Tag Archives: servanthood

Reflections on Life, Vision

What is in your hand?

Satan wants you to think about what you don’t have and what you can’t do. God wants to you think about what you do have and what you can do. 

This gem of practical wisdom came to me many years ago through the teaching of Craig Hill, although it may not have originated with him. It is a distillation of what we know from Scripture and practical experience about the character of God and the character of the Enemy of our souls.

When Moses was called by God to set his people free, he objected that he wouldn’t be able to succeed because Pharaoh would not listen to him. God’s response to Moses was simple. What is that in your hand? The staff in Moses’ hand was a simple object, but by God’s power it would become a powerful instrument of deliverance.

Like most of us, I am all too aware of my own weaknesses. I have learned that there are talents I do not have, things I am not good at, spiritual gifts that do not seem to come easily to me. This used to trouble me, and to be truthful, it still does at times. At times I get distracted by the voice of the enemy of my soul, who wants to trap me in regret and self-recrimination. I want to be a servant of God and people, and over the years since giving my life to Jesus I have stepped out into many areas of faith and service, but when I look back, I have to be honest and acknowledge that some of my attempts didn’t turn out so well. But when I listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, He reminds me to focus on the gifts I do have and the things I can do. He reminds me that He is still a God of increase, a God who rewards faith, courage and perseverance.

This is the message of the Parable of the Talents. Do not bury your one ability in the ground, thinking that God will surely not be pleased with you because you are not like that ten-talent guy or girl over there. Take it and use it to serve God and others, and God will reward you for your faithfulness, and set you over larger fields of service in the Age to Come.

What is that in your hand? Take it and use it for God’s glory.

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Faith and Politics, Social Commentary

Truth, humility and righteousness

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The past few months have been a less than glorious chapter in the annals of Canadian politics and government.

Even the most devoted Conservative partisans must be feeling a tad uncomfortable by now, as the list of unanswered questions and seeming contradictions in the PMO’s handling of the Senate expense scandal grows steadily longer. Yet our Prime Minister continues to refuse to take any personal responsibility for this sorry spectacle.

You may recall that not so many years ago, Mr. Harper came into office on a platform of accountability and integrity, after having pilloried then-Prime Minister Paul Martin and his predecessor Jean Chrétien for their involvement in the equally lamentable sponsorship scandal. Deceit, it seems, knows no party boundaries.

It is easy to grow cynical about the spectacle of moral failure in government. The evidence that such corruption exists is hard to ignore. Nor can it be tied to any one political party. Leaders of all political stripes are susceptible to the tantalizing lie that their positions of power and privilege give them the right to do whatever they want.

Yet there is another side to the ledger, one that is too often forgotten.

Yesterday morning I was privileged to attend the Ottawa Civic Prayer Breakfast. The purpose of the event was to publicly honour and pray for our municipal councillors and first responders (police, fire fighters and paramedics). We were reminded of how much pressure these people are under every day, and how much they need our prayers. We heard from a paramedic, a police officer, a fire fighter and two members of Ottawa’s city council. Several of them spoke of the reasons why they had entered their chosen line of work. All of them expressed their gratitude for the encouraging words and prayers offered on their behalf by people of faith. It was an inspiring morning.

I have no doubt that most of those who choose to serve in politics, police work or some other aspect of public service do so because they genuinely want to make a difference, to make life better for the citizens of their city or their nation. The vast majority of public servants do their best to carry out their responsibilities faithfully and at considerable personal cost year after year.

The stench of corruption that currently surrounds our federal government should be no cause for rejoicing by those who happen to support a different political party. Rather, for believers in Jesus it ought to serve as a reminder of our common human frailty (As it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one”), and a call to prayer. Those who enter politics are stepping into a pressure-cooker environment in which they are daily assaulted with powerful temptations to compromise on issues of integrity. Psalm 45, a poem in praise of godly kingship, depicts the ideal king as one who rides forth in defence of truth, humility and righteousness. These admirable character traits, so valuable in God’s sight, are keys to leading with integrity. Yet politicians, sadly, are expected by the party machine to buy into a win-at-all-costs mindset that is absolutely fatal to the servant leadership taught in Scripture and modelled by Jesus. Even people who enter politics with the best of intentions are flawed human beings who are not immune to these pressures.

