Susque's Winter Blast

This will be my last post for 2007 as tomorrow I am on my way to Camp Susque to participate in their annual Winter Blast and I will not be returning to Canada until this year has given way to the next. I am looking forward to speaking to the college age group about a variety of things that I think they need to ponder as they prepare themselves to take their place in the world. I will be traveling with my oldest son and his friend and although we will miss getting together with family and friends on New Year's Eve and Day, it is sometimes refreshing to get out on the road and to see firsthand what God is doing in the lives of others. There is more going on than any of us realize and it is easy to make the mistake of thinking that what we are doing is all that matters. As in the days of Elijah, God has his people everywhere, and he will continue to raise up new leaders as long as the gospel age continues.

2007 has been a year of many unexpected changes in my own life and at this stage it is impossible to know what 2008 will bring. It is reassuring to know that our times are in God's hands and if we lack wisdom we can ask him for help. I trust that those of you who read this blog have benefited in some small way from the various posts. Although my schedule this coming year will be hectic than ever before, I plan to continue posting on a regular basis. I believe that we need to use whatever means are available to us to talk about things of first importance. Blogging is not for everyone, but it is one of those means that I can use to carry on a conversation with others around the world about the glory of God and the wonder of what he has accomplished in Jesus. So to that end, I will continue to blog as long as he gives me something worth saying. From my perspective the entailments of Christ's work are many and we need to ponder them deeply and then take the appropriate action.

My prayer is that all of you will have a blessed and productive New Year. See you in 2008!

Getting The Numbers Right

The website CanadianChristianity.com has released the first in a series of articles by Jim Coggins on the state of the church in Canada. What caught my eye was an explanation for the declining numbers of people attending church in recent years. According to Reginald Bibby even though number are declining we are not in danger of becoming like Europe in terms of church attendance, at least not soon. Apparently, the drop in numbers may not indicate that church attendance will continue to fall as Canada becomes more secularized. This is because while weekly attendance is down some 30% from 1950, monthly attendance is only down 3% between 1980 and 2005, and yearly attendance remains steady around 67%. Thus people have not stopped going to church completely they have merely stopped attending as regularly and consistently.

In part, this may be due to more people working on Sunday, or to the demands made on homes where both partners must work to make ends meet and therefore it is not as easy to attend church activities as it is in families with one wage earner or an income sufficient to be able to afford maids and nannies. Furthermore, lack of commitment to a particular church body may be part of a larger lack of commitment to organizations in general throughout Canadian society. For instance, pollster Andrew Grenville tells us that there are "fewer Boy Scouts, labor unions, political parties or service clubs like the Kiwanis or Rotary." More and more people live fragmented lives separated from meaningful involvement with others. As Robert Putnam as found not only has religion been privatized and driven to the periphery of life, Canadian society has been fragmented. So we have to be careful in drawing conclusions that lack of attendance means that Christianity is eroding like a beach in heavy surf.

What I find interesting about part one of "Canadian Christianity's" report is that we must never be too pessimistic when looking at our cultural surroundings. Some personality types are always ready to throw in the towel. Statistics must be read and interpreted carefully. And at the same time we must keep in mind that life on earth is not over until the Lord has finished his great work of rescuing all who call upon his great name. This is a helpful way to begin a new year with new responsibilities. Instead of looking at the obstacles in the way it is important to see the wisdom and the power of God who is able to remove hindrances as great as "mountains" if they stand in the way of his kingdom purposes.

Looking Ahead

Christmas is over and boxing day (at least in Canada and other assorted British colonies) is here. As I write this the sky is gray and there is a misty fog hanging in the air though the temperature is below freezing. While many are chomping at the bit waiting for the stores to open so they can indulge themselves in the annual post-Christmas orgy of consumer spending I prefer to spent my time in other ways.

Uppermost on my mind this morning is the end of another year and the beginning of a new one in less than a week. Time rolls on as unstoppable as the ocean and I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead. The future is unknown to the most seasoned prognosticator, for which I am thankful, but still I wonder. Will this year be more of the same? What advances will be made for the gospel? What can be done this year to move beyond talk and prayers and tired terminology to action?

