Opinion

 

If I Had A Hammer

Have you ever lost something? Back in the fall, I lost my hammer. Maybe misplaced is a better word. Last fall I was working on some stuff around the house in preparation for the coming winter and I misplaced my hammer. 

All winter long I have been looking for my hammer. I know I had it. I know I used it in the fall. It has to be here somewhere. But it is not in my tool box, or any of the other normal places it would or should be. I misplaced my hammer. I knew it had to be around somewhere but it was lost. 

In its place for the last five or six months I have been using my wife’s ‘pink trimmed in support of breast cancer research ladies toolkit’ hammer.  And each time I had to work on something with this pink trimmed hammer I resolved to go out a buy a new one. 

But I knew my hammer had to be around someone. Maybe someone borrowed it, and it did not get put back where I could find it. I hinted and suggested and almost accused others of hiding my hammer on me. 

Can you guess where this is all going?

The other day I found my hammer! I found it.

Oh yeah…now I remember. It was right where I had left it back in the fall. I remember now. The hammer was on the shelf of the step ladder and when I folded up the ladder the hammer fell to the ground. No problem. I would put away the ladder and come back and get my hammer. 

The only thing was I never went back to pick up the hammer. I don’t know if I got distracted or busy with something else, or maybe I just plain forgot to go back and get it. 

And since I did not go back and get it, overnight, when the snow fell, the hammer disappeared underneath a blanket of the white stuff. And that’s where it was all winter long! 

And it was only with the coming of the spring, the final melting of the snow and ice, that the hammer reappeared, right where I had left it. 

Spring. Everything has a new start. Sure it takes some effort and work to clean up from the winter, deal with leftovers and forgotten bits and pieces in preparation of a new growing season. And of course that new planting and growing will take time and effort over the coming months, but if it was not worth it we wouldn’t do it.  

I meaning planting and tending and fertilizing the lawn only so I will have to cut it on a regular basis…

And you know as I think about it the Christian faith is something like that. 

God has given us so much, so freely in Jesus. And yet it does take some effort and work on our part. And maybe with the Spring comes a good opportunity to replant and grow that faith. 

Maybe along with spring planting there is a place for God in your life. Maybe you might try finding your way back to church. No the roof won’t fall in. 

And maybe it begins with us looking for and expecting to see God in our gardens and plantings, in our lives and in the lives of those we love, and yes, even in church. 

Yes, I know sometimes the church messes up. Jesus sometimes gets lost. Maybe misplaced is the better word. It happens. 

But usually it doesn’t go on for long before God breaks through. God remembers what it’s all about. Even if we sometimes don’t. Even if the church, sometimes doesn’t.

It is not about a hammer lost for a winter or something else frustratingly misplaced in our lives. It is all about Jesus. God’s love for us made real, in the flesh. 

With spring comes new starts and it all makes me think…

But right now I see something that needs a little fixing up for spring and I know where my hammer is.

Blessings…

Rev. Geoff Howard, Knox 

Presbyterian, Iroquois

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New life, new joy, new possibilities

Easter – the most important day in the Christian calendar starts with  lots of activity.

Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection in countless colorful ways. We gather with family and friends for meals. We really appreciate the sunshine and head out doors to enjoy a hike, bike or walk with the youth. Springtime flowers and Easter lilies decorate our homes and churches. We gather for worship maybe once or maybe every day during the week between Palm Sunday and  Easter Sunday.   

The best way to celebrate Easter is to do what Jesus did and that was to forgive someone.

Each of us stands level with each other at the foot of the cross having been forgiven ourselves. 

We all have someone in our lives that we need to forgive; a neighbor, a family member, a brother or  sister or someone at work. Now is the time to do that. 

What are those  sayings? Yesterday was history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Just do it !

As an Easter people we are aware that the power of the Resurrection of Christ has forever changed who we are. It has given us the courage to boldly proclaim a living faith.

This spring celebrate new life, new joy and new possibilities in your life.

Go in peace, and share this good news! Thanks be to God! 

[…]

 

Who Needs Theology

How can a Christian be in pursuit of the blessing of God and have no concern for an accurate Theology (i.e. an accurate knowledge of God, and His creation)? 

How can we confirm our intelligence, while rejecting that knowledge which begins with the reverence of God? (Proverbs 1:7) 

And how do we revere Him whom we do not know? 

Does not the measure of our ignorance of God, set a limit on our reverence towards Him; and is not our reverence of God excited by our knowledge of Him?

By practically rejecting the idea that we can know our Lord more perfectly (not just as individuals but as a faith community), do we claim a perfect knowledge of the Divine Being, or that there is no more that can be known of Him than what we already know? 

