Together Again - You Can Make It Happen.

Usually, most of us consider setting priorities and direction in our lives at the first of the year. Others set their priorities and goals at the beginning of Sept. I also believe there are times in our lives where we set goal and priorities each morning. Many of us set one big priority right now to stay safe every day. We want to get to the end of the day staying well where we experience a peace at the end of each day.

My number one priority today is to make it through my work day staying well and not get Covid-19. But I’m wondering, are people in our lives important enough that we have them as a priority in our lives? Who would you pick and ask yourself, who is most important? And why are they where they are on your list. The reason I’m asking this is because nothing is more important than the people who are in our life.

Many times I have shared with all of you that nothing can replace people. They are each one of a kind and the kind we love and care about. They are in our lives for a reason. The reason is not just what they contribute to our lives but also and maybe more important, what we contribute to their lives.

But there is more than that. Some are in our lives due to life situations. It’s where we work or play or just having an individual who let us let our hair down as they do as well. It can also be those times when they just appear at a time we need each other due to shared experiences, like sickness, age related, times of need either way or times of celebration.

This is another thing I know. People need each other, period. That’s why we are all having trouble being confined. We are all in this together and that means we have to care enough for each other that we do what we need to do to be safe and well.

At the end of this long tunnel of separation, there will be a reunion that will have multiple facets. They all relate to those areas of our lives where being together is of primary importance. For us who know Christ it will be the coming together and worshiping as a shared community of faith, hope, peace and love. All those items pull us together but also pull us closer to God in Christ. Wait for it – it’s coming.

Something to think about

Rob

 

God's Way is My Way

Many decades ago, Frank Sinatra sang Paul Anka’s song which epitomized that generation. Anka had heard the original French song, and acquired the English rights. He thought it was just right for Frank as it defined Sinatra.

It was the time of the “Me Generation”. We were, in 1969, thought of as the first generation to do what we wanted and couldn’t care less about anyone else. It was the year I graduated from high school and to be frank, I had somewhat taken on this attitude myself, with limits. I wore different, unusual clothes, cowboy boots and had longer hair. Yes, I had hair back then. This attitude within society, has continued even to this day and in some ways, growing more pronounced and edgy. But, and you knew that was coming, but I drew the line in many areas of my life. We all took on different levels of My Way. Most didn’t go outside the law or transcend the norms of the day.

In other ways, we learned we didn’t need to conform to be true to ourselves. At the same time, we knew who we were and proud to be an individual no longer tied to conformity. Today, maybe this new found freedom of the Me generation has been taken it to a new and dangerous level.

In the new study we are engaged in here on site at the church we are looking at what Jesus said. His words and what they say to our next generation. At the start of Jesus ministry, He basically said to all twelve men, two words, “Follow Me”. I believe we are people who do exactly that. Predominantly we are a world of followers, with a few leaders who can take us down the road to destruction or elevate us as a society.

Don’t get me wrong, we can still be our own person, while recognizing who the right person we need to be following. And as we follow the right person, those who follow us, will also be following the right person. We are all heroes to someone. Be the best influence to others.

As the disciples followed Him, I to have chosen to follow Jesus, and I hope I honour Him so others who follow me follow Him. Who are you following?

Something to think about.

Rob

 

What Next?

What next? I’ve heard that line most of my life. Sometimes looking forward to something and sometimes not so much. Sad to say, many times I said it with anxiety. The first person I remember hearing it from was my mother. She wasn’t always the most optimistic person in my life but not the most pessimistic either. Many times I remember her saying “What Next?” while doing things around the house and many times when she was cooking. (She wasn’t a great cook but we did get fed). I will tell you about her cooked liver sometime.

I would even venture to say, many, if not all of us, have used those two four letter words in a sad way.  Most of those times, it wasn’t really earth shattering. It probably evokes a time in our lives when it was more of a diversion if anything. Those times when nothing seemed to be going right or we had to do something one more time to get it right and move forward.

In the southern USA right now, they are saying it about the ninth flooding from tropical storms, even as the next storm is on its way. The same is being said about the wild fires devastating so much of the western US just as another fire explodes on the horizon.

We are all looking at our next horizon, hoping and praying we can get over one problem before the next fire, flood, famine appears eminent. What about the pandemic? It’s been with us for seven months and no relief in sight as the experts say there may be not one but many new waves in our future. What next? Do as you are told. And, just like every other time, we will get through it. Case in point, Spanish Flu.

What next? is doing what we are told and then drawing closer to God. Yes, God. He told us many things about the trials of life. But we forgot to listen to Him. He said He would be with us, we just have to hold His hand as a young child holds tightly to their parents hand. He warned us about things coming, things we create and some that don’t. But we didn’t listen. I remember tossing my kids in the air and they trusted me to catch them. They laughed and I caught them. So does He. We will get through all of this.

Here is what I know. God cares about each one of us. But what He cares most about is not found in the ‘what next?’ but in what’s inside our hearts. After the thousands of ‘what next? we will realize this world is not our home. This journey we are on has us saying ‘what next?’. One day we may say it for the last time just before we walk into His presence and standing there He will says to us, “come into your rest”.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Something to think about

Rob

 

Storms of Life

I was reminded this morning how things can change so rapidly. It started early, real early. I thought

of all those people that live in this area and how they would soon wake up to wind & rain, flashes of light & rolling thunder. I just happened to be already up and awake. In another way, I thought of what the world is going through right now.

