Revival

Ring the bell.

I had to go to the hospital for bloodwork. I don’t mind bloodwork; I am not positive but I am pretty sure by now I could take my own blood and start my own IV, I’ve seen it done on me so many times! This time was a little different. They put the needle in the same way and used the same tubes. The amount taken was relatively small compared to the last time (5 vials vs 16). Then the always fun aim test. Last week I talked about Paul using, “falling short” which is based on a military idea of missing the mark in archery. As I did the last test I thought to myself, ‘self; if you were Paul writing to the modern day version of the Romans, you would probably have used this sample cup metaphor instead of the bow and arrow.’ If you don’t know what test I am talking about I will not try to explain it other than to say if you miss the mark they make you drink water and do it again!

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What makes us different?

The upside of living in a beautiful country…

…like Canada or the USA is we want for very little. The downside of living in Canada or the USA is we want for very little. The power of God is often missed, written off as part of our everyday lives. It is difficult to see God as active in our lives unless we make an effort to look for Him in action. In countries less fortunate than ours, every day is a day to discover the depth of God’s love for His children. God is seen, felt and heard in the activities of the day and His provision and protection are obvious to those who call Him their Heavenly Father.

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What happens when we are challenged? 1 John

To be challenged is accept the opportunity to be corrected. If we are challenged, most of us believe that our failure is implicit in the challenge. If one is asked to do more, often one believes they are failing to do enough. If one is asked to do something different, often one believes that what they are currently doing is wrong. If one is shown a faster or a simpler way, often one assumes they are incompetent because they had employed another way. As we look at our lives and our church it will be easy for us to wonder if any change we are asked to make masks an underlying statement that we are not good enough. For many the biggest battle is not the change but rather the hurt that is taken on when someone suggests we need to change. It can become even more devastating when the call to change points out that we have fallen short thereby displeasing God.

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The Epistle of Jeremiah the Prophet to the Modern Church – ’Til Death

…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.  I often say to my wife we’ve done the worse, the poorer, the sickness, maybe for this part of our lives we can try the better, the richer and the health. The truth is, regardless of whether we are able to turn the tables, we are committed to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. There are some days I am sure that my behavior puts ideas in my wife’s mind about ways to fulfil the ‘til death do us part, part.

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The Epistle of Jeremiah the Prophet to the Modern Church – Historically Prodigal

I can remember it like it was yesterday. I think almost everyone who attended Sunday school during the sixties and seventies has a memory of the high tech presentation systems used to etch memories in the minds of the young people who never missed a week. In fairness to this generation, attendance was not high because of the quality of storytelling but rather the willingness of a parent to use soap or the back of their hand to quickly put an end to any attempt to present an alternate to the fast paced drama that would unfold on the felt board every Sunday morning. We were told they were parables but we cared more about pulling the hair of the girl in the row in front of us or throwing a paper airplane at the teacher’s head. The felt board was a marvel of modern artistry but the stories got old really quick.

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The Epistle of Jeremiah the Prophet to the Modern Church – Perfect Children

“I hope your children treat you the same way you treat us, then you will understand,” is something many parents say to their kids. As a kid I thought to myself, “I hope so too.” I knew that I was the best example of what it is to be the perfect son. Unlike my parents I had a complete understanding of how the world worked and the appropriate behavior for said world. I was rarely wrong and when I was wrong the cause rested solely on the actions of my sister or my parents. When raising my kids I dreamed that they too would be perfect like me because I only did wrong when my parents and sister caused me to do wrong. I came the conclusion that I, as a perfect kid, would become a perfect parent and therefore could not cause my kids to do wrong. Also, I as a perfect parent, could not raise children in a way that could cause their siblings to do wrong.

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