Maybe, I confess, I am in the grip of the cynicism that comes with time spent in this world but it seems to me that generally speaking people are disappointing and there are few that genuinely seek the interests of others. There is no shortage of pious verbiage but beyond that it is business as usual. I know that I must always keep my eyes on the Lord and not on other humans who like myself disappoint time and time again. But still, it would be wonderful to see something done beyond the maintenance of the status quo which is so incredibly boring.

The answer I suspect is found in doing what I think the Lord wants me do and not depending on or waiting for anyone else to come along with me. That after all is what leadership is all about: seeing what needs to be done and then doing it even if no one else gets it at the time and even if they never understand what I am thinking or feeling. Leadership is creative and is not just aping someone else's vision.

So here in the last week of the year I am wondering whether I have the faith and the courage to cut a new path, to think outside the box, to find and fulfill God's will for my life. Time will tell. But whatever happens it is my prayer that God's name would be honored as holy, that his kingdom come in power and that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that the Lord of the church will show us all what happens when he bares his arm and works as only he can do. I suppose that this is what we all need more than anything else -- we need God to draw near.

Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve I would like to wish all the readers of "Redeeming The Time" a blessed Christmas and a productive new year. When I was a boy I remember hearing adults say that time seems to pass more quickly the old you get. Well, I must be getting older because the days, months and years are passing more quickly than ever, and with the passage of time, there are moments of reflection about how to make the best use of that time. The Bible speaks about the brevity of life and the need to "'redeem the time." This is one thing I am trying to so with this blog. I am trying to use my time and the technology of my day to honor the triune God.

Over the past year I trust this blog has been helpful to you, the reader. I hope it has encouraged and challenged and informed you as you ponder some of the great issues of life. There is much to be done for the Savior and little time to do it. It is my conviction that we need to use every tool at our disposal to talk about the Christian gospel and it's implications for ourselves and the world at large. I also believe that we often settle for pat answers and too quickly default to doing things the way they have been done without asking "why?" Some traditions and ways of doing things that we have inherited from the past are good and necessary but others get in the way of experiencing what God has for us in the present. I believe that the Lord continues to lead and guide his people through the Word and the ministry of his Holy Spirit and we need to be open to his leading if we are to get the job done.

And so to that end I will continue to maintain this blog. My life is going to be very busy as I take on the challenge of being the Interim Principal of Toronto Baptist Seminary for the coming year in addition to my teaching responsibilities at the school. But because I believe my primary calling is to be a proclaimer of the gospel that gripped my life over 32 years ago, no matter what else happens, I will use every means at my disposal to talk about the Savior who has done so much for me. So whether I serve as a professor of systematic theology, or an interim principal, or a pastor-teacher, or a blogger in the brave new digital world, my burning desire to to make known Jesus in a way that is true to biblical revelation and relevant to my time in the history. To this end may his name be praised and his kingdom of grace advance during this Christmas season and in the year that lies ahead.

On Words and Images

Caleb Crain has written an interesting article in "The New Yorker" magazine (December 24, 2007) called The Twilight of the Books: What will life be like if people stop reading? In it he provides more proof that reading is in decline, not merely as a recreational past time, but as something that people are able to do efficiently. In light of this growing reality he wonders what life will be like if the present trend towards "orality" continues. Some scholars like Walter J. Ong have speculated that television and similar media are taking us into an era of "secondary orality," akin to the primary orality that existed before the emergence of text. If this turns out to be true, or even partially true, there will be vast implications for education, business, politics and the general interaction of people with ideas that demand their attention and shape their lives.

Most intriguing is the suggestion that an image based culture is less able to notice inconsistencies between different arguments or accounts of reality when compared to a word based culture. Furthermore, people are less likely to watch something they do not agree with than to read a differing point of view. If people do not like what they are seeing they merely turn the channel. But this means that over time they are more likely to watch things that confirm their point of view and less likely to be exposed to ideas that challenge or contradict their worldview.

