Category Archives: Uncategorized

Happy or Holy?

     What makes you happy?  Being with friends?  Eating your favourite food?  Watching a good movie?  The theme of happiness dominates our society.  Do whatever you like, when you like, where you like!  If anyone gets in your way, then you can rain on that person’s parade for getting in your way.  How dare they stop you from being happy?  But, what about when God draws the line in the sand?

     There is a higher priority than being just being happy.  I like to be happy, I love it when my sports teams win and don’t like it when they lose.  However, whether they win or lose, or whether I get to eat my favourite flavour of ice cream is irrelevant to God’s goals for my life.  This is where the proverbial ‘rub’ comes in life. Many people, including some who profess faith in Christ, have not discerned between God’s measurement of contentment and our desire to just be happy. We often miss the point. 
     God’s priority is character development by which we grow to reflect His own.  He takes us from being self-centered people who are all about the good time and moulds us into people who are all about Him.  The apostle Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. Specifically, he deals with the cultural right that people had to make themselves happy by eating meat that had just been offered as a sacrifice to a pagan idol. “Just look at that meat, it is almost talking to us, “Eat me! I am delicious barbecued!” But Paul says there is a greater priority than enjoying a tasty steak.  The thing that was more important was that some people’s conscience would not allow them to eat that meat. So if you put yourself first and not think about that person, you would actually be sinning against Christ! These younger Christians had not yet come to the place of a proper understanding that the idol was nothing and therefore they could be free to eat the meat.  Paul’s point was that their Christian lives were not about making themselves happy!There was and is a greater goal.
     This ‘right’ we think we have to be happy extends to the local church too.  The unity of the body is a principle that Paul, and other New Testament authors, wrote about a lot. A person who seeks to develop godly character puts the local church as her goals over their own personal comfort. If the music is not exactly my type but God is being exalted, Praise God! If the Pastor was a little too long or too personal or too boring, or if someone sat in their spot, people who are trying to grow spiritually to develop godly character respond in a way that would edify the whole church.  Our consumer mentality to be happy seems to be unaffected by the fact that God calls us to be united in Christ, to serve one another, care for one another, and love one another.  Local church leaders love to lead people whose goal it is to have godly character as their number one goal in life. That is contagious and the whole body catches it!  Local church leaders also must be growing in godly character as well lest they speak in ways that are less than helpful.  
     The goal for the Christian life is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and each other likewise. When we adopt those qualities of being like Christ, happiness becomes a by-product of living for God.  I can’t get passed the fact that the majority of the Disciples that Jesus called to serve Him and His people had their lives ended at the hands of those who sought to extinguish their message from the planet.  We in the Western world know very little about that kind of suffering.  But the one characteristic of each of those followers of Christ who gave up their lives for their Lord was joy!  Joy is the state of being content with life and with what God has given. Paul said, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
     There is joy in serving Jesus, the joy of growing to be all that he has designed us to be, and no fleeting circumstance could ever match that! For the Christian true happiness and contentment are found when we follow Jesus with ALL of our being. 

     Thanks for taking the time to read the blog! I welcome your response. God bless you! 

      

The Blessings of Team Ministry

photo.JPG
Receiving Award for Samaritan’s Purse

Dear Prayer Family,

    If you are as old as I am, and I know some of you are so you will appreciate this illustration.  In the early 1970s, the Boston Bruins dominated the NHL (you remember the NHL, don’t you?).  Phil Esposito set the NHL record for most goals in one season. But if you remember, it was Bobby Orr who was responsible for a lot of Phil’s success. Many of Phil’s goals were called ‘garbage goals’ because he scored many goals off rebounds or great end to end rushes by Orr.

     I have felt like that this week in Venezuela as I am on my way home from a blessed ministry trip. We were celebrating 10 years of Operation Christmas Child here, I am travelling with plaques and recognitions given by the National Leadership Team to the Team at Samaritan’s Purse who collect shoe boxes of gifts for children from Teams of parents and children across Canada who send them to SP who sends them to the National Leadership Team who sends them to the Regional Leadership Teams who distributes them to churches who share them with children! Now I would call that TEAMWORK, wouldn’t you?  This week I had the privilege of accepting an award that really goes to all the TEAMS that I just mentioned!

National Leadership Team Venezuela

    This week I met a TEAM of over 50 volunteers who work with local churches. Some of these dedicated soldiers for the cause of Christ live 10 hours or more away from the capital city of Caracas and came to receive training and instruction. These are the people who see the boxes distributed to churches and then to the children. What a wonderful group of servants! I will you could meet them.