Or are we just slothful, not wanting to stress the soul with any more mind renewing information? (Romans 12:2)

We understand from the teachings of Jesus, that our Heavenly Father is seeking those that worship Him in spirit and truth. Spirit then is not sufficient by itself for the kind of worshipers the Father seeks, but in worship spirit must be accompanied by truth. 

Worship should be the spiritual application of our Theology (i.e. of what we believe about God). (John 4:23-24)

In the gospel narratives Jesus is continually affirming His spiritual superiority in terms of His knowledge of the Father (i.e. His Theology Proper). (Matthew 11:27; John 1:18)

It is clear throughout scripture that God Himself defines that worship which is acceptable to Him. Our worship of God is in no way left to the designs of men. 

Man’s failure in this is recorded in scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and always with tragic results. I further submit to you the idea that the perfection of the Church will be a perfection in worship by means of a more perfect knowledge of God. (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2)

So by what spirit do we loath Theology? And without a right and growing knowledge of God, in what manner do we experience increase in the nature of our worship?

Any revival in our time must not only be Spirit filled, but Truth filled as well. And if we pursue increase in manifestations of the Spirit, we must seek increase in the manifestation of Truth, because it is the Truth that the Spirit of Christ confirms with the accompanying signs. (Mark 16:20) But then, who has a heart for such things?

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Ahhh  Spring Time has Arrived

My favourite season of the year is spring. With it comes the promise of new life. With it comes the freshness of the tender new leaves on the trees, the greening of the grass, and the return of the migratory birds.

Before we experience that part of spring, it seems that we must endure yet another snow storm!

As I sit by the window of my study the snow is falling relentlessly. It feels like it is bringing heaviness on a world waiting to burst forth with new life. 

Once this snowfall has subsided and the thermometer finds its way into the higher temperatures, we have to find our way through the muck and mire of melting snow and defrosting ground. It seems that before we get to the beautiful part of spring we must encounter the messy part.

I suppose it kind of feels like the heaviness of our Lenten journey – that dark, heavy place we journey through as we approach the new life that Easter brings to us. 

We all know that after the forty days of Lent we will rejoice in the resurrection. However, we must first find our way through those forty days. 

In our Anglican tradition, we are called to observe a “holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.” (Book of Alternative Services, p. 282) 

Most of this is done with a relative amount of ease if we commit to it. The hardest part for me (and for most), where I find the muck and mire, is in self-examination. To truly look deep within ourselves is one of the most difficult things we can do and most of us avoid it. 

But to find new life, we must look within to find what we need to let go of, what part of the old life is in the way. Then we will, with the help of God, be able to receive the new life in the resurrected Christ.

The snow will pass as will the forty days. In the meantime, as you journey through Lent make a commitment to create room in your heart, soul and life for the gift that God has for us. At the end of both the snow and the forty days we will find new life as only God can give us.

[…]

 

Today is my daughter’s birthday. I remember the day long ago when she entered the world at the Brockville General Hospital. Now she is 23 years old, and my husband and I continue to be proud parents.

While Hilary was growing up, she took swimming lessons and finished two gold level tests in figure skating. She loved music, and we spent many hours enjoying movies at the theatre.

Our family shared many moments of joy together, especially during our trips to Disney World. Yet illness arrived in our lives when Hilary was about 14 years old. It continues on to this day, and a lot of my daughter’s day to day living is a struggle because of poor health.

I’ve often thought of life as a journey. Our family seems to have hit so many bumps on the journey however. Sometimes it is difficult to put one foot in front of another. 

I know many other people who face sick days, loneliness, rejection, hunger and bereavement. Happiness is often clouded by trial. 

One thing that keeps me going is the assurance that God loves His people and travels with them on all of their journeys. Jesus can bring light out of darkness, comfort out of sorrow, resurrection out of death. Even when our days are shattered, God can shed hope and light upon us.

God loves us. We will never fall out of His caring embrace. In life, in death, in life beyond death our Lord is with us. We are never alone.

In this Lenten season, we are asked to place Jesus at the centre of our days. We can draw closer to Jesus and to one another. We can ask ourselves how we can care for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can cherish others as God has first cherished us.

As we walk the journey to the Cross and ultimately, the empty tomb, we can be assured that God’s presence strengthens us, guides us and inspires us.

During this Lenten season may we remember to take to heart these words.

Lent is a time to take the time to let the power of our faith story take hold of us,

a time to let the events get up and walk around in us,

a time to intensify our living unto Christ,

a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,

a time to place our feet in the streets of Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and listen to his word,

a time to touch his robe and feel the healing surge through us, a time to ponder and a time to wonder. . .

Lent is a time to allow a fresh new taste of God! 

