New Life

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvellous - how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed"

The author?  God
The book?  Psalm 139: 13-16

God made every human being.  God had His hand in all aspects of creation, including creation of humans.  There was a plan, there was deliberation.  No accident - God doesn't do accidents!

Isaac was born on November 18, a small bundle of joy.  Looking at him yesterday, I thought to myself that no one, gazing upon new life such as this, could ever begin to doubt God.  Oh, people do - don't get me wrong - but seriously, how might this little person have been 'put together' unless there was someone doing it, and unless there was something deliberate in mind!  Many think that the universe was created when all of nothing suddenly made a big bang and - amazingly - Earth was created, along with all the people and things in it.  Just like that.  Just appeared out of nowhere, all by itself - something out of nothing created by no one.  Hmm...

The account of creation in Genesis, in the Bible, says that 'in the beginning, God created...'; in other words, something out of nothing created by... ah, God!  Created by someone.  Not a person, but by God.  And God also created all the things of the earth, and He also created humans.  Thinking of how intricate the human body is - doesn't that just have to mean NO accident! 

Isaac - and all other babies - are created by God. 

So the next time you wonder what's the point of life, or if you are really accomplishing anything, or that you are not-so-goodlooking, remember this:

"The God who created the universie also intricately wove you together.  You're no accident"

Funny how it sometimes takes new life to happen, in order to fully 'get' that God doesn't do accidents!
Thank God for new life; thank God for being God.

Welcome to this world, all new lives.  Welcome to this world created by God.  Welcome to those who were created by the God who created all there is.  Always know you are not accidents, but that God created you, and loves you, and will always be there for you.  That's right - just look areound and you will see God in everything and in everyone - new life all over the place!

Thank you, God, for all new life; thank you God, for creating all life anew.

Amen!

Plan or planner?  Which is where you have placed your focus?  What is this man talking about, you say?  Glad you asked...

READ:  2 Timothy 1:9

Plan - God's.
Planner - God.

Where in there does it mention us?  It says GOD saved us, that GOD called us; it says HE did it, not because we deserved it; it says HIS (i.e. God's) plan.  GOD in big letters (figuratively, of course), 'us' in little letters.  So the focus is on... yes, you guessed it... God!

God had a plan from before the beginning of time - to show Himself to us through His Son Jesus.  GOD sent Jesus to earth, to live among us, to teach us about God.  God wanted to show His character - His grace - to us, and what better way to do this than to show us through Jesus.  Oh, we (people on this earth) balked at the idea of who Jesus is (Saviour), and we tried to do things our own way and - all too often - still do try to do things our way (yea, how's that working?!?).  But there's always THE PLAN lurking in the background, so to speak.  God's plan.  His way, not ours.  "It's all about you, Jesus... it's not about me", as we sing in the chorus. 

'Cause in the end, what we wanted or want, if not aligned with God's plan, won't matter.  Didn't matter.  Doesn't matter.  Won't matter.  We will try... and we will perhaps succeed - for awhile - but if it isn't what God wants to happen, it won't work.  Been there, done that, bought a couple of t-shirts, all to no avail.  You see, it's God's plan to show who He is to us, and God chose to do that by giving us Jesus as the example of who God is - and so God pretty much expects us to be that way too. 

Are you?
Are we?

Better question:

Will you?
Will we?

'Cause ultimately, GOD saved us and GOD called us to live a holy life - Paul wrote this to Timothy, and to us.  So the question hangs there, waiting for us to answer it, to understand it, to recognize it, to live it. 

Plan - God's.
Planner - God.

If you've been too focused on the plan (us) and not on the planner (God), then perhaps it's time to change that focus... okay, not 'perhaps it's time', but "hey you, it's time, dontcha think!  Hello!"  You see, it's that important.  God and God alone - not just lyrics of a song, but a mantra for us all.  It's all about Him, so that ought to be our focus - HIM.  GOD.  The PLANNER.

Where's your focus?

PRAYER
God, help me to keep my focus on you, the planner. 
Amen.

We Remember...

Sunday November 11, 2012
Remembrance Day. 

Let me quote from an article in the Toronto Sun:

Since the end of World War I in 1918, Canadians, and millions of others around the world have paused at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to honour the sacrifices our soldiers made fighting for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.  The Great War was a dark period for our young country, claiming the lives of over 60,000 military personnel and civilians, with over 16 million dead worldwide...  As there are no more surviving veterans of WW I, today we rely on the wisdom and words of those veterans who fought in the wars that followed.  They tell us to always remember what those brave souls fought for, and all they ask in return is that we never forget.  That’s why we wear the red poppy, that’s why when we see a soldier in uniform we should stop him or her and say, “thank you”, that’s why we take a pause from our busy lives for two short minutes today to honour that request.

It's a time to remember the sacrifice made by so many, to remember those who died serving their country, and to remember those who have survived, who have served, and may still be serving.  The sacrifice they willingly made, so that we might live, so that we might enjoy the freedom we have, so that we might have life.

READ:  1 Corinthians 11: 23-25

This is a passage we use each week in our church, during Communion (Lord's Supper).  This is a time that Jesus told us we are to gather together to remember Him.  The juice and the wafer are symbols of the body of Jesus that was broken and the blood of Jesus that was spilled out - for us.  We are to remember that Jesus gave up His life, so that if we believe in Him as our Saviour and Lord, we will live forever with Him.  We have that eternal life the moment we become a believer, but we also know we get to spend forever with Him in heaven.  We are to remember that Jesus sacrificed His life, so that we might have freedom from doing wrong, and so that we might have life.  He willingly gave up His life, in order to give us life. 