As I reflect on the crisis of trust that is currently plaguing Canada’s government, I am reminded that only leaders who cultivate humility can walk in truth and righteousness. It is humility that keeps those in positions of power from becoming corrupt liars who serve only themselves. It is also humility that keeps the rest of us from pointing fingers when our leaders disappoint us. Our leaders – and we ourselves – will one day have to answer to a holy and righteous God. Though full of mercy and quick to forgive, His eyes search out the hidden motives of every heart and hold us all to account. That fact alone ought to drive us to heartfelt prayer for our nation and its leaders, for all public servants, and for ourselves. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?

Lord, teach us to pray.

 

 

 

 

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House of Prayer, Intercession, Intimacy with God, Reflections on Life, Servanthood, Workplace, Worship

Life on the beach – or on the farm?

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Over the years I have had many conversations with colleagues at work about their goals in life.

I remember one man in particular who made it quite clear what he wanted. His goal was to build up a nice financial nest egg so that he could retire, relax, and enjoy life. As he saw it, the good life is “life on the beach”, or “life at the cottage”, or some other form of permanent vacation, and the purpose of work is to build up enough wealth so that we can spend the rest of our days doing exactly as we please, with no-one to answer to but ourselves.

More recently I had a conversation with another colleague. In addition to working as an IT consultant, she and her husband own and operate a small farm where they raise goats, beef cattle and horses. Marion and I like buying meat from her because we know it’s not laced with antibiotics and hormones. This colleague told me recently that she had considered giving up farming but she couldn’t do it, because she doesn’t want to live without a purpose. For her, farming is a way of life that embodies purposeful and therefore satisfying activity. She enjoys finding cost-effective and inventive ways of meeting the challenge of raising animals organically. Her dream isn’t “life on the beach”, it’s “life on the farm”. She does want to have sufficient freedom to be able to take a vacation with her husband every now and then (a challenge for many farmers) but she can’t stand living without a purpose.

Life on the beach – or on the farm? A permanent vacation – or a life of purposeful activity? Serving yourself, or serving others? Which would you choose?

I’d pick life on the farm any day.

Let me be clear. I love vacations. I know I need rest. It was great to go to Florida for a week last year, and Marion and I loved our holiday at a cottage on Drummond Island with children and grandchildren the year before. I thoroughly enjoy weekends with their (somewhat) more relaxed pace. But I can’t stand the thought of living without any purpose but to satisfy my own desires. That kind of life would kill me. The beach is great for a break from the farm, but give me the farm over the beach for a satisfying life that’s well-lived.

No, I’m not considering another career change, nor a change of location. I am now thoroughly and happily transplanted from my former life in rural Russell Township to my current life in inner-city Vanier, and I have no regrets about the change. Although I do have a small garden, I have no plans to take up farming. I know that I am exactly where God wants me to be.

But like my farming colleague, I don’t want to live without a purpose. And like her, I see myself as a type of farmer. I’m not raising hay, grain, goats and cattle. I’m tending people’s hearts. The farm isn’t mine, it’s God’s. But I am one of his sharecroppers. Other servants have planted the seed of His saving, lifegiving truth in many hearts, and my job is to tend and nurture the seeds that have sprouted into young, growing plants.

On God’s farm there are lots of jobs to be done. Some people do more planting than anything else. These are the ones who love telling complete strangers – everyone they can find – about Jesus. Others spend more of their time fertilizing and watering the crops. These are the ones who love to help others understand the word of God and how it applies to their life. Some people spend most of their time feeding and looking after the other workers. That’s just as important. There are other jobs as well. Like on most farms, everyone does a bit of everything at times, but some people specialize more in some areas than in others.

