And so it begins...

September... school starts again, church 'starts' again after a summer of people being away a lot, etc., and life seems to be, I don't know, different!  September is always a defining moment in life, isn't it - sort of a new beginning.  It's also (usually) the start of cooler weather (fall is my favourite time of year - not too cold, not too hot, just right).  Children are excited about back-to-school and buying school supplies and clothes; parents are wheeling shopping carts through stores singing "It's the most wonderful time of the year"; and churches are gearing up for a fall-full of... well, life!  There's something about September...

So why is he talking about September when it's still August, you might wonder?  Well, 'cause tomorrow is September, and tomorrow is the start of a month full of school stuff, community stuff, church stuff - lots of stuff.  And in the midst of it all, there's this message we need to hear, and to heed, and to share:

READ:  Proverbs 3: 5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths"

One of my very favourite passages in the Bible!  God is telling us something oh so important, not only for September and the months following, but for all time:

TRUST GOD! 
DON'T TRY TO DO THINGS ON YOUR OWN, AND FORGET ABOUT GOD! 
GOD IS THE ONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO!

...and so on, and so on...  The message is so clear - we cannot go through life without giving precedence to God.  Oh, I suppose we can, but we shouldn't!  Why?  Because first of all, He said so, but second of all, because He just knows more than we do!  Our finite minds cannot possibly undertand what God's infinite mind knows, and so we better make sure we're trusting HIM! 

God knows what's best for all of us, and the fact that we make way too many mistakes in life just proves we don't always know best!  So trust Him - trust God - 'cause He is always there for us, no matter what!

PRAYER

Thank you, God, for loving us, for caring for us, and for leading us through this life.  We cannot do it on our own, and we are so grateful that you are there, and that you know better than we do.  So help us to turn things over to you, and to trust you in all things.
Amen.

F A T

God is looking for FAT people.

I read this in a book recently, and I thought, "AMEN!".  Not that I am particularly fat, but don't we all want to think that God wants us!  Seriously, God really is looking for FAT people; how do I know?  Glad you asked...

F aithful
A vailable
T eachable

Faithful - on time, meeting deadlines, giving more than expected, etc.
Available - open to new things, willing to get out of your 'comfort zone', ready to go, etc.
Teachable - willing to ask for help, being a lifelong learner, etc.

READ:  Matthew 28: 19-20

In this well-known Bible passage, Jesus is giving some last instructions to His disciples, His followers.  They are to GO and TELL - get out into the world and let everyone who breathes know about Him.  Then they are to TEACH - tell these people all they need to know about Jesus so they can go and tell others.  Jesus was telling His followers that they are to be faithful - when Jesus says go, they will go.  Jesus also wanted them to be available - talk to those you might not normally talk to, go where you might not normally go, etc.  And then Jesus said to be teachable - they had to be!  In order to be able to teach others, they needed to be taught and willing to be taught! 

• How faithful are you?
• How available are you?
• How teachable are you?

You see, we don't have to do anything particularly special in order to be FAT - we just have to be willing and able. 

How are you doing with this?

PRAYER
God, help us to be faithful and available and teachable - to be FAT people, doing your work in this world.
Amen.

And the beat goes on...

Convention 2012 of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada is now a memory - hopefully those who were there will say a good one! - and the work of God in this world continues... 

A busy time, a great time - amazing music, great speakers, wonderful workshops, good food, and of course fantastic people - all together to make this convention a time of learning, growing, fellowshipping, and so much more. 

Thank you to all who helped plan - you know who you are; know you are SO appreciated! 
Thank you to all who attended - you know who you are; know that you are SO loved! 
Thank you to my family and to my congregation for allowing me the leeway to spend much time in organizing, attending meetings, coordinating, etc. - it takes a lot to make something like this work, but it is SO worth it! 

Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Our theme was "New Things - Becoming All God Created Us To Be" - and I know we experienced just that this past weekend!  Now as we move forward and continue to do God's work in this country and this world, we do so refreshed, renewed in our spirits, and with a re-NEW-ed sense of purpose and vision! 