Genuine Christianity has never been afraid of the marketplace of ideas. Truth does not fear exposure or careful analysis. But if the current trend away from words continues we will have to think carefully about how we can get people to interact with the word of God which calls on us to make distinctions and to know the difference between truth and error. Ignorance is an enemy of freedom. And so is a kind of self-imposed protectionism which carefully filters out or censors information we do not want to hear. The better way is to test all things and to hold fast to what is good as defined by the objective standard of the Word of God.

The Art of Communication

My wife and I just returned from seeing Stuart McLean host of the Vinyl Cafe which airs on CBC Radio. It was a thoroughly entertaining and wholesome show. In our day of ultra modern technology Stuart managed to fill Hamilton Place with people of all ages who came to here him tell his stories and to listen to some very talented Canadian musicians. Stuart's stories connect with men and women, and young and old alike. They connect because he is a careful listener and observer of human beings in their relationships with each other and the world around them. It is fun to watch talented performers at work. They make the magical look easy.

But I can never sit and watch something like this without reflecting on what I have just seen and asking myself if there are any lessons to be learned, this time with regard to communication in our day. In this show there are a number of things that stand out. Before I get to Stuart himself, the music is worth noting. A guitarist who also played the trumpet, a pianist, a base player and two singers who themselves played the flute and electric guitar respectively. This worked very well and it is what people are used to in our society. How organs and pianos were attached to biblical orthodoxy I do not know. And why churches are so slow to utilize various forms of musical expression is totally beyond me. Some of the extreme positions taken in this regard makes me wonder if we are dealing with Christians at all or just conservatives, and the two are not necessarily synonymous. Or perhaps we are afflicted with antiquarians who just like things the way they were. Whatever the reasons it is a shame that sometimes it seems that we go out of our way to make Christianity unattractive.

Stuart's story-telling connects with real people living their lives. Now I realize that there is a world of difference between preaching and teaching the Bible and telling Christmas stories but there are still some things we can learn. We should not be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the stories because that kind of simplicity is the result of very hard work. Thought has been put into what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. Sometimes too much time is spent reading commentaries and examining the original languages and not enough time on how to communicate the unchanging message of the Bible in a way that will connect with the listener. We need to learn from the great preachers of the past the importance of touching the lives of the people in our day, not their day! From Spurgeon, for instance, we can learn the importance of communicating but not necessarily how to communicate today. And there is a difference. We are not preaching to 18th or 19th or even 20th century man. We are speaking to people living in the 21st century and we need to become better observers of what makes them tick. This will never eliminate the need for the life-giving power of God to make the blind see and the deaf hear, but it will put us in a place where God can use us if he sees fit.

The Need for Creative Solutions

In May 2003 I had the privilege of traveling to the country of Malawi in Africa with a team from Emmanuel International led by Jim and Cathy Clemens. Needless to say it was an unforgetable experience. It was a thrill to share the Word of God with local pastors at their pastor's conference, in churches and in villages throughout the country and to lecture for a week and the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi. The Christian brothers and sisters that we met along the way were so appreciative of our efforts and welcomed us with open arms and hearts.

However one thing I will never forget about Malawi is the poverty of the people. I had never seen anything like it. It was difficult to believe that these people were living on the same planet at the same time as I was living. The material prosperity that I had become accustomed to in Canada and the Western world was not found in Malawi except among a few select individuals and families who lived behind walls and gates in exclusive guarded communities.

What was the most frustrating was to see how hard many of the people worked and yet for nothing. There was no relationship between their sweat and their level of compensation. So-called "sweat-equity" was not part of their economic reality, even though many of them worked harder than most people I know over here.

The reasons for their staggering level of poverty are many, not the least of which is the prevalence of political corruption within Malawi itself. But recent revelations of cash payouts to former Canadian Prime Ministers and with the sentencing of a former media baron (which, if the truth were known, is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg) it is fairly safe to conclude that corruption is not restricted to certain countries or peoples or political or economic systems. However, whatever the reasons something must be done to enable these people to profit from their labors so they can feed and cloth their families and have hope for the future.