In my years of working on God’s farm I’ve planted seeds, and I’ve also watered and fertilized them. But what I love to do most is to make sure that the young plants can see the Son. That, to me, is what the ministry of worship and prayer is all about. Plants don’t grow if they can’t see the light. Believers need to be able to see the Son so that they can become like Him. God has an enemy who is constantly planting weeds in the midst of His good crops. Sometimes those weeds threaten to choke the life out of the crops that God’s servants have planted. Sometimes the weeds seem to get so thick that it’s hard to see the Son. When that happens, the ministry of worship and prayer has a wonderful way of clearing spaces in the undergrowth so that we can see the light of His face. In fact, the more we worship, the more the weeds seem to just disappear, and the crops of God’s planting begin to flourish and thrive and reproduce. It’s amazing.

All workers need rest. I’m glad that on God’s farm there are refreshing streams and green pastures where his servants can be renewed and restored. But I’m so glad that God has made me for fruitful labour in his fields.

The day of harvest is coming. When that day comes, I want to be found faithful in the labour to which He has assigned me.

 

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Brokenness and Wholeness, Faith and Suffering, Reflections on Life, Servanthood, Social Commentary

Tragedy in Boston

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By now almost everyone has heard of the terrible tragedy that took place at the Boston Marathon yesterday, in which two bombs killed three people and injured many others. Among the dead was an eight-year-old boy who had been waiting for his father to finish the race.

Words fail to describe the horror of such a scene. One of the more common responses to tragedies such as this is anguish. Many ask, How could anyone do this?

Most of us are deeply disturbed by such acts and can never imagine ourselves doing something so terrible. But what we don’t usually see is that left to ourselves, while we may not be given to evil, all of us are given to preserving our own life. While we could not imagine ourselves doing such a terrible act of violence, our decision to live for ourselves – our primary commitment to preserving our own life – means that in the face of darkness fear takes over, and the best we can do is to try to protect ourselves and those we love. This is how evil wins.

I have been reading through the gospels lately, and I have been struck all over again by some of the radical things Jesus said. He called his followers to be willing to die for him, and he wasn’t talking about terrorism – or Crusades either. He was talking about radical, sacrificial obedience to the way of the cross. He was talking about being willing to suffer for the sake of love.

This seems strange to most of us. It’s certainly contrary to our normal human desire to preserve our own life. I mean, who really wants to suffer and die?

The apostle Paul had been a terrorist before he met the risen Christ. He had made it his business to seek out, terrorize and persecute Jews who had come to believe that Yeshua (Jesus) was risen from the dead and was Israel’s Messiah. Like today’s Islamic terrorists, or the medieval Crusaders, he was completely sincere – he believed he was doing the will of God. Yet even in his sincerity, he was a violent and wicked man – as he himself later admitted after his life was turned around when the risen Jesus encountered him. For the rest of his life he would serve the One whose people he had hitherto persecuted. The same thing has happened to some of today’s Islamic terrorists, notably Walid Shoebat and others.

This morning I was reading some of Paul’s words and they really got my attention.  He says that he always carried the death of Jesus in his body. This seems like a strange and even morbid thing to say. But then he goes on to say that because he carried the death of Jesus in his body, he was able to manifest the life of the risen Jesus in his life.

Consider for a moment. Even if you don’t get killed by a terrorist, you are going to die anyway. You can’t avoid it. But Jesus didn’t even try to avoid his death. In fact, he freely embraced it for the sake of others, and now He is alive forever, the first of many who have entrusted their lives to Him and who will share His glory when he returns to rule the earth openly. Could this be what it means to carry his death in my body – to embrace the fact that I am going to die one way or another, and to crucify my own ambitions, hopes and fears so that Jesus can live his life in and through me?

If I am truly given to Jesus, if I have died to my own goals and ambitions, I believe it is possible to face horror unafraid. Not only unafraid, but able to give life to others without becoming bitter, hardened or discouraged – because it is his life I am giving, not my own. This is the testimony of the first apostles and many of those who have followed him since then.

Have I already attained this? Far from it. But that’s how I want to respond to this tragedy. For me, while sobering, it is a salutary reminder that I am a broken man who needs – and has found – a Saviour, that my life now belongs to Him, and that the life that is truly life is found only in living as a servant, friend and lover of the One who gave his life for me.

