The Godly Way

November 26, 2024.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 
-Colossians 3:12-15 (NIV)

It’s difficult to do something good for people we don’t like or can’t get along with.  It’s difficult to think of anything positive for these people, and especially if anyone has offended you or harmed you or loved ones in any way.  I remember a story I heard by Corey Ten Boom (a Holocaust survivor).  If you haven’t heard of her story yet, I recommend reading some of her books.  “The Hiding Place” is probably her most popular book.  In this true story, she shared the gruesome ordeal of being in a Nazi concentration camp and surviving.  She was stripped of her dignity and witnessed her father and sister die at the hands of Nazis.  Many years later and at a church service she ran into one of her jailers and couldn’t forgive him.  In “The Hiding Place” she wrote the following:

“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. ‘How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.’ He said. ‘To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!’
His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” [1]

Forgiveness is complicated and I can get into a whole sermon on forgiveness, building trust and reconciliation.  These are different things, and God actually never asks us to build trust or reconcile to everyone, but he does ask us to forgive (Eph. 4:31-32).  Jesus never trusted or reconciled with the Pharisees or the people that crucified him, but he did pray for them (Luk. 23:34).  However, I just want to say that none of us has the ability to fully forgive.  This may come as a surprise, but if you want to feel and extend true forgiveness, this ability is only God-given!  Corey Ten Boom couldn’t forgive on her own until Jesus Christ intervened and made a Godly way into her heart first.  She had a chasm of hate and bitterness to overcome, and the only one that could bridge and even destroy that chasm was Jesus Christ!  She didn’t have to fully reconcile with the jailer and become lifelong friends since then, but she fully forgave him!

There are a lot of passages in scripture that deal with forgiveness and I understand they’re all difficult to swallow.  Someone one said, “Everyone loves the idea of forgiving until you actually have someone to forgive.”  If you’re having problems with Col. 3:12-15 I hear you.  Forgiveness starts with prayer!  Ask God to help them and ask God to help you too!  The other person’s actions may not change, but typically if you ask God for help, your heart changes instead and that makes a world of a difference!  We’re definitely called to imitate Jesus Christ, and the Godly way is the way of forgiving. 

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[1] Crocker, M., (MDiv, M. C., Carter, P., Weerakoon, K., Cline, D., Graham, W., Wyatt Graham  • Ian Clary, Andrew Geddert  • Pat Sczebel  • Rob Brockman, Paul Carter  • Michael Krahn  • Rob Godard  • Ray David Glenn  • Wyatt Graham, & Tim Elmore  • Marshall Morden. (2021, October 12). The forgiveness of corrie ten boom. The Gospel Coalition | Canada. https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-forgiveness-of-corrie-ten-boom/

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He Saves and He Reigns

November 19, 2024.

1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
    the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
    indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
    you are from all eternity.

3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
    the seas have lifted up their voice;
    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
    mightier than the breakers of the sea—
    the Lord on high is mighty.

5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
    holiness adorns your house
    for endless days.

-Psalm 93 (NIV)

He reigns!  The Lord reigns!  Does he really?  When we call upon Jesus as Lord and Saviour, do we really mean it?  When we acknowledge God is out there, do we really live to emphasize that?  Do we truly believe our God is ruler of all and very close to us, or in practice are we behaving as if though God is a distant being and not watching every move/thought/spoken word and is not reigning and ruling over all of creation?

In a response to Psalm 93 by Paul Tripp (Pastor/Author), he once said “I love the fact that the Bible is very clear that we don’t just worship and serve a saviour, but we worship and serve a ruling and reigning king!”  Perhaps we forget that!  Perhaps we know of God’s reign in theory, but we neglect to practice it and indulge in it!  We truly forget that our Saviour is in fact and also the ruling and reigning king!  Can we take a few moments just to pause and think about that?....

