Grains of Sand

Pixabay What is it that makes it possible to turn a valley of sorrow into a mountaintop of joy? Psalm 84:11 describes the believer’s journey toward the heavenly Zion as “ the valley of Baca ” or the valley of weeping.  "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion ." “Baca” or ”Bakah” refers to a tree that weeps resin, likely a Balsam or Mulberry tree. In the psalmist’s day pilgrims would pass through what is now considered to be the actual Valley of Baca, on their way to worship in Jerusalem. It was waterless, dry, barren. The psalmist uses the picture of this valley as representative of the journey of life which so often includes sorrow, suffering, and barrenness. But he insists that the pilgrim can turn that dark and difficult valle...

Pixabay A couple of weeks ago our small group was working on a study on the life of Moses prior to his decision to flee Egypt after having killed the Egyptian slave master. But much of our discussion revolved around an earlier decision: Moses' choice to not be identified as the son of Pharaoh's daughter but to identify himself with God's people. " By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. " (Hebrews 11:24) We talked about how difficult such a decision might be and the temptation to try to influence change from "inside" rather than distance oneself by identifying with those on the "outside." Yesterday I discovered that an organization I have been volunteering with has openly endorsed a lifestyle choice that I believe violates God's creative design and redemptive purposes. The organization is a great one on many levels and while I applaud their efforts to help the vulnerable in...

Pixabay "Not a team player." I've heard that phrase several times today as I watched the news swirling around the resignation of a Cabinet Minister of our present federal government here in Canada. It's a phrase I am personally familiar with. Being part of a team is a good thing most of the time. It's efficient and makes the best use of the individual gifts of those who are its members. More gets done. But it can also be a curse when being part of a team means that individual members are not allowed opinions that differ from that of the team leader, when "the party line" must be towed even if it offends the personal values of an individual member. I have no idea "who did what and to whom" in the present scandal coming out of Ottawa. Time will reveal the guilt or innocence of the parties involved—maybe. But the situation stimulated the question: "Who do I play for?" I confess that I like to keep the people around me happy a...

PIxabay Perhaps it was because yesterday was such an extremely windy day here in southern Ontario, that these lines from As You Like It repeated themselves over and over in my head all day: Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude... I confess I don't remember even studying Shakespeare's play in which these words appear, but the lines are engraved in my brain nonetheless. I wonder if Jesus ever felt what William tried hard to express? He lived among an ungrateful people. Their ingratitude was, at least in part, why He had come to dwell among men in the first place. As the sinless Lamb of God, sin repelled Him. But it also drew Him toward sinners so that He could deal with that sin and restore fellowship between His Father and all of us who had rejected His loving favour to follow other gods. But those to whom Jesus came rejected Him as well. Despite that He tells His disciples in Luke 6: "... Love your enemies, do good t...

Pixabay Over the last several months I’ve been a participant in a missions coaching course. Now, as we get to the nitty-gritty and think about what the possibilities and opportunities might be for our church to be more effective in reaching those who have yet to hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the task looks daunting—at least as far as the big picture, the need around the world, is concerned. The specific interest rising to the surface in our discussion seems to be to reach those people who are the most difficult (even dangerous) of all to reach, and those who live in countries to which we have limited, or no, access. Throwing in the towel and concentrating on something easier seems to be an option here. Who are we to think we can make much of a difference under such challenging circumstances? Then Numbers 13 came up on the schedule for this morning’s Scripture reading. Ever have that moment when the Lord taps you on the shoulder to remind you of something importa...

Pixabay “We have an immigration problem! There are too many of ‘them’ and if push comes to shove, they will take over. Even though they have been peaceable enough until now, they will side with our enemies when, and if, the opportunity arises!” Sound vaguely familiar? This is not part of a current news story or a tweet from some paranoid source. No, paranoia and the fear of those who are different is nothing new. This is the Pharaoh of Egypt several hundred years after Joseph died. The Israelites had prospered in Egypt since their migration from Canaan. But it didn’t matter how many centuries they had lived among the Egyptians, they were still “foreigners,” still suspect. Still sounds familiar. The new Pharaoh, obviously not a student of history, knew nothing about Joseph, or the story of how the Israelites had happened to come to this land (Exodus 1:8). The Pharaoh’s reaction was extreme. He made slaves of the Israelites in the hopes of killing them off through cruelty and privati...