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Brokenness and Wholeness, Neighbourhood, Social Commentary, Transformation

Coldest Night of the Year

I remember when I first heard about Jericho Road Ministries from its founder, my friend Ray Desmarais. A compassionate man with a big heart for the hurting and homeless, Ray wanted to do something practical to help. Over the years, his relentless drive and passion led to the birthing of a ministry that has demonstrated the love of Jesus to hundreds of broken people in Ottawa’s core. While appreciating the need for shelters such as Shepherds of Good Hope and the Ottawa Mission, Jericho Road has chosen to offer smaller-scale, discipleship-based group homes with the aim of helping mentally ill or addicted men and women get off the street and learn practical life skills in an atmosphere of structured Christian community.

For several years my wife Marion and I were among the regular performers at a weekly coffee house offered by Jericho Road. We loved it! At the time, we lived in the rural community of Russell, and the coffee house gave us an opportunity to serve and rub shoulders with people that we wouldn’t normally have any contact with. Now that we live in the historic neighbourhood of Vanier, so close to downtown, I have a whole new appreciation for the work done by ministries such as Jericho Road.

I no longer sing at the Jericho Road coffee house, as there are now plenty of musicians to fill the roster, but on February 23, I’ll be joining a team led by my good friend Keith Brown in a walk in support of this great ministry, along with dozens of other Ottawans. The event is known as The Coldest Night of the Year, and takes place in cities across the nation in support of various charities that serve the hurting and homeless. In Ottawa, your donations will go to support Jericho Road. I’d be grateful if you would consider supporting me with a donation.

If you would like to donate, or would consider joining the walk yourself, you can do so by going to my personal home page. All donations are tax-deductible.

God bless you.

 

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Intimacy with God, Neighbourhood, Transformation

Cleaning up garbage with Jesus

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This morning I had the privilege of picking up garbage in our neighbourhood park and some of the surrounding streets here in Vanier, the historic part of Ottawa where Marion and I make our home with our daughter Bethany. I was volunteering as part of a city-wide effort to get citizens involved in cleaning up parks and neighbourhoods.

Cleaning up garbage may not seem like a very enjoyable task. However, I actually did enjoy the work. It was a beautiful morning and the work was not difficult. I easily filled a garbage bag with cigarette butts, pop cans, coffee cups and other debris.

It wasn’t only the beautiful fall morning that lifted my spirits, although that certainly helped. I was listening to the voice of the Spirit as I worked, and it dawned on me that cleaning up other people’s garbage is an apt metaphor for what Jesus did for us on the cross. He took our filth – it didn’t belong to him, but he took it upon himself. He took it upon himself so that we wouldn’t have to carry it any more.

Not everyone cares about their filth. Some people make very little effort to get themselves cleaned up. This is true of some of the more run-down properties in our neighbourhood. People just seem to get used to living with a mess and to them it’s normal. Some of these people probably care very little if someone else cleans up their garbage. They may not even notice. In the same way, lots of people are so used to living in spiritual and relational darkness that they think it’s normal, and they may not even want to change. For lots of people, broken relationships, anger, unforgiveness, mistrust, immorality, selfishness and pain are just the way life is. Although Jesus paid a high price to clean up their garbage, they don’t really care. They’d rather live with their mess so they can at least live under the illusion that they are free to do as they please.

But others did appreciate the cleanup effort. I was thanked by several people this morning. A young mother in the park seemed pleased that I smiled at her cute six-month-old baby. She thanked me for cleaning up the park. Later, on my way back home after finishing my cleanup work, I was thanked by a man on the front step of the Inuit housing co-op where I had picked up all the cigarette butts an hour earlier. He seemed really surprised that someone would do that. I told him it was no big deal and he apologetically explained that there is a coffee can on the step that people are supposed to use for their cigarette butts, but some people don’t bother and just leave them in the street.