Do you know how precious your life is?  Do you actually know God is fully sovereign?  Do you realize God is not only out there when we have our struggles, but he’s right there with us and close to us?  Are you for certain our God cares for you and wants nothing but good for you?  Now don’t get it twisted! – our God does not want us to fall into temptation to produce sin,  and does not want us to indulge in selfish desires and fleeting wants that are flesh-based and temporal.  He is not the kind of false god that gives to our temporal wants. – but indeed our God is both sovereign and good and wants us to be holy, not necessarily happy!  He definitely wants us to be joyful and Godly joyfulness is eternal versus fleeting and emotional based happiness, and sometimes God allows us to go through hardships to refine our joyfulness that we may turn to God through Jesus Christ more.  I just unloaded a complete bubble burster for some readers!  That’s right, I said it!  I’m basically saying God allows for some forms of pain to produce righteousness and Godly holiness….and that is indeed good!  It’s all a part of a master and cosmic plan for God to wield that we may be more like Jesus Christ!  For that matter, think about what Psalm 93 is telling us. 

The entire world and all of creation itself is established, firm and secure in his royal grip!  The seas, the waves, and great waters with its force and ferocity are nothing in comparison to the might of our God!  71% of the world is covered by water and I was reminded just how chaotic and ferocious the ocean can be when I visited Peggy’s Cove (Nova Scotia) last year.  If you ever get a chance to visit, you’ll notice there is a sign telling you to stand back and away from the dark coloured rocks.  For very good reason you’re warned because the ocean waves absolutely pound and crash on these rocks with terror!  When I visited, I also looked across the ocean waves and imagined seeing the Leviathan creature in Job 41, or the gadowl dag (Hebrew for ”great fish”) that swallowed Jonah in Jonah 1-2.  Everything to do with the chaos of the ocean is terrifying to me! – but all of this and everything on the land, and in the air, and in the cosmos are all under our Lord’s dominion!    Being one part of the God-head/three-in-one, Jesus Christ is not only mightier than all of this, but he is Lord, he is Saviour and he cares for you!  He reigns and he is also the God of infinite love and compassion!  Do not neglect to acknowledge him in his sovereignty, his brilliant plan for creation, and when you go through struggles and temptations.  He cares and he is near!

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Enduring the Cross

November 12, 2024.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

-Hebrews 12:1-3 (NLT)

Did anyone catch Remembrance Day ceremonies last Monday?  I was away in Quebec City on a quick vacation and only caught fleeting moments of television broadcasts.  There were rumours of military chaplains being banned from praying to God (an accusation that the Liberal-NDP government denies) during Remembrance Day ceremonies.  I have a Canadian military chaplain that told me he can’t mention Jesus unless someone approaches him and mentions Jesus first.  With all of this in mind, I can’t help but wonder where our beloved country is falling towards.  In 1867 Canada became a nation and founded upon moral biblical principles, but sadly many people today do not care about that.

In today’s Canada, it’s common to not go to church, to not worship Jesus, to not give offerings and tithes to God through the church, and to not live according to biblical principles - so I ask, what does the cross mean to you?  What does enduring the cross mean to you?  Followers, prophets, priests, and disciples in the Old and New Testaments all give their entire lives in pursuit of our triune God, and for many of them even till sudden and gruesome death!  Christianity cannot and will not be vanquished because it’s founded upon Jesus Christ himself!  The world can try to lie, cheat, distort and divide Jesus from his people but it will never succeed.  Is it challenging and inconvenient to commit to church each and every Sunday?  Yes.  Is it challenging and inconvenient to give tithes and offerings to God on a regular basis? Yes.  Is it challenging and inconvenient to hear poking and prying sermons, bible studies, and leadership accountability that examines our lives from a Godly and holy perspective?  Yes.  Is it unnerving and painful to be witnesses to the gospel?  Yes! – but this is why we must continue, because the cost is great (your lives) but the prize is greater (eternal joy with Jesus Christ).

Consider our faithful ancestors from the past.  I already mentioned faithful followers gave their entire lives in pursuit of our triune God.  Moreover they fixed their eyes on Jesus (even the Old Testament followers did so, fixing their gaze upon a Saviour, not knowing the name of Jesus back then).  Of course the ultimate model is Jesus Christ himself.  You have what it takes because Jesus as a part of the Trinity initiates our faith and he will perfect our faith (see Phil. 1:6-8).

And to those reflecting on our vote outcome on departing from the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) two Sundays ago, I will share it’s not over yet.  The vast majority voted in favour on departing, while some voted to stay.  You are all a part of St. Andrew’s, and we need each other!  We must move together in paths of righteousness and we must help each other to be more Jesus Christ-like.  There will be hostility around us, but do not let that distract you from being the true Church together.  Endure the cross and may Jesus Christ be the champion we need!

 
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