    The National Leadership Team won a special place in my heart this week.  When I arrived in Valencia, Venezuela last week I did so without my suitcase arriving with me.  If you have travelled at all you will know how frustrating that can be.  For me, this is the second consecutive trip that this has happened. The last time was not so bad as the suitcase arrived the next day and was delivered to where I was staying.  However, that was not the case this week.  All of my clothes, both dress and casual were in it.  Since we had a elegant celebration for the 10th anniversary, I also brought my new suit.  But I could now wear it because I did not have it.  The NLT were very kind supplying some of my basic clothing and toiletry needs! I did go a few days without my usual morning routine as you will note in one of the pictures below.

Nice hair and new shirt!

     Thank you for being a part of this prayer TEAM, your prayers sustain me and encourage me. God was faithful and blessed! I appreciate you all greatly for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until know!

For God’s Glory,

Bill

Impacting the World One Child at a Time

Hello my friends, I wanted to share with you this impactful video that demonstrates God’s love in a very tangible way! I pray it will be as impactful on you as it was on me.  I know some of you don’t use facebook and I wanted to share this with you in this way! Thank you!  Deb and I love you! 

March 9, 2012

Sharing the Gospel through a Shoe Box

The last couple of weeks I have been on a huge learning curve as God has lead me to work with Operation Christmas Child, which is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse (http://www.samaritanspurse.ca).

As we travelled today from our staff retreat in North Carolina, we made a pit stop at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.  I must say that if you are ever in that part of the United States you need to stop there.  What a wonderful legacy Billy has left for the rest of us who follow him.  He followed Jesus Christ with all of his heart, I would even say that he has lived his life to exalt Jesus.  I feel so privileged to be a part of that legacy as I begin to interact with folks in Latin America.  This trip is a result of Billy’s obedience to the call of God in his life.

It reminds me that all of us are now building a legacy for others to follow. 1 Corinthians 3 talks about how church builders construct the people of God (His temple).  With what kind of material are will building, something that will last forever (gold, silver, precious stone) or that which is here today and gone tomorrow (wood, hay, stubble)? 

Thank you for your prayers and joining me in this God-given ministry!

Uruguay

Advent: The Season of Peace

Peace  is often described as the absence of war.  There, of course, is some truth in that statement, but there are many types of wars we engage in other than the military type we think of.  No doubt, the images of war that flash across our television screen demonstrate its horror and cost.  It is terrible and it is ugly.

However, there are different types of ‘wars’ that you and I fight on a daily basis.  These wars are subtle; they are the ones that are continually launched to destroy relationships, self-esteem, values, and integrity.  This is where the wool gets pulled over our eyes time after time.  These wars are dressed up in the best finery possible.  They are masked to hide their true identity so that we are blind to their attack.  For example, the drug culture is built on the premise that if one consumes that product there is a better world waiting.  The promise that it pretends to offer can never be matched by the reality it delivers.  Alcoholic beverage advertisements promote that when one consumes their product that there is a world waiting of sex, popularity and endless good times.  However, never does the drug culture or the alcohol industry show the dangers of the consumption of their product; they never show the lives and families that are literally destroyed because of their use. 

There are other wars that often engage in.  The things that enter our mind from various sources (be it from whatever media, the Internet, or even from people around us) also can bring conflict.  These can eventually be causes of a lack of peace in our hearts.  Now here is the good news, and I don’t mean good news like you just won the lottery or that I can wave my magic wand and make all the bad things in your life disappear.  The good news, the really good news, is that advent reminds us that peace came to earth on that first Christmas morning and to give us lasting peace. 

We humans like to try and find our own way in life.  We consider it very macho if we can take on the world and come out victorious.  Unfortunately, this war that rages in us cannot be won if we are left to our own devices.  We need outside assistance and that is where the advent comes into play.  This is also where it gets tough for us machos.  Because we do think we can make it on our own, we reject any aid for fear that it may crimp our style. 

The peace that God desires to give us is wrapped up in gift form. And just like a gift you must open it or  receive it in order to benefit from it.  The Bible says it like this: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”  This gift is so incredible that it leaves you gasping for air.  To think that a loving, holy God would give to humanity His perfect Son is the greatest news in the world.  This gift is so precious that God would never force anyone to accept His gift; he looks for willing hearts to receive that treasure. 