This, too, is a parable of spiritual awareness. Although many people seem completely unaware of what Jesus has done for them in taking their filth onto himself, others are genuinely humbled and grateful when they recognize his undeserved gift to them. The Holy Spirit prompted me throughout the morning to pray blessing on the homes and people that I was serving by cleaning up their garbage. I prayed that those who don’t already know God’s love would have their hearts awakened and their eyes opened. I prayed that they would see their need for a spiritual cleansing. I prayed that (like the ones who thanked me for cleaning up their garbage) the folks in our neighbourhood would have a revelation of the amazing gift that Jesus has offered them. I prayed that they would find gratitude arising in their hearts as they realize that Jesus has cleaned up their filth and taken their sentence of death onto himself so that they could go free.

Some people say that prayer by itself is of little value – that only when it is accompanied by action does prayer become practical. I agree that when we pray, we also need to be willing to be part of the answer to our prayers.

But consider.

Jesus only spent three years in public ministry. He preached to thousands of people, healed many, fed several thousand, entered Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful King but was rejected by her leaders, gave his life on the cross for the redemption of all, rose from the dead and appeared to more than five hundred people – and still he was left with only a hundred and twenty followers praying in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. That was his public ministry. Though it was laced with spiritual power, the results were relatively small. Only a hundred and twenty people were willing to call him Lord after three years.

Faced with this relatively meager result, what conclusion did Jesus draw? What did he do?

He prayed for his people. Faced with a world that needed saving, He did not conclude that he had failed. Instead, he poured out power on the hundred and twenty who were praying and waiting for him in Jerusalem, and set himself the task of praying for them and all that would believe because of their message. He has been faithful to his ministry of prayer for the last two thousand years.

Not everything that was done in Jesus’ name those two thousand years has been glorious. There have been episodes that were downright shameful, when you would be hard pressed to recognize that the church belonged to Jesus at all. And yet – and yet – because Jesus has faithfully prayed for his people, even in the deepest darkness there have always been witnesses to his truth, grace and mercy. And amazingly, the true life of God has erupted over and over again, sometimes at the most unexpected times and places, in the midst of the greatest barrenness and seeming despair. Why? Because Jesus was praying, and the Holy Spirit was stirring in the hearts of His people. The times when the church has glistened with hope and shone with His life and power have been the times when the church had its face turned towards Jesus in prayer and adoration.

Today, despite world-wide upheavals and trouble in many places, despite poverty and sickness and suffering, despite compromise in much of the church, despite decay in society, the good news of Jesus is spreading like never before. Leaders of the major missions agencies estimate that by the year 2020 (2025 at the latest), every people group on the face of the earth will have a witness of the gospel of the Kingdom in their own language. This is unprecedented, and is one of the Scriptural signs that His return is near.

And what has Jesus been doing these last two thousand years? It is written that He has been praying. For two thousand years he has been praying for his bride, waiting for her to come to maturity so that she will be ready for the great wedding feast to come.

I had a great time cleaning up garbage with Jesus this morning. Although the physical cleanup was of some value, far more important is the cleansing of people’s hearts that was the subject of my prayers this morning. And though the results of those prayers were not immediately visible to me, I am confident that not a word was wasted. Jesus heard every one. He has stored them up in the heavens, and they are awaiting their answer. Many in Vanier will come to the light, as will many in every nation. Many will recognize that they don’t have to live in their own filth any more. Instead they can live in the freedom of God’s children, they can know the joy that the Holy Spirit gives, they can live with clean hearts and bright spirits as sons of the resurrection and heirs of the Kingdom that is coming on the earth when Jesus returns.

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift.

 

 

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Basic Principles, Eschatology, Reflections on Life, Seasonal Thoughts

Making a difference

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“You’re not the boss of me”, declared the young man in the high school special needs class.   “In this class, yes, I am the boss of you”, replied my wife, firmly but not unkindly.  Having raised four children of her own, including three sons, she was not at all intimidated by his bravado.  Although she was several inches shorter than he, she carried an authority that did not originate from within herself.

