Grains of Sand

blog.codinghorror.com (Google Images) Part of my morning routine is to read through our local newspaper. This morning my eye caught an article by Anthony Furey. Recently the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that an adult of sound mind, but suffering from overwhelming pain, can be legally helped to commit suicide. The government has a year to come up with some kind of legislation to that effect. The article, Suicide and the So-Cons , ( http://www.nugget.ca/2015/02/10/suicide-and-the-so-cons ) argues that “social conservatives” need to stop trying to force law-makers to pass legislation to prevent such things as assisted suicide. Instead, they need to work within society to give people better choices and to persuade them to make better decisions. The term “social conservatives” would include most of us who are followers of Christ. And I have to say that Furey makes a good point. We, as Christians, can’t legislate right behaviour, any more than foreign governments can mandate peace in th...

Google Images It was a case of “halfway.” Matthew 25 continues Jesus’ message from Olivet and His warnings about being prepared for His coming. At the beginning of Matthew 25 He tells the story of ten virgins waiting for the bridal party to arrive. “ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps ” (25:3, 4). It was night and they were sleepy. All of them had lamps but not all of them were prepared for a long wait. Five of the virgins made sure that their lamps had plenty of oil so that when the bridal party arrived they would be ready. The other five were too tired, lazy, or negligent to take care of this detail. When it was announced that the bridegroom was on his way to the banquet, the negligent ones wanted to borrow from those who had been prepared, but that wasn’t possible. The five foolish ones rushed out to buy more oil but while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five virgins who wer...

Google Images Do we detect a little bit of “something” in the Lord’s voice as He looks at a multitude who refused to be satisfied? The Lord likens them to children: “T o what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn ’” (Matthew 11:16, 17). Do it our way, they say. The problem was (one that Jesus recognized easily) that these “children” would not be satisfied, would not respond to the message of reconciliation, no matter what the “packaging” looked like. Cosmetics wouldn’t cut it. Band-aids wouldn’t cover the wound. Jesus’ statement came on the heels of answering a question sent to Him by John the Baptist, who was then in prison. John was a rare character. He had appeared out of the desert. He wore strange clothes, ate weird food, and was in attack mode from the get-go. He was not “politically correct.” But he was doing what G...

Google Images It’s not a pleasant picture. As hard as we work to introduce people to the forgiveness and new life they can have in Jesus Christ the majority will not believe. As convincing as the Spirit of God is as He works to show men the depth of their sin and the sufficiency of the Saviour most will refuse to listen. We are to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) of the nations, but the nations will not necessarily respond positively. Pessimistic? No, realistic. Matthew 7:13, 14 tells us what Jesus said about the matter. “ Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it .” Does this stop us from sharing the Gospel at every opportunity or praying for family, friends, neighbours, and the lost wherever they may be found? No, it shouldn’t. We don’t know who those few are who will eventually find the narrow road and ...

He told them to wait and they did. Jesus had returned to His father in heaven (Acts 1:9) and there they were in the upstairs room, waiting. The eleven disciples were there, (1:13) but others were also part of “the wait.” “ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers ” (1:14). While they waited and prayed, they also conducted the business of choosing a successor for Judas. There were two candidates. To know which one was God’s choice, they prayed together, and then voted (1:24-26). Matthias was the choice—his one and only time mentioned in Scripture. The criteria behind the choice of candidates was simple: It had to be someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry (1:21, 22). We never heard about Matthias in any of the stories left for us in the Gospels. We never hear about Matthias again after he was chosen to replace Judas. We didn’t see him, but God did. He was what 2 Timothy 2:2 calls ...

Our community has the highest percentage of homeless per capita in the district. We also have the highest percentage of live births to unwed teenage moms in the district as well as the highest percentage of drug and alcohol abuse. These were some of the facts that came out yesterday at an information meeting I attended, hosted by the local ministerial association. The focus of the meeting was on the community services available to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the community. That we aren’t doing enough was obvious. But as we heard about, and talked about, the situation in our community, I was reminded of how important it is that our “gospel” be a holistic one. We can’t just look after the physical, mental and emotional and only give a passing glance at the spiritual anymore than we can focus entirely on the spiritual and only give a passing glance at the others. Jesus covered all the bases in His ministry. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out the demons, and dealt ...

Every once in a while I post on other sites besides my own. On occasion I revisit my past when I post these articles—lots of lessons have been learned over the years! A couple of times a month I do that on Journezine , once a month I do it on InScribe and once a month I do it on Jewels of Encouragement . Today I'm at Jewels remembering how important the stomach is to spiritual health. Sound odd? Check it out for yourself and let me know. http://www.jewelsofencouragement.com/2012/01/lessons-from-bread-machine.html

Reading Matthew 13, 14 Bread making is part science and part art. My mother used to make the best bread in the world. I have tried countless times, without success, to equal her. I have used her recipe, her pans, and her technique. But it never turns out like hers did. When messing with yeast, there is no room for cheating. Exact measuring is required. Too much, or too little, salt, sugar, or flour will give you a less than satisfactory product. If the liquid is too hot, or not hot enough, disaster could be the result. Too much kneading, or too little, can have an effect. Even altitude and atmospheric conditions can make a wreck of your bread. That yeast needs the right conditions to produce the expected results. Jesus often used elements that were familiar to His audience to explain spiritual truths. As a boy he must have observed Mary in the kitchen making bread because He knew all about yeast. Jesus said: “ The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed int...