The solution to the war in your heart and mine today is not a self-help book or a ‘you-can do-it speech’.  But it is a baby who was born to die a death, a death that we deserved, to give us what we didn’t deserve, and His peace.  No, we don’t become perfect, we don’t have all the answers but rather, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you have THAT peace today?

Happy or Holy?

            What makes you happy?  Being with your friends?  Eating your favourite food?  Watching a good movie?  The theme of being happy dominates our society.  Do whatever you like, when you like, where you like!  If anyone gets in your way, then you can rain on that person’s parade for getting in your way.  How dare they stop you from being happy?  But, what about when God draws the line in the sand?

            There is a higher priority than being just being happy.  I like to be happy, I love it when my sports teams win and don’t like it when they lose, for example.  However, whether they win or lose, or whether I get to eat my favourite flavour of ice cream is irrelevant to God’s goals for my life.  This is where the proverbial ‘rub’ comes in life. Many people, including some who profess faith in Christ, stop living the way God wants them to live because He gets in the way of their good times.

            God’s priority is to develop our character to reflect His own.  He takes us from being self-centered people who are all about the good time and moulds us into people who are all about Him.  The apostle Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. Specifically, he deals with that enculturated right that people had to make themselves happy by eating meat that had just been offered as a sacrifice to a pagan idol.  Just look at that meat, it is almost talking to us, “Eat me! I am delicious barbecued!” But Paul says that is something more important than enjoying a tasty steak.  The thing that was more important was that some people’s conscience would not allow them to eat that same meat. So if you put yourself first and not think about that person, you would actually be sinning against Christ! These younger Christians had not yet come to the place of a proper understanding that the idol was nothing and therefore they could be free to eat the meat.  Paul’s point was that their Christian lives were not about making themselves happy!

            This ‘right’ we think we have to be happy extends to the church as well.  People get upset in church because their type of music was not played, someone sat in their spot, and the preacher was too long or too personal or too boring, just to mention a few! Our consumer mentality to become happy seems to be unaffected by the fact that God calls us to be united in Christ, to serve one another, care for one another, and love one another.  Leaders have a hard time leading because people in the pew won’t allow them to use their spiritual gifts to their maximum potential.  Yes, at times leaders do lead to make themselves happy because of their drive for power and success.  But the majority of those whom God has called are people who seek to please God and honour Him!

            Happiness should be a by-product of living for God, not a central foundational experience.  Let’s not forget that the majority of the Disciples that Jesus called to serve Him and His people had their lives ended at the hands of those who sought to extinguish their message from the planet.  We in the Western world know very little about that kind of suffering.  But the one characteristic of each of those followers of Christ who gave up their lives for their Lord was joy!  Joy is the state of being content with life and with what God has given. Paul said, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

            There is joy in serving Jesus, a joy that no happy, fleeting circumstance could ever match!

Getting in the Way!

At times, we can get in the way of what God wants to accomplish.  Our opinions, our world view and how we judge the validity of an idea, at times block the progress of the church.  This is not anything new.  Well meaning, good intentioned believers have put up road blocks and obstacles for the advancement of the church for a long time.  I will never forget observing one of those famous business meetings in the church where I came to know the Lord.  Tempers arose, words were exchanged in a spirit of mistrust that seemed to envelope the building and in the end, and Satan was the victor. 

God was doing some amazing things in the early church.  He had told the disciples to go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth and share the good news of Christ (Acts 1:8).  It took a while for those first Christians to understand the significance of that plan.  Take the time to read the first 11 chapters of the history book of the New Testament, Acts, you will observe the movement of the Spirit of God. 

Beginning in chapter 2, we observe the day of Pentecost and the birth of the church.  It was all Jewish. Some were converts to Judaism who later became converts to Christ but Jewish in culture nonetheless.  These new believers met in the temple and in each other’s houses to receive the instruction from God’s Word, and to enjoy fellowship and to worship the Lord.  They were in Jerusalem and for a while it seemed that they were very content being there.  As readers we make the observation, “Hey, what happened to the command of Christ in chapter one verse eight?”  When we get to the end of Chapter 7 and the beginning of Chapter 8, a great persecution arose against the church and the believers scattered.  We read of the ministry of Philip among the Samaritan people (Acts 8).  Step one, the church was starting to get its wings!  They were beginning to minister to people of a different culture.  We are introduced to Philip’s ministry to an Ethiopian who comes to Christ.  Now we are getting somewhere! 