(From Kneeling in Jerusalem, by Ann WeemsAnn Weems)

Rev. Janet Evans, 

Williamsburg United Church,

Lakeshore Drive United 

[…]

 

A while ago I came across the following collection of advertisements taken from real newspapers.

Snow blower for sale…Only used on 

snowy days.

Wire mesh butchering gloves for sale…

1 5-finger, 1 3-finger, pair: $15

Nordic track $300…hardly used, call Chubby

Georgia peaches California grown…

89 cents lb.

Joining nudist colony! Must sell washer & dryer $300.

Open House: Body Shapers Fitness Club and Toning Salon–free coffee & donuts.

Nice parachute: never opened–used once.

 

[…]

SD & SG middle class families are faring better. 

Since elected in 2004 to represent the great constituents of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, I have continually heard concerns about jobs, high taxes, and the ability to support a family.  

That is why I am happy to announce that middle class families are faring better due to the strong economic leadership of our Conservative Government. 

Last week Statistics Canada released their Survey of Financial Security, which confirmed that the average Canadian family is better off today under our current Conservative Government than under the previous Liberal Government. 

Statistics Canada’s report found that the net worth of Canadian families was up 44.5 per cent from 2005 and almost 80 per cent more than 1999. 

In fact, the largest increase in net worth between 2005 and 2012 occurred for families in the middle income bracket. 

This encouraging report is a direct result of the measures our Government has put in place since elected.   

Due to the action we took to cut taxes 160 times, we have saved the average Canadian family over $3,400 a year. 

We have also removed 1 million Canadians from the tax rolls, including 380,000 seniors. 

Furthermore, our commitment to lowering taxes has resulted in disposable income, after taxes, rising by 10 per cent across all income levels. 

Thanks to our low tax plan, 1.4 million Canadians are no longer living in poverty, and the number of Canadians living below the Low Income Cut-off is at its lowest level ever. 

The action we have taken to keep taxes low for Canadian families keeps more of their hard earned money where it belongs – in their pockets.

That is why I am deeply concerned about recent comments from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. 

Trudeau said that he would massively increase the size of the federal government, which means either ballooning national debt or tax increases for Canadian families. 

Trudeau’s comments show me that the middle class would not fare well under a Trudeau Liberal Government. 

In contrast, under our Conservative Government’s low tax plan, we are making life more affordable for Canadian families in SD&SG, while balancing the budget. 

[…]

My Favourite Athlete

It’s been said that “football consists of 22 men on the field desperately in need of a rest and 50,000 in the stands desperately in need of exercise.” (with apologies to the CFL). There’s probably truth in that. 

Same is likely true of the Olympics. All of us sitting back with our chips and beverage of choice watching people who for years have lived a life of strict training and diet to get where they are at. Isn’t there something a bit amusing about that?

Yet as much as I deeply admire Olympic athletes for what they do, I know a guy whose willingness to sacrifice and suffer for his prize vastly outshines them all. 

His name is Paul. You may know him as Saint Paul, but I kind of doubt he’d really care to be called that. When he talked about himself and what he did, he saw himself much like an athlete. He devoted himself to his ‘sport’ not for a decade or two, but for an entire lifetime. And what he went through exceeds anything an Olympian ever does.

You should read it; it’s crazy (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 or 2 Corinthians 6:4-10). He was given the ‘forty lashes minus one’ five times, beaten, stoned (and left for dead), shipwrecked three times, almost died numerous times, and on and on it went.

So why did Paul subject himself to such an outrageous life?

Well, for two reasons. Like any athlete, he did for the prize.

He says as much in 1 Corinthians 9:27. As an old man looking back over this career, he writes: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness ( the word ‘crown’ here is really the word, “wreath” like the Olympians of his day were rewarded in their games), which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day…”

The other reason Paul lived such a seemingly ‘fanatical’ life was he had discovered something so amazing (and so unknown) that he couldn’t help but devote himself to sharing it with ever speck of energy he had. 

That something was what he called the “gospel” or “good news.” Simply put, it was the message that God loved this world so much (that would include you and me) that he sent his only son to die for its sins, that whoever accepted that would receive salvation as a free gift. Salvation being new life now, and eternal life in heaven.

In Romans 1:14 he says he’s obligated, or indebted, to the world to share this ‘good news.’ God has made it know to him; he’s experienced it, so he’s got no choice but to share it with others, whatever the cost, and whatever the sacrifices needed.

I think there’s good stuff to learn from Paul. 

First, a life that dedicated to a higher cause challenges us all as to what we’re living for. Are we just living for a ‘good time’ or is there more to life than that? Is there some higher purpose and meaning? Something to really be committed to? To sacrifice and even suffer for? Maybe even a God to whom we’re accountable?