I am stoked, excited, thrilled... hope you are too! 

To God be the glory!  Amen!

Lots on my plate...

Have you ever had one of those days/weeks/months/years, perhaps, when it feels like you just have way too much on your plate?  That your plate is full and what's continuing to be piled on it just gets higher, and higher, and... well, high enough to threaten any equilibrium there may be left?  You know you have had times like this, 'cause we all have!  I have... and do... well, not a ton of stuff per se but at times, it feels like it...

READ:  1 Peter 5: 6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Did you read what this says?  Give God all the stuff that you find is piling up around you, and burying you with its weight, because God cares for you.  GOD CARES FOR YOU!  Know it, k, 'cause it's true.  God is so big and so awesome that He can take all the stuff we can't handle on our own and He can and does handle it.  God knows we can't handle all the stuff we tend to find dragging us down; God also knows how much we are able to handle, and won't give us more than we are able to handle. 

• What do you do when you find life pressing in on you from all sides?
• What do you think you should do?
• How do you think you would feel if you just gave that extra stuff to God to handle?

If we realize that we are unable to do everything on our own, and we humble ourselves before God, who IS able to handle everything, God will give us that boost we really need, so we can get out from under the burden of our life-stuff.  But God isn't going to just take the burden away - He wants us to give it to Him.  You see, He wants us to have faith that will allow us to know He is able to do what we cannot do. 

I realize I have a lot on my plate at times (like now!), but I also realize that God is SO much bigger than me and SO much bigger than my burdens.  So when I am feeling like my plate (my life) is overflowing, I also know that I can 'unload' some of this stuff on God, and He lets me do this because He loves me so much!

So, how about it?  What are YOU going to do about all that cr... er, stuff in your life that threatens to bury you under its weight? 

PRAYER
God, thank you for being the one who can take the load of life off my shoulders.  Thank you for loving me so much that you want to do this.  Help me to have more and more faith, so that I might trust you more and more, and be more effective in what I do for you.
Amen.

Just another Starbucks Saturday...

It's Saturday - a hot, sunny day in the West - and I am sitting in Starbucks.  Now those of you who know me, know that Starbucks and I are not exactly an odd pair; however, Starbucks Saturday isn't the norm.  Sitting here waiting for my wife while she is at an appointment, I am drinking my dark roast coffee, checking email and Facebook, and writing this blog.  Doesn't sound particularly relaxing, but it is... really!  Well, mostly, seeing as my mind is racing with a quadrillion things that need to be done in the coming week or so, starting with this evening.  Fun times... and it all starts with coffee!

If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you know that I had invited you to grab a coffee and take some time to read, study, enjoy, etc.  I hope you have been as blessed by this as I have been.  God is so good, and He just keeps giving us things to say, things to read, things to do, etc., even if and when we think we don't need those things!  In the Bible, in the book of Psalms, David talked about being busy and what that brings:

READ:  Psalm 39

I love this Psalm - it reminds me that I can be running around like a chicken with its head cut off and actually be accomplishing nothing, or at least nothing of major importance. 

Psalm 39: 6-7
We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.  We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.  And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?  My only hope is in you.

I admit, I had never quite equated being busy with where I put my hope, but the Psalmist really makes this clear.  We move and work and do stuff - being busy - and yet what do we really accomplish?  We might actually finish something, but in the end, what does it mean?  We can relax at Starbucks (or Timmies, or wherever!), do our work (whatever that is), and yet we might never really focus on WHO we should be focusing on!  Seriously, sometimes we do just need to relax, chill, do nothing... but there are also times when we really need to realize- REALLY realize - that we are here to do something, and that something is important.  We are to tell others about Jesus - those who don't know Jesus as their Saviour should be able to hear about Him from us, those who DO know Him as Saviour.  And how might we do this?  Well, tell them!  How?  Um, talk to them!  You're reading this blog right now, so you are hearing about Him, and if you don't really know who He is or anything much about Him, then let me know by emailing me @ pastor@mckernanchurch.ca. 