Reading: Zechariah 5-8 You probably don’t expect tips on church growth to be found in the writings of the minor prophets. After all, what do they know about modern outreach methods. The answer to that: They probably know a whole lot more than we do. Take these chapters from Zechariah as an example. God is assuring His people through the prophet that their future is bright. Using the current high priest, Joshua, as His living illustration, the Almighty graphically portrays not only the future of Israel, but gives them a glimpse of the coming Messiah who will be both Priest and King forever. Through this coming Priest and King many from all nations will be gathered to grow His church in the world. That’s basically Zechariah 6. In chapter 7, God speaks to Zechariah in response to a question from some of the people of Bethel. They wondered if it was worth it to continue their practice of mourning and fasting. It’s kind of a “duh” moment when the Lord comes back with his answer. He...

“ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth ” –Acts 1:8, NIV. Have you ever counted the number of times you’ve heard, or read, a message on this verse? We know it by heart, along with its interpretation. We’ve even tried doing it, each of us in our own little spheres of influence. They tell me I used to be quite the little evangelist in the neighbourhood where I grew up. Frankly, I don’t remember preaching to my chums on the street, or playing “preacher” to my doll pack. I remember taking courses on personal evangelism. Methods, programs, plans popped off the printing presses with frightening regularity even in my early maturity. Every one was better than the other, guaranteed to bring in the lost by the boatload–or so it was claimed. I did door-to-door visitation over the summer of my first student ministry assignment. That was another one of the great “mus...

“ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away ” –Matthew 24:35, NIV. We worry a lot about the temporary. During those last days of Christ’s earthly ministry He warned His listeners about what was to come. The first section of Matthew 24 outlines some of the disasters, natural and otherwise, that would be the lot of believers. Actually none of those things was new information. Wars between nations, famine, earthquakes, persecution, deception and unfaithfulness to God had been part of the human experience since the fall of man back at the very beginning of time. However, the Lord did add some new information. The destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple that was so dear to the Jewish nation, was not far away. Jesus also reminded His followers that He would return at some point in the future, but until He did, and they would know Him when they saw Him, they were not to be deceived by the fakes that would come along or by the false prophets who would send them ...

An incident yesterday got me thinking about how we do evangelism. A message was left on the church office's answering machine from a woman who uses our food bank. She was upset. Part of the program of the food bank involves a hot meal and a Gospel presentation. This gal had been offended by the Gospel presentation and called to express her complaint. We know that the Gospel is often offensive to those who hear it. Paul wrote: " For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing… " —1 Corinthians 1:18, When I returned this lady's phone call I discovered that, at least in part, she had been offended to hear that her efforts to put her life in order would not be sufficient to gain her entrance into heaven. She was offended by the Gospel. That part of the conversation didn't concern me greatly because we know, as Paul says, that those who are perishing will not understand. The part of the conversation that did concern me was the fact that t...

I read an interesting, and provocative, article by Meg Crossman* last week. It relates very well to my verse for this morning. Acts 1:8 is very familiar to most believers, but is still one of the most neglected verses in Scripture. Luke writes, quoting some of Jesus' last words before his ascension: " But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth ." Obviously, I'm sold on the Great Commission. God's redemptive plan for a broken world has been his heart and purpose since before the beginning of time. Peter reminds us: " For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last time for yo...

This past Saturday I went to a "Matthew Party." As the name suggests, the host or hostess invites friends, family, colleagues who aren't believers to some event or activity for the purpose of opening the door of opportunity to speak for Christ. It's easy to cast a wishful eye beyond our frontiers, to indulge in the romanticism of faraway, exotic, places to witness for Christ. After all, Jesus said: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" —Mark 16:15. Who am I to argue—I'm thousands of miles away from my own country, doing that very thing. The truth is, the world sits right beside us, lives next door, and shops at the same markets that we do. It might not be so romantic or exotic. But there it is—close and convenient. No one came to Christ on Saturday. This was just the first little wedge in the door. But if we never knock at the door, we'll never know if that friend, neighbour, colleague is "at home" to the Lord.

Saying goodbye always seems to prompt important messages. As heaven prepared to receive its Lord once again, Jesus delivered a message of highest priority to His followers. " Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age " —Matthew 28:19, 20. "Go" Just cross the room, as Bill Hybels would say. None of us have to go far to find someone who doesn't know and love Jesus. Plant a seed for the Saviour. "Make disciples" Discipleship needs an object, a goal, a guru, a rabbi, a master, a God. We go with a message that leads us to a source. To make disciples we need to know well our message and the One who gave it to us. What God has done in our own lives is a powerful entry point. "Baptizing" The first step of obedience comes in the form of a public conf...

It's like a splinter under a fingernail. Why does God bless those who curse Him, those who don't follow Him, those who deny Him? Especially annoying are those people who refuse Him and reject us. He should zap them, shouldn't He? Punish them in the here and now rather than waiting for the thereafter? Why does He bless them, especially when He doesn't always bless us? Our minds are often stuck in the mud of earth, the grime that siphons compassion from our souls. God's view is loftier. He thinks in eternal terms, always working to encourage the wayward to find their way to Him. When we are tempted to lash out at those who defy God and hold us in contempt, it's a good thing to turn our eyes heavenward, think eternally as God does and ask ourselves what we can do to bless those who curse Him and us. What can we do to help them find their way to God? " …I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in he...