But even more than this, maybe considering Paul being sold out for the ‘good news’ about Christ can make us curious, interested, to check it out for ourselves. Maybe there’s more to it than we realize. Maybe it’s better than we think.

Pastor Clarence Witten

Community Christian 

Reformed Church

Dixon’s Corners

[…]

Are You a Faithful Church Member?

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

It “is the manner of some” Christians to forsake (enkataleipo; abandon or desert) the services and meetings of the local Church. “Manner” (ethos) in this verse refers to customary behavior or habits.  Some Christians, willfully and habitually, avoid services and meetings of the local Church. 

These Christians assume the right to determine for themselves whether they go to Church, on the bases of personal preference or convenience. Where the Bible has made God’s will known, choosing otherwise is a choice to disobey God’s word. (see v.26)

According to this passage, to forsake the assemblies of the Church is a refusal to participate in the love and good works designed to happen there. There are aspects of love and good works that cannot occur apart from our involvement in the services and meetings of the local Church. 

The God kind of love is unique, in that it is placed in the heart by the Holy Spirit, only when a person becomes a Christian. (Romans 5:5) This love is modeled for us by Jesus, when He sacrificed His living and life for our salvation. This love is unselfish and focused on the needs of others.

Good  works (kalos ergon) in our text, is the outworking of such love. By definition these are “morally excellent works that one is enabled and obligated to do by virtue of being created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:10) Therefore avoidance of Church services and meetings is a violation of the nature and purpose of being “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” 

Our text calls us to “consider one another.” As I am considering others, others are considering me. This is how the God kind of love is designed to work in the Church. This consideration (katanoeo) is a caring awareness and regard for others, that looks for the opportunity to be a blessing, in word and deed. (1 John 3:16-19)

We consider one another in this way when we respect the vision of Christ for our participation in the services and meetings of the local Church. (Ephesians 4:1-16) It is in our assembling together as a Church that we “exhort one another.” The term translated “exhort,” parakaleo in the Greek text, means to come alongside of one another, to aid, help, comfort, and encourage one another. 

Attendance in local Church services and meetings is necessary if we are to be faithful to the model of Church presented to us in the Bible; a model of love and unity. And as we proceed toward the “Day of the Lord” this model becomes increasingly important.

We can only disobey God’s word to our own hurt, so let us obey the Scriptures in this matter; demonstrating our true discipleship and love for Jesus by assembling with the Church faithfully. (John 8:31; 14:23) 

If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. – John 13:17

[…]

Are You a Faithful Church Member?

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

It “is the manner of some” Christians to forsake (enkataleipo; abandon or desert) the services and meetings of the local Church. “Manner” (ethos) in this verse refers to customary behavior or habits.  Some Christians, willfully and habitually, avoid services and meetings of the local Church. 

These Christians assume the right to determine for themselves whether they go to Church, on the bases of personal preference or convenience. Where the Bible has made God’s will known, choosing otherwise is a choice to disobey God’s word. (see v.26)

According to this passage, to forsake the assemblies of the Church is a refusal to participate in the love and good works designed to happen there. There are aspects of love and good works that cannot occur apart from our involvement in the services and meetings of the local Church. 

The God kind of love is unique, in that it is placed in the heart by the Holy Spirit, only when a person becomes a Christian. (Romans 5:5) This love is modeled for us by Jesus, when He sacrificed His living and life for our salvation. This love is unselfish and focused on the needs of others.

Good  works (kalos ergon) in our text, is the outworking of such love. By definition these are “morally excellent works that one is enabled and obligated to do by virtue of being created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:10) Therefore avoidance of Church services and meetings is a violation of the nature and purpose of being “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” 

Our text calls us to “consider one another.” As I am considering others, others are considering me. This is how the God kind of love is designed to work in the Church. This consideration (katanoeo) is a caring awareness and regard for others, that looks for the opportunity to be a blessing, in word and deed. (1 John 3:16-19)

We consider one another in this way when we respect the vision of Christ for our participation in the services and meetings of the local Church. (Ephesians 4:1-16) It is in our assembling together as a Church that we “exhort one another.” The term translated “exhort,” parakaleo in the Greek text, means to come alongside of one another, to aid, help, comfort, and encourage one another. 

Attendance in local Church services and meetings is necessary if we are to be faithful to the model of Church presented to us in the Bible; a model of love and unity. And as we proceed toward the “Day of the Lord” this model becomes increasingly important.

We can only disobey God’s word to our own hurt, so let us obey the Scriptures in this matter; demonstrating our true discipleship and love for Jesus by assembling with the Church faithfully. (John 8:31; 14:23) 

If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. – John 13:17

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