It to, rolled in so quickly and so unexpectedly. You might remember how years ago, a few individuals warned us something like this pandemic could be on its way. Most of us didn’t listen. This morning when we were startled by the lightning and thunder we just rolled over and worked on going back to sleep. Not so with this virus. But as each storm that barrels down on us, we tell ourselves “this too will pass.”

This is what I know; God will take care of you. The Book tells us this and we just need to turn the storms of life over to Him and He will do what He does best. He will instruct us and work it out with Him and us doing our part. With the storm this morning, we all knew it will move on. They always do.

There are two things we know about storms. They come quick and in most cases they leave quick. God gives us rainbows as a sign of the bright and beautiful reassurance that if He brings the storm, He will get us through and the sun will always come out again.

The disciples were in the boat and Jesus was sleeping. The storm quickly showed up. They called Jesus, who wasn’t worried and He instantly ended the storm. It’s a picture of what we experience all through life. This thunderstorm is almost over. It has moved on and in every situation we need to sing the word the Andrea Crouch penned:  Through it all Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus I've learned to trust in God. To which l say, Just trust Him, He knows.

Something to think about.

Rob

 

Go Ahead, Tell Them

Just recently I read something I had thought about for most of my adult life but never thought anyone else did. It came in an e mag that I subscribe to and for the most part I glace at each days entry and delete it. Most are trivialities and not worth my time. This happens when you have so many emails of importance in a day.

You get to the point where you delete the ‘buy me’ emails. Then those that only steal your time. This gets them down to a manageable number. Some of these you will check as important for later when there is time, the rest you need to open.

It was then that I opened this emag and began to watch a video about what steals our life and loves and possibilities. His main idea was, worry steals ability to use all our capabilities to use the totality of you potential. YES, I am not the only one who thought this through.

Most of us have great imaginations when we are young. We dream dreams and never say to ourselves; “I can’t do that”. That is until we go to school and being educated takes those dreams and aspirations and puts them in the waste paper basket of life. We learn, get that, to worry about not being able to.

God created us in His image at least that is what I read in ‘The Book’. The problem is we have been educated out of reaching our potential and our dreams. That needs to change. Every child you meet you need to let them know that God said to all of us. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Be the catalyst for every child by telling them they can do whatever they want. And do it by telling them not to worry what people say because God said that , “I CAN!” While your at it, tell yourself as well.

Something to think about. 

Rob

 

Just Give It Away

It’s not what you know that counts. It’s what you know that you share with others that counts. A good number of years ago I heard about a brilliant man who knew more about watches than any person in the world. His watches were worth tens of thousands of dollars. If you had a chance to hold one and see the precision, you would be totally blown away. Each one was a masterpiece and perfect in every way. No, they are not Rolex.

He was the best of the best and charged a lot of money for his hand made watches. Many times other watchmakers would approach him to talk about his skill and precision only to be dismissed. He didn’t want to teach anyone about the way he made a watch. It’s pretty sad when an individual gets to the top of the ladder and doesn’t take anyone along for the climb.

You to may have a gift or talent. Teach someone who would like learn what you learned. My dad did that with me and now I can make the best sawdust in town. Just kidding. But I did inherit his love for working with wood. But let's get back to sharing what we know.

Thinking about this, I open my bible and read Romans written by Paul and the Book of Acts written by Luke. Here were two men, who shared everything they knew about Jesus and the gospel. Why did they do this? I believe it’s like knowing the cure for some disease, like Covid-19, and selling the prescription at cost to save the greatest number of people in the world. And they did just that.

But they weren’t the only ones. Yes, they knew Jesus, (both in different ways) and they took what they knew and gave it away to others and those others gave it away to others and someone gave it away to us. You must understand, Jesus is the cure for eternity and each subsequent generation needs to share Jesus. Don’t keep the truth to yourself, it was shared with you, ‘go and do likewise’.

Something to think about.

Rob

 

Don't Go To A Boring Church

Every time I have gone into a church to bring a word of God’s love and encouragement I have shared something about ‘enthusiasm’. And if you have been to each and every one of these first time moments, you will have heard a different sermon. None were the same as the other with the exception of dealing with en - theos.

If I were to ask, and I did, what comes to mind when you think of enthusiasm? Do you think of the Grey Cup game? This list includes so many other things. Stop for a moment and ask yourself what yours is. Actually, send me an email and let me know what you think of when you see the word enthusiasm. There was a time in my life it meant going to see my girlfriend at the park. Then it was motorcycles and collector cars. The list continued to go on and on as my life evolved into adulthood, and I acquiring some semblance of maturity and wisdom.

What change it all was going to a church that excited my heart in a deeper way. I look to Jesus for fulfillment and He showed up in the services at the Oddfellow's Hall in Wellandport so many years ago. It was there that I got to get excited about going and being enthusiastic about God. Up until that moment I didn’t think enthusiasm and church would ever be used in the same sentence.

Many years later when I would get excited about going to church, I found out where the word comes from and it’s not at a ball park. Simply put, if you look at the word and divide it, it tells you about being excited en theos, or in today's language, excited in God.

Many churches are closing each and every week and I believe it is because en theos is no longer found inside those four walls. We have the most exciting story to tell to the world. How come it comes across as boring? In many cases, the word is missing one part of it. Excitement is gone, God (theos) is gone and even ‘in’ is now out. Didn’t Jesus die and come back to life? What can be more exciting than that.

If you still want to know God, get up on Sunday morning and go find a church where the parking lot is full and walk in and see if enthusiasm is found on the other side of the door.

Something to think about

Rob