Pixabay Canada isn’t really a melting-pot. When I first arrived in Toronto in the 60s I discovered that the church I attended was right in the middle of an Italian neighbourhood. As the years passed the Italian immigrants who had first settled in the area became more prosperous. They began to move north—as a community. Then the neighbourhood became West Indian. All through the city communities within a community were the norm. Not surprising! When my grandparents and great-grands immigrated to Canada they all settled in the Ottawa Valley around Pembroke, principally in a community then known as Germanicus (they, and all their neighbours, were from Germany). “Next door,” in another enclave, lived the Irish. And never the twain were to meet! Immigrants tend to huddle together. They usually share a common language and common cultural norms. They often share common religious beliefs. After a few generations, “melting” actually happens. But every new crop of immigrants begins the “un-me...

Pixabay How many altars have I built in my life? An altar is a place of worship, of commitment, of sacrifice. Noah built an altar when, at last, he and the riders of the great ark were on dry land once again. It is recorded that Abraham built altars at significant points in his spiritual journey. In Genesis 26 Isaac builds an altar as well. This event was spurred by an encounter with God during which the Lord said: “ I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham” (26:24). It is said that Isaac built the altar “…and called on the name of the Lord ” (26:25). An altar is a place of communion, a place of encounter with God. We used to have “altar calls” away back when. Those were moments at the end of a service when the pastor invited anyone who wanted to accept Christ, or make some other significant spiritual decision, to come forward. I responded to one of ...

Pixabay Remember...the Master. People came to Jesus looking to sign up as His disciples. There were times when His fame was such that it would have been considered quite prestigious to be numbered among the elite in Jesus' retinue. Crowds followed Him, hanging on every word, looking for another miracle. Some may have believed the rumour that He would be God's instrument for raising an army and chasing out the Roman overlords. Three such "employment interviews" are recorded in Luke 9:57-62. None of the three understood that the benefits to the position of disciple did not include comfort, safety, prestige, or advancement. As the Lord approached the night He was to be betrayed, He warned those who had become His disciples, and those who would in the future, that discipleship was not an easy road. As He washed His disciples' feet He is recorded as saying: " I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the...

Pixabay Remember...your T-shirt. Back a few years ago WWJD wristbands were in vogue (that's "What Would Jesus Do?" for those of you who don't remember!). The idea was that the wearer would be reminded to ask him or herself that question when faced with any important decision that needed making. Baseballs caps, T-shirts, jewelry, coffee cups and an assortment of other items emblazoned with Christian sayings are all popular with Christians who want to display a message to others, or simply remind themselves of spiritual truths (sometimes spiritual, not always true) in a more public manner. This idea of carrying around your Christianity is not a new one. Back in Old Testament times, God instructed His people to provide themselves with visible reminders of whose they were and how they were to live. For example, take this passage from Numbers 15: The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you...

Pixabay Years ago, while I was still living in Caracas, I had to take Lou Lou to the vet. When they returned her to me after treatment, she was filthy. The smell coming off of her was one "only a mother could love." Over the next three days, whenever Lou Lou came anywhere near her, Abby hissed at her! Lou Lou no longer "conformed" to what Abby recognized as her companion—she was basically just a stinky stranger! As I was thinking about Romans 12:2, I remembered that incident. Let's begin at Romans 12:1. " Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual worship. Do no conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will ." Whenever there is a "therefore" in Scripture, we need to look ba...

oodaloop.com (Google Images) “ ‘But what about you?’ he asked, ‘Who do you say I am?’ ” (Matthew 16:15) It seems like an easy question to answer, and Simon Peter certainly answered it correctly. His response was: “ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God ” (Matthew 16:16). I can’t say whether or not this was your experience but I remember cramming for exams. I’d study diligently, packing into my brain anything I thought might be a potential question to which I could, hopefully, deliver an adequate response. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. It worked enough times to guarantee graduation. The issue always was: How much actually stayed in my long-term memory after I pounded it into my short-term one? Not much. Having the right answer when the question is asked is important. But what is even more important is whether or not the right answer has a lasting impact on one’s life. Many of us can answer correctly the question that Jesus asked His disciples. Many of u...

darrenhardy.success.com (Google Images) Apart from declaring Himself God, nothing got the Lord into more trouble with the religious authorities of the day than what He did on the Sabbath. Right after He had healed an invalid on the Sabbath, John 5:17,18 says: “ Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day and I, too, am working.’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God .” In John 5:19-47 we find a lengthy statement given by Jesus where He clearly identifies Himself as God, ending with: “ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? ” We can recite all kinds of stories about Moses but one of the most famous is the account of how Moses received the Ten Commandments directly from the hand of God on Mount Sinai. I got to think...

gopixpic.com (Google Images) Sometimes (perhaps more times than I care to admit) I am not too bright. I’ve been without internet on my laptop all weekend. I tried all the usual tricks to get it up and running but this morning I was finally driven to call my service provider. The gentleman on the other end began to ask me questions that I didn’t quite understand. I felt a little stupid, but then again when it comes to these things I AM a little stupid. Finally the problem got fixed—it turned out to be something simple—the presence of a splitter that for some reason wasn’t a problem until Friday morning, though it had been connected for years. So as I sit down right now to organize my thoughts on what I read in the Scriptures earlier today I realized that blind spots (a nicer way to say, “stupid”) happen to all of us. In Luke 5:1-11, the crowds have gathered to hear Jesus speak. Because there are so many of them and everyone is pressing for a front row seat, Jesus steps into a bo...