Given this background and my personal experience in Malawi you can better understand my interest in this NY Times article that was forwarded to me by none other than "Jungle Jim," better known as Pastor Jim Clemens Sr. my intrepid trip leader who has been very involved with the evangelical Baptist church in Malawi for years.

The article tells how Malawi has gone from being a famine ravaged country dependent on the charity of the rest of the world in 2005 to selling more corn to World Food Program of the United Nations than any other country in southern Africa largely because it ignored the advice of the World Bank and countries it was dependent on for aid. Their advice was ignored because although it may have been well intentioned, it did not grasp the complex and difficult situation in Malawi.

If you are interested you can read the details in the article itself. My point in all of this is that the "experts" do not always know what is best outside of very narrowly defined parameters and sometimes they take far too much credit for their own successes. I believe the situation is analogous to parenting. Parents whose children "turn out well" often take too much credit and those whose children do not, shoulder too much blame. There are many factors that go into the equation including the gracious purposes of God.

This principle applies in other areas of life as well. Success, for all of the human factors involved, is ultimately in the hands of God. He is working out his purposes in ways the defy simplistic human explanations. What we need is compassion joined to humility which in turn is joined to prayerfulness, creativity and hard work. Until some of the problems that plague our world are brought under control there is always room for improvement and a need to ask God for wisdom.

The Practise of Christmas

Since reading "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, " by Jim Wallis, I have become a subscriber to their email updates. Although I do not agree with everything that comes out of Sojourners (but then who agrees with everything that anyone says), their material is at the very least thought-provoking and informative and provides another Christian perspective on the world around us.

This past week I received some information on what appears to be a noble attempt to get fast-food giant Burger King to participate in a program that would ever so slightly increase the wages of Florida Tomato pickers.

While I realize that many may not be very interested in plight of Florida Tomato pickers this kind of injustice is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to economic injustice in nations that will spend millions and millions of dollars on gifts and travel during the Christmas season. It strikes me as sheer hypocrisy to celebrate the birth of the Christ child while turning a blind eye to issues like this one.

Jesus did not come to make rich people richer or more comfortable as they sip their hot apple cider around a warm Christmas fire and talk about their investments. He came to set the captives free and to call to himself a people who will not boast in their wisdom or strength or riches but in their experiential understanding of the Lord as one who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

So to this end I will post the email that was sent to me. We may not be able to do much, but we should do what we can in this and in many other areas.

--------------------------------------

Dear Kirk,

For Christmas, Burger King is trying to make the country's poorest workers even poorer.

A few months ago, we asked you to send messages to Burger King, asking them to join McDonald's and Taco Bell in increasing the sub-poverty wages of Florida tomato pickers.

Almost 20,000 of you responded, but Burger King's behavior has only gotten worse. Not only have they failed to heed the faith community's call to improve wages and working conditions for tomato pickers - they're working to undermine the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' existing agreements with other fast-food chains!

As Eric Schlosser, author of Fast-Food Nation, explained in the New York Times:
The migrant farm workers who harvest tomatoes in South Florida have one of the nation's most backbreaking jobs. For 10 to 12 hours a day, they pick tomatoes by hand, earning a piece-rate of about 45 cents for every 32-pound bucket. During a typical day each migrant picks, carries, and unloads two tons of tomatoes.

Yum! Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC) and McDonald's had agreed to pay a penny more per pound to increase wages by 70 percent per bucket, but this holiday season workers aren't receiving the increase. Why? Because Burger King has refused to pay the extra penny ... and its refusal has encouraged tomato growers to cancel the deals already struck with Taco Bell and McDonald's. This month the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, representing 90 percent of the state's growers, announced that it will not allow any of its members to collect the extra penny for farm workers.