After reading about the miraculous conversion experience of Saul, who was responsible for the persecution of believers, we stop at take a observe chapters 10 and 11 of Acts. God is preparing His people to launch out into the deep, to move among people who did not share any cultural similarities at all with those first believers.  We must point out that it took God in His sovereignty for that to happen.   He speaks to a Gentile man by the name of Cornelius and at the same time He speaks to the apostle to the Jewish people, Peter.  He clearly shows Peter that the era of the Law of Moses has been fulfilled and that all men need to hear the good news, even those who were of a different culture that he. 

The rest is history.  Peter goes to meet with a man by the name of Cornelius whose house is now filled with his family and friends.  As Peter explains to them the good news of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, these Gentiles believe and receive the Holy Spirit! There is no greater miracle even today than that of God changing a life, none! 

As Peter returns back to Jerusalem the story gets interesting.  There were a group of believers who had the conviction that the gospel was for them and them alone.  When they heard that Peter had entered the house of a Gentile and ate with them and shared the Word of God with them, they blew a gasket!  “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them!”  You can hear the tone of condemnation!  “What were you thinking, Peter?”  They were saying, “God doesn’t work that way!”  “You should be ashamed of yourself acting like that!” 
Do you find yourself being critical at times of the passion other people have for Christ?  We believers can be so judgmental.  “That is no way for a believer to act,” we say in a ‘supersaintly’ way that is neither super nor saintly!  As Peter heard the criticism of these folks he related to them the story of what happened.  What would you think?  What side would you be on? 

Here is a verse that until recently I have not paid much attention to in all my time being a Christian.  It is Acts 11:17, “So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” The last thing I want to be known as is someone who opposes God and His work!  I want to be known as someone who is so passionate about God that I rejoice each time I hear of His work being done!  It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to get revved up for the things that cause all of heaven to rejoice.  God is not obligated to do His work the way we think they ought to be done! We are obligated to recognize His hand when His work is being done!  

Knowledge and Humility

Have you heard the expression, “You are too smart for your own good”?  The idea being, one is too smart for his or her chosen field of endeavour. I recently read of a professional football player who was a Rhodes Scholar.  This particular player chose to study at Oxford instead of accepting a scholarship to play at University.  I have been thinking about that in relationship to our spiritual walk.

The Apostle Paul says it like this, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.”  I think what Paul was saying is that the smarter we think we are the more important we think we are.  But in God’s hierarchy, knowledge that is not applied to life is a lesson that is still unlearned.  We never impress God by telling him all that we know about theology, bibliology, psychology, anthropology and whatever other ‘ology’ you care to mention. 

What does impress God is that as we learn His word we stay humble and continue to serve Him and His body.  There is a lot of history to learn when it comes to studying the Bible and that is good to learn.  There is a lot of theology to learn when it comes to studying the Bible, so much that at times it makes your head spin!  But it is never learned apart from applying God’s Word to one’s life.  God is not impressed by how much we know about Him and His word.  What He wants to know is, are we living in accordance with what we know?

What a wonderful resource God has given to us through His word!  I am in awe at how God so directed the lives of the authors of the Bible to record what He desired so that we could get to know Him!  God’s goal was not to make us smarter it was to make us more like Himself!  Now, that is not to say that we should not study (my Bible College profs will be glad to hear that!), in fact, we should be students of the word.  We should learn as much about the Word as we can.  But it is never so that we can pat ourselves on the back and say, “Man, am I ever intelligent!”  Never was that God’s intention. 

God’s intention was so that you and I could enter into a relationship through His revelation of Himself.  Our knowledge of Him, that He is a holy God who created us in His image, who planned since the foundation of the world to rescue man through sending His One and only Son to be our substitute to pay for our sin, and to be raised the third day and be seated at His right hand and then come again to once and for all usher in His everlasting kingdom, is a knowledge that every person on the planet needs to have.  We have been charged with the task of sowing the seed of the gospel in the hearts of those who have yet to know Him personally.  We are to share our knowledge with them.

Here is the catch, to share that knowledge with them we must share His love at the same time.  If it was as simple as telling them what we know so that they could know it as well, that would be relatively easy.  But we are called to share His love through our love for them.  Love is what builds up, love is what makes the difference.  I share with others about what the Lord has done in my life out of love not out of a sense of obligation. 

This has tremendous implications in how we share our faith.  We should never berate people to know the Lord, but we should kindly show them how much God loves them.  Love builds up.  Love according to the knowledge we have experienced in our own relationship with God revealed to us through the pages of the Word of God. 

What a privilege we have been given to know Him, to love Him and to share that Word with the people around us!  May we be found faithful in doing and being all He has called us to do and be!