genie and he fulfills all my wishes, no limitations.”

When I read that testimonial, I can’t help but feel both sadness and frustration that such a simple book could lead so many people astray. Jesus Christ — not some imaginary genie — is real and alive (Ephesians 1:19-20). He is the One who truly cares and asks us to cast all our burdens upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Hebrews 1:3 puts it this way:

“The Son is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

In its futile attempt to be the answer for all of mankind’s needs, The Secret fails to address the most basic reality of life: death! If the Law of Attraction really worked, then no one would ever die, because most people would like to live forever. This fact becomes painfully clear when a viewer of the Oprah show, after seeing episodes dedicated to The Secret wrote to Oprah to “announce that she had decided to halt her breast-cancer treatments and heal herself with her mind.”

It is time to return to the Word of God, the Bible. It is time to discover the truth, God’s eternal truth. It is time to believe and apply the truth to our lives in practical ways. It is time to stand up and declare that Jesus is the Truth. He is also the Way and the source of all Life. It is time to declare the truth for all the world to hear. But first, believers need to move away from teachers who tickle their ears and seek those who speak the truth. Not entertainers who are charismatic and can spin a tale but men and women of God who speak the truth in a way that speaks to today’s world and the problems people in the world face today. 

It Only Takes a Moment

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Every day, we’re looking for meaning. You can see it in people’s eyes in the mall, in the products we buy and never use, in the books that crowd our shelves, in the clothes we purchase that never make us look like we dream. When we encounter the needs of the world, however, we realize we can be part of something more than an insatiable desire to consume. When we get over our pursuit of self, everything changes. The result is a feeling of being undone and this can happen in a moment. 

In each of our stories — somewhere in our journey with Jesus — there is a moment when all our priorities and concerns shift. For me it was my first trip overseas to the former Soviet Union many years ago. It was an experience of being ‘undone.’ Everything I believe came into question. Everything I had been taught was now being questioned. My safe and secure and comfortable Christian faith was beginning to be disassembled and, in fact, quickly torn down. 

In our individual ‘moment’ our identity begins to change. We sense a disparity between what its and what should be. We become dissatisfied with what we have even though we often don’t know what else to reach out for. This dissatisfaction is like a “divine discontent” that causes us to be willing to leave what is as we move towards what could be. And this discovery changes everything for us. It turns our lives upside down.

And, today, in the midst of COVID-19 people’s lives are being turned upside down. Not just in Tanzania, but also in Tacoma and Toronto. God it seems, is not only in the business of changing hearts in Budapest, but also in Boston. In reality this moment, this “turning things upside down” is more than a good idea. It is more than a new movement of the Holy Spirit. It is, quite possibly, the answer to life’s biggest question: What is the point of my life?

Most of us sense a nagging feeling when our souls are quiet and our minds are still. We know that something is wrong with the world and has been for a while. When this ‘moment’ happens, that feeling become uncomfortable and, at times, unbearable. We can no longer sit by and watch the world go to hell. We must engage, interact, and be part of the solution to the problems we sense. A part of the redemption. As a result we no longer ‘fit’ into the old world, the old way of doing things. We’ve seen too much, heard too much, lived to much, experienced too much. And we can’t go back to life as it was. To the ordinary. To our self-centered existence.

Make no mistake; this is hard. This ‘moment’ of awakening is not easy. Our culture is so individualistic and wired for success that we often miss the real point of life. We think it is about self-actualization, about being the best version of ourselves. It’s not. It’s about losing ourselves as we focus outward on the Kingdom and the lost, the least, and the last who need to hear about the King and His Kingdom. 

The journey of any true believer is one of unbecoming. “You must unlearn what you have learned,” Yoda reminds us. Anyone who isn’t willing to leave family and friends isn’t fit for the Kingdom of God, according to Jesus. We come to faith with a front, a mask, a self-assurance. As lawyers, politicians, secretaries, store clerks, teachers and writers, we come proud, as if we have something to offer. But we soon learn how little we have in and of ourselves. We must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and walk in the way of humility, which feels a lot like death. As it turns out, this is the only way to be useful to the world and have an influence in the world for the Kingdom. As the Borg in Star Trek Voyager teaches us, “you can be assimilated” into a new way of life. However, this means that your old way of life must be broken. 

We are in a season of ‘moments.’ Don’t let your ‘moment’ pass you by. Respond to the feeling – the dissatisfaction – with what is. Reach for what is yet to be. It’s right here. And let the process of tearing down happen so that the building up may begin.

Jeremiah speaks to this:

“See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

We must allow this work to be accomplished in us first … tear down and uproot so that then God can plant and build. 

Covid-19 Reminds Me Of…

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The reaction of believers to COVID-19 is often amazing. At other times it is something less than believable as conspiracy theories abound. Theories believed by and even spread by people who say they are believers. And now that a vaccine has begun to be distributed we have all the anti-vaccine people joining with the anti-mask people — again, including believers — to appose what is happening. So different in many ways from the early church’s reaction to a series of pandemics that hit the known world during the time of persecution of believers in the Roman Empire…

I am reminded of the witness of the early church in the Roman Empire. When two great waves of plagues bettered the city of Rome, tens of thousands of people were killed in the gruesome, widespread pandemics. The wealthy and able fled the cities, hoping to survive outside the crowded and dirty city centers. But the Christians? They stayed. There are records of this time, written both by pagan and Christian leaders, which note the Christian response. Eusebius, who was the bishop of Caesarea in 341 AD, recorded that during the plague, “All day long some of the Christians tended to the dying and to their burial, countless numbers with no one to care for them. Others gathered together from all parts of the city a multitude of those withered from famine and distributed bread to them all.”

After Eusebius’ death, Emperor Julian wrote a letter to a pagan priest, complaining that the “impious Galileans” were caring for the sick and dying to such an extent that it highlighted the government’s own inaction. He suggested that the pagan (and government affiliated) priests copy what the Christians were doing. Unsurprisingly, this was not very effective. The reason? The call to die to one’s self for the sake of another is unsustainable without the love and power of a real, eternal God.

Pray with me that the unleaded church will overflow with the same kind of love and practical concern in the face of today’s worldwide pandemic just as the Christians did in Rome so long ago. And may Jesus’ Name be made known because of it.

Philippians 1:9 states, “And it my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (ESV).

Several other translations read:

“My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight.”

And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does towards you!”

It is a great time to be alive and together we need, as the Church, to help those effected by the pandemic bringing hope and the peace of God that passes all understanding to them through the Gospel of the Kingdom. If we do this simple but profound task then we simply will not have the time to follow or to focus on and become involved in any of the conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire and poison and which eventually remove the believers true focus – showing the love of God in practical ways. 

Remember, “God so loved that He gave…” and we are called to love in the same way that He first loved us.