A Burger King spokesman responded, "Florida growers have a right to run their businesses how they see fit" - apparently, even if that means putting profits ahead of justice and dignity for their workers.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs - a major shareholder in Burger King, with two representatives on the board of directors - is preparing to pay holiday bonuses. Last year, Goldman Sach's top 12 executives received more than $200 million in bonuses - more than twice the annual earnings of 10,000 Florida tomato pickers.

As we read of such injustices in this time of Advent, we reflect upon God's justice and mercy, as described in the words of Mary: [God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; [God] has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:52-53).

Advent reminds us that God intends well-being for all, not just some. We hope you'll join us in taking action.

Blessings,

Elizabeth, Ryan, Duane, and the rest of the team at Sojourners

P.S. We need Burger King to hear loud and clear that it is time to ensure fair wages for tomato pickers. Can you please share this message with at least five of your friends, members of your family, or congregation?

Quote source: Eric Schlosser, "Penny Foolish." The New York Times, 11/29/2007.

The Folly of Stubborn Independence

One of the Google ads in my Gmail box today referenced an intriguing quote from Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, "Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself." Intriguing because she seems to elevate independence above truth itself!" In other words, it is better to be wrong and to think for yourself, then to be right because you follow the guidance of someone else. Her dictum may bring applause from some quarters but in the end it is intellectual nonsense.

As finite creatures created by God we were never intended to think independently of him. This does not mean that we were not made to think, only that we were made to think God's thoughts after him, or to think guided by his revelation. But human beings resist God. They imagine freedom existing apart from God. They would rather be wrong than do what he says. Consequently we live in a world where people do not know right from wrong and where they never fulfill the purpose for which they were made. All very sad and unnecessary.

There is a better way. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7). "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus Christ" (Colossians 2:3). These are two more reasons we should be thankful for the coming of Jesus into the world. He is the light of the world and he came to illuminate the darkness. Now if only Google would display his wisdom then real progress would be made this Christmas. How thankful we should be that we are not left to ourselves but we have one who shows us the way.

"Hello... hey, what's up..."

For some time now I have wanted to write a post on people who talk so loudly in public places on their cell phones that I have to fight to block out their inane conversations. But I have hesitated because I know that my complaints will not change a thing. Still something in our society has changed so that what was once a relatively private activity is out there for everyone to share whether they want to or not. Not so long ago when people were in public places they would talk on the phone inside a 'phone booth' where they could put some space between them and the people around them. But now, cell phones with the most annoying rings go off one after another and people delight in talking on them wherever they are -- on the train, in a store, walking down a crowded street and even in public washrooms! What does this say about our society and culture? Am I making too much of it? Is it just a fad that will pass? Or will it become so common that one day no one (including me) will give it a second thought?

At one level, if people want to talk on the phone, so be it. But on another level, must everyone around them have to listen? Is there nothing to be said for relative peace and quiet? Often the only way to escape their noise is to talk on the phone yourself or to put earphones in your ear and turn up your iPod or some other electronic device. Again, many might say, "So what!" But stop and think about it. All of this noise, all of these distractions, make it very difficult and very unlikely that people will just sit and think or be able to read anything beyond the most simplistic political, sports, entertainment or financial news reporting in the paper. Instead we are bullied and pushed around by others, usually those who want to sell us something we do not need, so much so that we have little time to think about what is really important.

Furthermore, I wonder if behind the blurring of what is public and private space is not a narcissism combined with a desperate need to be noticed. So the phone rings and it must be answered in public because the owner of the phone is 'important.' Or it rings and they make sure that everyone around them knows how 'kewl' they are because they own of the latest piece of communications technology! Have these communications devices become the new status symbols? Depending on the kind of device, is it a way of subtly broadcasting how successful you are, of showing that you have arrived and you are in such demand that all of us must yield our attention to your conversation?

Rather than being annoyed or distracted, more and more I try to smile to myself as the phones ring out one after another. I smile because I remember that we humans are like sheep without a shepherd. We are so prone to fall for the latest hype, so susceptible to the insinuations of the clever advertiser, and so envious of the people around us that we are compelled against all common sense to 'keep up with them' no matter what the cost. I smile because in the new heavens and earth there will be none of this rather we will be able to concentrate on what is most important to the glory of God. Ah... what a day that will be!