Authority.  It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it?  Without a doubt it can be abused, and often is – yet without authority, true leadership is impossible.   The people we respect the most are people who seem to have an inherent authority that adds weight to their words and actions, yet who aren’t impressed with their own authority, but hold it lightly and exercise it with humility.

This is the season in which we celebrate the coming of Jesus into our world.   Christmas carols typically focus on the fact that he came to die for us so we could have peace with God and go to heaven.  Yet I have never met anyone who admits to being excited by the prospect of spending eternity sitting on a cloud playing on a harp.  That’s because God did not make us for any such destiny.  While it’s true that Jesus was born to save us from our sins, His purpose for us goes far beyond taking us away to heaven.  He redeemed us so that one day we can govern the earth in His name.

One day.  That day is not now, not yet.  Yes, it’s true that believers are called to bear witness to the authority of Jesus – but our time to reign on the earth is when He returns in His glory to banish evil once for all and establish His Kingdom.  For now, He is patient, wanting to allow time for as many as possible to come to repentance.

Why is it important to get this right?  Because if the church tries to bring in God’s Kingdom by taking over the power structures of the world, we only end up messing things up.  Look at the Crusades.  Look at the abuses in Native residential schools.  Look at all the other messes created by well-meaning Christians who tried to use the world’s methods to do God’s job for him. Left to our own devices, we are not capable of expressing His righteous nature in our governance.  Even the best human power structures are a far cry from the way of Jesus – the way of love, servanthood, humility and righteousness that characterizes God’s Kingdom.

The Bible tells us that even though Jesus was and is his Father’s chosen One, he had to learn obedience through what he suffered.  He chose to govern his own spirit and surrender his will to the Father’s good purposes even when this meant enduring unspeakable pain.  Solomon, speaking by the wisdom of God, declared that one who governs his (her) own spirit is better than one who can capture a city.   What good is authority if all you succeed in doing is to make things worse?  Even though we were made to rule, created to bring God’s order and blessing to the earth, we can’t get it right until we let the Crucified One transform our self-preoccupied hearts into hearts that are enthralled, not with ourselves and our amazing abilities (where did those abilities come from in the first place?), but with Him and His goodness.  That process is not yet complete, and won’t be complete until Jesus returns.   That’s why I say our time to rule is not yet.  What we need to focus on is not our authority, but Jesus’ authority.  If we focus on that, we become safe people – people who are not preoccupied with ourselves, and therefore people to whom Jesus is able to entrust greater and greater measures of His Kingdom authority precisely because we have given up striving for it.

The night before Jesus went to the cross, he took a towel and washed his disciples’ feet.   This was a menial task, one that should have been assigned to the lowest one on the totem pole.   Simon Peter, who always seemed to make it his business to protect the Master’s interests, protested that Jesus shouldn’t be doing this lowly job.  He thought he knew better than Jesus.  But Jesus had made no mistake.  John records that Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was going to God.  In other words, Jesus knew who He was and where He was headed, and it was in this knowledge that he humbled himself and washed the grimy, smelly feet of his friends.  He had no inner compulsion pushing him to prove His own authority.  He had already settled that issue and willingly surrendered to the Father’s purpose for Him, unlike Lucifer who couldn’t stand not being in charge.  His sole purpose now was to reveal the Father’s love and glory to those He had chosen, so that they would be so imprinted with the goodness of the Father that they in turn would be able to bear witness to a world that was desperate for good news.

So what’s my point?  It’s very simple.  The good news is Jesus, not us.  Am I saying that we can’t make a difference?  No, not at all.  I’m saying that if we want to make a difference that is truly lasting – that counts for eternity – then we need to stop being so concerned about making a difference, and simply make it our business to keep our attention on our bridegroom so that we are changed by His glory.  If our eyes are on Him, we won’t have to strive to make a difference.  His humility, love and power will characterize our lives without us trying to prove anything.  The apostles of the first generation, who had seen the Risen One, lived this way – and they turned the world upside down.

I want the world to be impressed – I want the world to be amazed – not by me and what I can do, but by Jesus my King, who alone is worthy to rule, and who is coming soon.  That’s where my hopes are fixed; that’s what I’m living for.

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