Ultimately, I can do lots of stuff - running around, writing up a storm, etc. - and actually accomplish nothing if I am not letting people know about this great, big, wonderful, loving Jesus I know as my personal Lord and Saviour.  The One who changed me, who loves me, who works in my life and (hopefully!) makes me a bit of a better person than I used to be! 

• Do you know who Jesus is?
• Do you know Jesus as Saviour?
• Do you want to know Him?

I can sit in Starbucks, I can drink my awesome coffee, I can check emails and FB, and I can write this blog - yet at the end of the day, what have I accomplished?  Today, I hope I have given you an opportunity - to ask about Jesus, to find out about Jesus, to get to know Jesus.  He is my hope, and He can be yours too!  Don't ever be so busy, too busy, to live life with Him, 'cause without Him, I have no hope, we have no hope.  It's true... if you don't believe me, ask me, I'll tell you! 

This may be Saturday, and this may be Starbucks, but it's not really just another Starbucks Saturday - because now you have heard about Jesus, and I hope you want to find out more!

PRAYER
God, I want to know more about Jesus.  I want to find out who He is, what He's all about.  Help me to do this, because I really don't know where to begin.  I just need hope, and in the Bible, it says you are my only hope, so... Thank you, God, for listening. 
Amen.

Be the Church!

Church... how often do we only think of it as somewhere we go on Sunday... and maybe other days if we go to things like Bible Study or Prayer Meeting or whatever.  It's a Sunday thing usually...

Ecclesia (or more correctly 'ekklesia') - ever heard that word?)  You might say it's an Australian metal/hardcore band - and you'd be right!  You might even say its a British think tank examining the role of religion in public life - and you'd be right again!  (How brilliant you are!)  But... "ekklesia" is the gathering of the people of God - the church.  Yes, it is... really...  Those Latin scholars among you already knew that, but for the rest of us, it's a cool word describing a cool bunch of people.  The church... it's NOT the building we go to on Sunday; the church... it's the people who go to the church building... or not...  You see, as the picture so aptly proclaims: "God is not calling us to go to church, He is calling us to be His church".  And if we ARE the church, then we don't need to confine ourselves to the building in which we often meet, unfortunately also called the church.  Clear as mud, right!

God desires those who believe in Him to go and tell others, who don't believe in Him, about Him.  It's our job... it's our calling... it's our reason for being.  We, the Church (I'm using capital 'C' to distinguish the people of God from the church building - small 'c') have a responsibility - we are to share what we have experienced, with everyone who breathes.  It's true... not that we always (hardly ever?) do that, but it IS what God has asked us to do...

READ:  Matthew 28: 18-20

We call this The Great Commission - God telling His people to go and talk to others, tell others, and teach others.  We have been commissioned, by God, to do this... so why isn't the Christian Church bursting at its seams?  If we all are telling everyone who breathes, then why isn't everyone a believer?  Could it be that we who believe go to church - the building - but that's often it?  Could it be that we who believe don't share with others who don't believe?  Could it be that we who believe don't invite people to come to church - the building - to hear about God, so they get to believe too?  Hmm...

• How often do you go to church - the building?
• How often do you meet with the Church - the people?
• How many people have you invited to church last week? 
• How many will you be inviting this week?

God is indeed calling those who believe in Him to BE the Church - to hear His call, to respond to His teaching, and to tell others about Him.  Yup, it might mean doing something more than we are used to; it might mean going somewhere we are not used to; it might mean talking to, or being with, or helping out, someone we are not used to... or have never even imagined ourselves being around.  Yup, it might... or it might not... but either way, if we BE the church instead of just going to church, then someone might hear about God from us, and that someone might become a believer, who in turn might tell someone else... who might tell someone else... who... well, you get the drift!

BE THE CHURCH, k. 
DON'T JUST GO TO CHURCH, k.
BE THE CHURCH, k. (hey, it bears repeating!)

After all, God has called us to be just that!

PRAYER
God, I don't want to just go to church, but I want to truly BE the church.  Help me with that, 'cause it might not always be comfortable.  Thank you for choosing me to BE your church!
Amen.