Pastoral Lessons from Philemon

This fall I been teaching a Bible course on Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon at TBS. It has been a great class with a tremendous group of students who have engaged the material from the beginning. Tomorrow evening we come to the final lecture on Paul's letter to Philemon. Although it is the smallest of Paul's letters and quite personal in nature Paul gives us some valuable material on church leadership. In the letter Paul writes to persuade his friend Philemon to forgive and take back his slave Onesimus from who he is estranged. As with most biblical books there are debates as to the circumstances surrounding this letter. But the basic situation and themes are clear enough that we can get a good idea of what had taken place and Paul's solution.

What struck me as I was preparing my final lecture, and what I wanted to comment on here, is the way Paul gently and yet firmly 'pushed' Philemon in the right direction. While Paul never 'pulled rank' on Philemon and used his apostolic authority to push him around (another blog should be devoted to that subject), he nonetheless did not leave Philemon to himself and with a shrug of his shoulders look in the opposite direction. Instead, in creative ways he challenges, exhorts, encourages, prays that Philemon will rise to the challenge and do the right thing for his own good, the good of Onesimus, the church, and of course, the glory of God.

We need to listen and learn from the apostle. There is such a thing as the abuse of ecclesiastical authority, of pastors and elders and deacons (and others) going on power trips and forgetting that the church does not exist for them to exercise their gifts and parade their brilliance. This is reprehensible and such men should repent or get out of office. But there is an opposite danger. And that is the danger of not inspiring people to greatness, not challenging them to give their best to the Lord, not urging them to invest large sums of money and great expenditures of time and energy in the service of the King of kings. More and more I think people need a vision for what could be done if they are going to put their minds and hearts to it. We all need to be encouraged to seize the moment and to make a difference in our world. It is sad to think that many will live and die and make almost no impact for the kingdom of heaven.

A careful reading of Philemon reveals that Paul will have none of it. He wants his friend to see that God has arranged the circumstances of his life to give him an opportunity to participate in what God is doing. There is more going on in the case of Onesimus than meets the eye. God is at work behind the scenes to bring salvation and also to give Philemon and others a more profound awareness of his grace, love and forgiveness. God is still at work in our world and in our lives. We need to step out in faith and put the principles of the gospel into action. Like Philemon we need to do what is required, and even more, and encourage other believers to do the same.

Everyone Did As They Saw Fit

The Old Testament book of Judges ends with the refrain: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (21:25). As part of the Old Testament story this judgment prepares the way for the unveiling of a king who will lead the nation. Saul is the first appointed king of Israel but he is a miserable failure. David comes next and for all his faults proves to be a man who fears the Lord and faithfully leads the nation and in so doing foreshadows the King of kings who was to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the coming of Christ into the world at Christmas and Christians understand that he came to die to set his people free. We also know that he has done just that and we anticipate his return to judge the earth and bring his own into the full possession of salvation. This will happen when human history has runs its course and God has saved his elect and rendered the unrepentant without excuse. Until that great day dawns the refrain of Judges remains true with one important adjustment: "In those days the world had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." The refrain should not describe the church--the New Israel of God--because we have a king. But it is an accurate description of the world at large which walks in spiritual darkness even when they profess to see.

The release of movies like "The Golden Compass" based on a series of children's books by atheistic author Philip Pullman is that latest in a series of works which seek to rebel against the idea of divine authority. Rebelling against illegitimate ecclesiastical authority is one thing and is often necessary when people or religious institutions make claims for themselves that have no basis in Scripture. But rebelling against God the creator who has revealed himself in the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ is disastrous. Human authority including the powers of human reason and intuition must be guided by something objective outside of themselves or they will become hopelessly captive to self-justifying, self-exalting human subjectivity. The idea that everyone can do as they see fit and that life on earth can be anything other than a living hell is preposterous. For all our greatness as divine image bearers we are not in a position to make sense of the universe and our place in it because of our human limitations and the pervasive contamination of sin. No where is the latter more clearly seen today than in our thinking and feeling. Too often evil is called good and darkness is called light. Those who trust their own hearts are fools.

