Category Archives: Christian Life

Growing in Grace

YImageou have heard the old saying, “I am praying for patience and I want it now!”  It is so true in many areas of life that what we need to learn only comes as we apply the principle of patience in our lives.  My former professor and pastor often says in regards to people who strive for positions that they are not ready for, “That person has not suffered enough.”  He is saying that we desire that God place us in positions of employment that we have not the maturity nor the experience to handle.Continue reading “Growing in Grace”

Step by Step

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When I first became in Christian in 1978, I knew very little about the discipline it would require to live the Christian life.  Soon after God invaded my life, I was soon met with challenges in my life that I never had before.  Yes, I was now assured of a home in heaven when I died but I struggled with the reality of the battle between my new nature and the old, cantankerous one that refused to let go.

Continue reading “Step by Step”

The Reality of Our Hope

I have discovered that there are few things in life as slippery as the concept of hope.  Have you ever said this or had someone say to you,”Hey, why don’t we get together real soon.” Or, “It has been so long, we ought to have you over.”  You express a desire to make plans for something with a friend but couch it in the language, “I hope we can get together real soon.” It may be just me but most times the desire to get together and the reality of it ever happening are rare. Continue reading “The Reality of Our Hope”

The Freedom of Grace

Just in case you missed it….

For the last couple of weeks I have been receiving phone calls that have become a little annoying. When I go to answer the call with a very polite, “Hello”, on the other end I hear the horn of a cruise ship with a voice saying that I have won a free cruise.  I have never let the call go far enough to find out if my bride and I actually need start packing. But it did get me to thinking, is there anything in life that is free?

Continue reading “The Freedom of Grace”

The Freedom of Grace

Canadian currencyFor the last couple of weeks I have been receiving phone calls that have become a little annoying. When I go to answer the call with a very polite, “Hello”, on the other end I hear the horn of a cruise ship with a voice saying that I have won a free cruise.  I have never let the call go far enough to find out if my bride and I actually need start packing. But it did get me to thinking, is there anything in life that is free?

Continue reading “The Freedom of Grace”

What the World Needs Now

the crossI am humbled today.  I am humbled to think that I am so valuable to God that Jesus would die for me.  Last night, like millions of Canadians and Americans I watched Dr. Billy Graham’s last sermon (http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/programs/the-cross/).  The broadcast was entitled “The Cross”. After hearing the God-story of the two people featured on the video and the message from God’s Word, I am moved beyond words.

As a young person who had just come to faith in Jesus, I accompanied our church’s youth group to a weekend conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  On this particular weekend, one of the keynote messages dealt with the Cross.  As a new Christian, I will never forgot how the speaker described how valuable Jesus, God the Son was to God the Father. He talked about all the Son of God had endured to pay the penalty of the debt of sin that I owed. He talked of the Roman scourge and the cruelest form of execution that the Romans had invented called crucifixion. To top it all off, the separation for the first time in all eternity of God the Father and God the Son, you and I cannot even begin to fathom all that meant. For all the human race,  Jesus endured the shame of the cross to purchase our freedom from sin’s curse.

Have you gotten over it?  The pure, holy, lovely Son of God was made subject to the wrath of God so that we could go free! His righteousness was applied to us so that when God the Father looks at us, he sees his Son’s death and righteousness applied. God knew that this was the only way for us to be saved from his wrath. Here is the kicker for me, in John chapter 10, Jesus said that he willing laid down his life for us, no one took it from him, by his own volition he died. If that does not move your heart today you need to see either your cardiologist or your pastor or maybe even both!

The world has believed the lie of Satan that what we really need is material possessions, be the king of our lives and in control of everything! There is a reason he is called “the father of lies” in the Bible. He knows that none of those things can bring us real joy or satisfaction that lasts more than a day. But we keep trying. Even those who say they are Christians have fallen into his trap.

What the world needs now is the gospel. But the gospel is difficult, the gospel is insulting because we cannot do anything to make ourselves acceptable to God.  You cannot save yourself! The Cross of Jesus Christ is foolishness to the human race because we really think can make it on our own.  Deep down we know we cannot unless God changes our heart.

I am grateful that the Cross of Jesus, this gospel of Jesus Christ, is the only way that I can find true life. I have found out that I not only needed the gospel that day in 1978 but I need the gospel everyday! I need his grace to mold my character and shape my future. What I need now is the gospel.

You and I are so valuable to God that He would die for us. Absolutely amazing! Does that humble you, too?

The Practice of Prayer

It’s Wednesday night at 7 o’clock, we are gathered at the corner of Queens Avenue      apraying handsnd Adelaide Street in London, Ontario to pray.  We sing a couple of hymns, listen to a brief study of God’s Word then we gather in groups to pray.  But the prayer time seems very sterile and safe.  We pray for health issues, the pastors and missionaries and conclude with an Amen. But there is something missing.  I finally have put my thumb on it.

Prayer can become very rote. We do it because, well, God created Wednesday nights for prayer meeting, didn’t he?  It becomes so mechanical that we can pray whether God shows up or not. We forgot that the fundamental reason for prayer is not asking for stuff but having communion with the Creator of the universe.

Jesus taught this in his model prayer to his disciples.  When we pray there is a recognition to whom we are speaking, he is ‘Our Father in Heaven.’ There is an attitude of entering a holy place as we bow together with the recognition that we have been invited by him to enter. Hebrews 4:16 teaches us that we can boldly enter into the throne of grace to find help in time of need. We boldly enter with proper reverence and humility.

Have you heard the expression that prayer is work? For a long time I didn’t grasp the significance of that statement. The older I get (cue the record player!) the more I am beginning to get it. Prayer involves more than the repetition of phrases that we have learned from others. It involves the connection of our soul with God. For that reason we need to make sure that there are no impediments (sin) between us and the Lord.