Today, we remember sacrifice - the soldiers gave so much so we might enjoy so much - some gave their lives so we might have life.  Today we remember sacrifice - Jesus gave so much (His life) so we might enjoy so much - He gave His life so we might have life. 

John 15:13
There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Today, we remember the soldiers... today, we remember Jesus.  Today, we remember sacrifices - and give thanks for those who gave up much so we might have much.

We remember....

WHY? WHY NOT!

Once upon a time, there was a group of people, a family really, who came home.  They had been away a long time, and hadn't been able to return home, but now they managed to do just that.  They came back to a house that had, in their absence, been destroyed.  Distraught, they started talking about rebuilding it, but then, mostly because of opposition, never got around to it.  In fact, they even started saying that they really didn't think it was time to build the house - why, who knows!  Anyhow, I digress... After a while, one of the group decided that enough was enough, that it was time to do something about the house.  He talked to his boss, and his boss had a message for the rest of the family - do it!  Yup, pretty simple, really - get to work and do it!  And because they respected this man's boss, they did get to work, and they did build it.  The boss was so pleased that he helped them out by making things good for them again.  The people were happy, the boss was happy, and they all lived happily ever after...

Okay, maybe that last line is going a bit far, but certainly they lived better than they had.  You see, it was important that they realize what was important, as well as what was important to do.  Sitting around, knowing something needs to be done but doing nothing but talking about it and then trying to justify it by saying perhaps it didn't really need to be done in the first place - well, not a boss-pleasing thing, is it!

The people?  The Jews who had just returned from exile in Babylon. 
The house?  The temple in Jerusalem, destroyed years earlier.
The boss?  God!
The messenger?  Haggai, the prophet.

READ:  Haggai 1-2

Two short chapters, one huge task, one messenger, and one divine message - GET TO WORK!  God spoke to the Jews then, and He still speaks to us today.  Lethargy, apathy, and any other word ending in 'y' that is the opposite of doing something just doesn't cut it with God - His will is for us to do His work in His world, not doing whatever we wish to do or even doing nothing.  DO IT!  This is God speaking... are you listening?  If so, what will you do now?  Because, don't you know, it's time to GET TO WORK!  Don't sit back and ask 'why?' - get off your... well, you know... and move from 'why?' to WHY NOT!  Amen!

 

Mom

I am not having a good day.

I know, we all have them, those days when no matter what we do, nothing seems to happen as it should, or we wish it would.  Days when we can't get out of our own way.  Days when we are ill, or unmotivated, or just plain at odds with the world. 

It's not any of those kind of days.

Today, I am sad.  Today, 5 years ago, on her birthday, my mother passed away.  I miss her.  No, she wasn't the perfect mother, but she was always there - no matter what.  She loved me.  She loved me when others didn't.  She loved us all.  I know she did, and I really miss her.

I am sad, yes, but somehow I need to 'get past that', but only in the sense that I also know something that makes me joyous.  My mother, in the last month of her life, came to understand and know Jesus as her Saviour and Lord.  As a child, my mother attended Sunday School and church - not so much as an adult though.  But we went from time to time, and I know she had a faith of some sort.  We never really discussed this, even when I became a pastor... until the first week she was in the hospital, the last month of her life.  We talked about faith, and heaven, and how she was just so tired of being sick and really wanted to rest.  We talked about God and what He meant to each of us.  She was ready - to know Jesus as Saviour, and to go home to be with Him in heaven.  She seemed... well, so ready, and in that time, I learned so much about what it means to long for home, for heaven. 

For that, I am joyous.  Still sad, but also joyous!

Someday, we will all die - that's the physical death we will all experience as humans.  But there is life after death, and not in some 'reincarnation' sort of way.  If we come to know Jesus as the Saviour of our lives, and accept Him as that, He has promised we will be with Him forever.  In other words, we will die on earth, but we will live forever in heaven with Him. 

Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus.

You see, the eternal life God gives us is free - we don't deserve it, we can't earn it, and we can't do it ourselves.  God is gracious to give us that gift of life, now and forever with Him - we just have to believe and accept Him as Saviour.  You might say it's not rocket science, so to speak - it's that easy.  God wants us all to live with Him forever - you, me, everyone - but it's up to each of us to make that personal decision for ourselves. 

My mother made that decision - almost 72 years after her birth, but in time to be able to 'go home' to heaven, to spend forever with the Saviour she came to know and love on her deathbed.  I am so grateful that God gave her and I the opportunity to share and for her to be able to accept the gift of life eternal.  After she became unconscious, it would have been too late.  After she died, it would have been too late.

If you are reading this now, it's not too late, because you are alive and able to understand about this amazing gift God is... well, just dying to give you!  If you don't know Jesus as your Saviour, know that He wants to have that relationship with you.  Know that He wants to spend forever with you.  Please know that.  And not only know that, but do something about that.  Talk to God about it, email me (pastor@mckernanchurch.ca), or speak with someone you know to be a Christian.  But please do it know, before it might be too late.  God so wants you to know Him, love Him, and spend forever with Him - my mother knew that, even though it took her almost 72 years to "get it", and now she is with Him in heaven.  For that, I am truly joyous!

I am not having a good day because I miss my mom.  But I wouldn't want her to be here, in physical pain, and not being in God's presence, just because I want her here.  She is with God today.  I know that. 

I guess I'm not having such a bad day after all...