Google Images “Follow us on TWITTER.” “Follow us on FACEBOOK.” Follow the trends. Follow the news. Follow the crowd. Follow the leader. Follow... Everywhere we look something, or someone, wants us to follow. In Jesus’ discussion with the crowd in Jerusalem, He spoke these key words: “ I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life ” (John 8:12). Men are “blessed” with great ideas, usually built around their own agendas and their own ambitions. A following helps them achieve at least the appearance of success. They may even be so bold (and deluded) to promise light and life to those who follow them. But only Jesus can make the promise of light and life and actually keep that promise. Later in the discussion, the Lord speaks more key words: “ If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ” (John 8:31, 32). Light. Life. Truth. Freedom. ...

Google Images Someone commented to me the other day about how pleased she was that I was thinking progressively instead of how my generation is perceived to think. I probably shouldn’t have said what I did, but I commented that my contributions were not progressive thinking but simply reflected something that we had done years ago (before this person was around) and that we were simply doing what we always do; repeating a cycle. Methodology works that way. For all the shifts in the “bells and whistles” we will eventually come back to basics. Solomon once commented that there was nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and he was right. The demands of discipleship have not changed since Jesus' time either. Though two thousand years have passed and we have chosen to ignore much of the instruction given to us, what God asks of us remains the same. Like the cycle that Israel went through, we get on fire for God, then our ardor wanes, then we move into disobedience. God sends H...

Google Images I have an old framed picture left over from my parents’ day that depicts the old English countryside. Coming up the path in front of a thatched-roofed cottage is a shepherd with a flock of sheep. Contrary to popular notion, the shepherd is walking in front of the flock. He isn’t driving them from behind, he is leading from the front. As I read Matthew 4 this morning, I looked closely at verses 18 to 22 which detail the calling of the first disciples. Jesus encounters a group of fishermen working along the shores of Lake Galilee. He says to them: “‘ Come follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people ” (vs. 19). The next verse tells us that they immediately left what they were doing to follow Jesus. This process is repeated with another pair of fishermen just a little while later. A good shepherd leads. A good disciple follows. Obedience is immediate. In John 10, the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is described in great detail. We are...

Google Images To prepare the way for the coming Messiah, John the Baptist, emulating the Old Testament prophets, called people to repentance. He also called them to physically demonstrate their renewed spiritual state by being baptized. It was, to the Jewish mind, a rite of purification similar to that of the priests who were to wash themselves, dress themselves in specially prepared garments and be perfectly clean before they began their priestly duties. “ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River ” (Matthew 3: 5, 6). In some traditions baptism takes place at the same time as a person accepts Christ as his or her Saviour. In other traditions, there are intensive studies and often a waiting period between the time a person becomes a believer and the time he or she publicly confesses that faith. The arguments for or against either position are many. Personally, I suspec...

Google Images We have a prayer list that appears weekly in our church bulletin. The church has a Facebook page dedicated to prayer requests and they pop up in other places as well. A prayer group has been formed to pray specifically for an upcoming event on the church calendar. We pray for healing mostly. We pray that Satan would be bound and kept from “disturbing the peace.” Our prayer lives are filled with requests. Here’s what Paul tells the Thessalonian believers that he is praying for. “ ...we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12). The Thessalonians were going through hard times. They were being persecuted for their faith, a faith that was recognized by others in t...

A cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do! We don’t view Paul as a patient man, but considering that by the time we get to Acts 26, he’s been in front of the Sanhedrin, two Roman governors, Felix and Festus, and one king, Agrippa, to defend himself, we have to give him a gold star. What is it that you people don’t understand here? How many times do I have to tell you before you get the message? Do you have times when you just want to give up, to stop fighting what seems like a futile battle? Then Paul mentions what is to me a clincher of a statement. Acts 26: “ So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ” The vision, of course, is the mandate given to Paul by God on the Damascus Road to go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (9:15, 16; 26:15-18). Obedience to God’s call has left Paul lying for dead outside the city gates, being lowered in a basket to escape his persecutors, in jail and beaten, misunderstood by the Jewish believers and criticized ...