Ironically, what is being played out before our eyes is Romans 1:18-32. Human declarations of independence from God coupled with arrogant assertions are human wisdom are not a surprise to the reader of Scripture. Rather this is a sure indication that humanity is under judgment. When we get so smart that we do not need God we only show that the wrath of God is already being poured out on our societies in advance of the great day of wrath. But the words of Romans 1 are not the end of the story. They are the bad news before the good news of the gospel. In spite of our love of sin God is determined to glorify himself in the salvation of a large number of human beings. To this end he sent his Son and to this end he continues to call his elect to himself through blogs, sermons, songs, books and personal conversations. Until he acts in grace we are blind, deaf, lame and do not know it. But when he comes to us in Jesus, when he sets up his reign in our hearts, the world becomes a different place, and our lives become a demonstration of his kind mercies.

Radioactive Lessons

The shortage of medical isotopes caused by the shut down of a Canadian nuclear facility which supplies a good portion of the world with these isotopes represents bungling at the highest level. How such a thing could happen without a backup plan is inconceivable when so many people depend on these substances to diagnosis or treat life-threatening conditions. Somewhere along the line, perhaps at many places, someone has dropped the ball and now it is going to take creativity and hard work to get things up and running again so that the backlog can be cleared up and the system function as it should.

Organizations and systems are only as good as the people who operate within them. While I think it can be shown that some forms of government and organizational structure are better than others, good people can make inefficient and defective systems work and bad people can ruin an otherwise sound plan.

This observation should be sufficient to keep us from trusting in the right technique when it comes to the church and Christian organizations. More important that how anyone else is "doing it" is our relationship with the Lord. If we are right with God and we are are growing in his grace he will give us the wisdom and the strength to get the job done. There is simply no way to make up for those who are not focused on the task at hand as the medical isotope disaster shows. We need to do what we are given as best we can seeing all our lives as worship and seeking to bring glory to God in all that we do. In this way we will avoid the mismanagement and short-sightedness that has crippled a once proud and productive nuclear medical program.

On Train Conversations

In Ecclesiastes 7:21 the Teacher, the Son of David, the King of Jerusalem writes: "Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--for you know in your heart that many times you have cursed others." I thought of that verse when I was sitting on the GO Train yesterday afternoon listening to two seemingly wealthy financial types talking business on their way to a Toronto Raptors Basketball Game while I was on my way to teach a night class at the seminary. Not that I was trying to listen -- the problem was that they were talking so loud that it was impossible not to hear what they were saying even though I was trying my best to shut them out. In some ways they were very foolish because they mentioned personal details completely unaware of who was listening and what I might know about the financial world of which they assumed I was ignorant!

My point in relating this story is that we never know who is listening and therefore we need to be careful what we are saying. When we speak our speech needs to be "seasoned with salt" which is a biblical way of saying that it should enhance our surroundings, or to change the metaphor slightly, by our speech we should have a disinfecting influence on others. Many have observed that you can tell many things about a person by listening to him or her talk for a given length of time. It should be our goal that those who may overhear our conversations will hear the difference that Jesus Christ makes in our lives. Perhaps something we say might be used by God to bring our listeners out of a state of spiritual darkness into God's marvellous light!

Celebrating Jesus

My trip to the mall this afternoon confirmed that the Christmas spending frenzy is well underway. So this evening I thought it would be good to start of my posts for the month of December by reflecting on the birth of Jesus -- the only hope of sinners. I am so glad he came according to the plan of the Father to redeem his people from their sins. He is the only one who can rescue us from ourselves and bring us back to God. Whatever else goes on this month may we not forget that without him we have no reason to celebrate. He has come as the beginning of the new humanity to bring his people into a promised land from which they will never be exiled again.

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.