Too often we treat prayer as the lucky rabbit’s foot. We think if we pray then all will be well and God will grant us our desires! Or, if we pray then we will have no problems, if we pray at the right time, with the right posture then God is almost obligated to answer us as we wish. But we have missed the greatest treasure of prayer. True prayer is the intimate relationship that we have with our Father (by the way, the fact we call God ‘our Father’ is a clue to that intimacy).

Jesus gives us a clue to this intimate relationship he invites us to in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” How in the world can we turn down that invitation! It is worthy of us clearing everything from our agenda to respond with all our soul, “Yes!”  The invitation to have a meal is something very personal and intimate. The Lord invites us to sit at his feet and pour out our heart and listen to Him. From the intimacy of our heart we express our love for him and desire to please him above all. That is what we do in prayer!

I am still learning about prayer. I am not sure I understand all of it yet but I hope to grow in getting to know the One to whom I am speaking. You?

Hungry to Learn

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“School House Rock”[1] was television’s attempt to teach children basic things about math, science and government. It aired in the 1980s during Saturday morning cartoons.  One phrase I recall was “conjunction junction what’s your function.”  Remember? It taught kids school subjects while they watched Bugs Bunny and others. I, too. have had the privilege of teaching in a Bible college, and in the local church as a Pastor and Teacher.  I have discovered that the best students are not always those who receive  “A’s”  (speaking as one who rarely received one!) but the best were those who loved to learn.  On the other hand, there were others who one could tell were not there because they choose to be there. In my annual Bible reading plan, I have arrived at the New Testament epistle the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. These people were absolutely amazing! We ought to try and bottle what they had! They had such an insatiable desire to learn but not just in the sense of “book learning.” They took what Paul taught them and lived it out.  They were any teacher’s dream! I can imagine that they sat on the edge of their seats waiting for every word to fall from the lips of God’s servant. As they heard the word of God, they accepted it as the word of God.  To them, Paul was not just another lecturer visiting them to talk about the latest philosophy to come out of Rome. When they heard him speak they understood that God had sent him to be his spokesperson.  It was more than a philosophical chat about abstract ideas. Reading from 1 Thessalonians 2, they understood that these were God’s words and as such they sat with rapt attention at the Word as it was taught. This word was received by them into their hearts and began to take root in their lives. How fervent was their desire to learn God’s Word? Such was their dedication to learning God’s word that they were willing to suffer at the hands of their fellow citizens.  I would call that dedication to learning! As they heard the word and applied it, they knew that they had become citizens of the kingdom of God and as such needed to live distinctly from the rest of the culture. What an impact!

This got me to thinking.  With what attitude do I come to the Word of God when it is preached and taught?  I think that we in North America have become so accustomed to coming to church and hearing God’s Word that it has become mundane.  We have lost the thrill of learning it to live it! Now, those of us who have the privilege and responsibility of teaching must to do so in creative ways.  As the late Bible teacher, Howard Hendricks said many times, “We don’t have the right to be boring when we teach the Scriptures.” But how do we hear the Word? 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”  For babies, milk is fundamental for their growth and development, no one has to lecture them on their need for it. For the believer in Jesus, the Word is fundamental to learning to become all that God desires us to be.  You and I must long to grow in our relationship to God. It is fundamental! I often think that every time God gives me the opportunity to sit in on a sermon or in a small group that this is another opportunity to marvel at his grace, to deepen my trust in him and grow to become more like Him. I am on the edge of my chair, I don’t want miss a thing. You?

Did You Think It Would Be Easy??

Dr. Luke, in writing the history of the early church, better known as the Acts of the Apostles, underlines for his readers how tough it is to be a Christian.  In speaking of the missionary trips of the Apostle Paul, Luke writes, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”  Why in the world would he write that?  Didn’t he want to encourage people to be a part of this movement of God?  Wasn’t the goal to grow the church, not tell people how hard it is to be a part of the church? 
As we read the story of how the early church was established, we cannot escape the fact that there was suffering involved in living the life of faith.  There is trouble that comes from inside the church and trouble that is external to her.  We see Christians, who tried to get away with false appearances in Acts 5, then there is trouble with the widows in Acts 6, Stephen is martyred in Acts 8 and Christians are scattered because of the persecution! That is just the first 8 chapters of the book.  Sounds like fun, doesn’t it, anyone want to sign up! 
We are told that there are more Christian martyrs today than at any other time since the first century.  Not only do people suffer for their faith but believers are not exempt from the same pains as people who do not know the Lord.  Christians die of terrible diseases, they are killed in traffic accidents, and they are even murdered. 
The hope and joy of being a believer is not found in anything we think will alleviate our pain.  Life hurts, it is difficult and no one is safe.   Our hope is found in the truth that Jesus has conquered our biggest enemies, sin and death, and has promised us victory as well!  That encourages me!  I am encouraged that the Sovereign God knows me so well that He has a plan for me life.  The plan He has for me is that not only do I have hope in a future life but that I have hope today because of the victory He has obtained for us through the resurrection of His Son!
 
I recall the story of a would-be basketball player who got roughed up under the basket and came away with a bloodied nose.  On returning to the bench with his proverbial tail between his legs, the coach offered the following words, “Stop sulking and get back out there, what did you think basketball was like?”  No one can learn to play real basketball by watching the pros play on television.  You cannot see or experience everything that goes on under the basket!  You cannot feel the elbows to the nose on your 40” plasma! 
Life for the Christian is lived in the difficulties that we experience.  They help us develop a dependency on the Lord, and how great is that!  We often want to be self reliant but God’s desire is that we be dependent on Him!  I have learned and still am learning that I need to trust Him more and more as He works out His plan in my life.  And that is exactly where He wants us to be!