What you do now affects the future

What you do now affects the future.  Did you ever think about that?

Of course, you probably have in some respects:  when you and your spouse decide to have children, you know that’s going to affect your future in its entirety.  When you take a new job in another city, you know that means you’ll have to move and that will affect your future, too.

Where we don’t think about this is in more subtle ways.

When I was on study leave last week, I read a book entitled Strange New World by Carl Trueman, who is a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.  In that book, he traces the roots of how we ended up in the place our world finds itself these days with respect to the hot-button issue of identity.

He traces it back to Enlightenment philosophers and even further back than that.  It’s a fascinating and accessible read, to which I commend your attention as time allows you.

I won’t give you a book review here, though I plan to do one in the coming weeks.  I simply use that to illustrate the fact that just because something seems new to us, it has not developed in a vacuum:  things have happened in the past that have led to its evolution.

When you think about your faith life, consider the fact that what you do now affects the future.

For example, if you want to ensure that you have spiritual comfort if you ever get lost in the woods, you can memorize Bible passages now.

If you want your children to have a deep and abiding faith as they grow up, engage them with God’s Word not only in the church, but at home, too – today.

If you are considering having children, and want any with whom the Lord blesses you to have a relationship with him, work on your own relationship with him now.

We are often good procrastinators – I know I am! – but what you do now affects the future, so don’t put off spiritual development.  

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6.7-8, NLT).

God is calling

In this worship gathering, we hear a message on Exodus 3.1-12 from Sean Howard, the Southern Ontario Director for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that.

A Tripping Hazard

Sometimes, Christians add requirements to the gospel for salvation or acceptance in the church, and it’s not right! The Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.1-35 demonstrates for us that we can’t insist on adding anything to faith in the crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus as a requirement for salvation. What does that look like in the church today? Watch and find out. The message itself is below, with the entire worship gathering below that. At the bottom, you’ll find an audio podcast of the message.

Trust his sovereignty

The world is in turmoil these days, even with protests spilling onto Canadian university campuses.  Take some time to reflect on this reading from Isaiah 40.12-20 (NLT).  Read it a few times over, and consider how the Lord may be speaking to you through it.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice?

No, for all the nations of the world
    are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
    than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
    as though it were a grain of sand.
All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
    and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough
    to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
    In his eyes they count for less than nothing—
    mere emptiness and froth.

To whom can you compare God?
    What image can you find to resemble him?
Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
    overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
Or if people are too poor for that,
    they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
    to carve an image that won’t fall down!

Conclude with praise to the Lord for his sovereignty.  He can be trusted.

Encouragement From The Word returns on May 17.

All In

What does it take to be a disciple of Jesus? We learn from today’s message from Acts 14 what was involved for Paul and Barnabas…and what might be involved for us today. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that. At the bottom, you’ll find an audio podcast of the message.

Two Views

Over the last several months, I’ve taken to doing a crossword puzzle each day.  I find it a good way to keep the brain firing at times when I might rather let it lie fallow.  As an Apple News+ subscriber, I do the puzzles that come with it, which means I don’t get any ink on my hands, and I can always type over mistakes that I make (which happen every day).  I rarely can complete most puzzles without some hints.

One of the things I have noticed about these puzzles is that they are very attuned to culture.  The clues include movies, music, and even references to various contemporary cultural understandings of sexuality.  Once in a blue moon, though, there will be a biblical reference.  (I usually manage to get those without help.)

I am reminded, though, each time I encounter these cultural references, about the importance of maintaining a Christian worldview for all followers of Jesus.

When you’re surrounded by a culture, adopting it becomes fairly easy.  This can be an advantage if, say, you’re trying to learn another language:  if you want to learn Spanish, living in a Spanish-speaking country is a good way to do it.  That’s called immersion.  

Other aspects of culture, though, are received by osmosis:  we learn particular idioms of a culture by being surrounded by people who use them.  We learn particular customs of a culture by seeing people employ them.  You get the idea.

And when some of those aspects that are assumed in a culture show up even in something as (supposedly) innocuous as a crossword puzzle, you know they’re everywhere.  But when you have a Christian worldview that you constantly seek to uphold and hone, you can make note of these cultural references and check them against your own, different, worldview.

This is an important discipline for our time.

Rather than absorb a belief or a practice common to the world around you, always check it against your Christian worldview.

And the way to make sure your understanding of your worldview is sharp, read your Bible every day, and read solid Christian literature that will give you historically-rooted interpretations of the passage of Scripture you’re reading.

Along with that, be sure to be engaged in your local church.  Listen to the teaching with intent.  Share what you’re learning with other disciples of Jesus, which you can do casually over coffee after worship, or more deeply in a small group (what we call LifeConnect Groups in our church family).  

The world is trying to change you.  The Holy Spirit is seeking to transform you.  Take note of which one gets your attention.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12.2, NLT).

By the way, did you know that Encouragement From The Word is available in audio format?  You can find today’s at the link below.  Feel free to subscribe using your favourite podcasting app!  

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff6355/episodes/Encouragement-From-The-Word—April-26–2024-e2issh2

Shaking the Dust

In this worship gathering, we hear a report on a friend’s recent mission trip to Vietnam, and a message from Acts 13 about the importance of sharing the gospel in a contextually sensitive way, as well as encouraging succession planning in leadership. You can watch the message alone below, or the entire worship gathering below that. At the bottom, you’ll find a podcast of the message that you can listen to at your leisure.

Fasting and praying

Last Sunday, I talked about the example of the early church in fasting and praying for leaders to be raised up.  There was quite a response; some had heard about fasting as a spiritual discipline, but not many had considered the idea of fasting as a tool for focused prayer.

Christians can fast as a means of hearing from God, and it doesn’t always need to be fasting from food, though historically, it always involved that kind of fasting.  Nowadays, it can involve fasting from other things we think we need, such as social media or television or even reading a particular magazine we like.

In Acts 13.2-3, Luke records that when the church in Antioch of Syria worshipped the Lord and fasted, “the Holy Spirit said, ‘Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.’ So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way” (NLT).  Thus began what would become known as Paul’s first missionary journey.

Notice that it was in response to their worship and their fasting that the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to the church.

It’s not often that entire churches participate in a fast from anything.  In that message I referenced earlier, I told a story about a pastor friend of mine who shared with his leadership team that he was fasting and praying to hear from God, and his leaders joined him.  They all came back with the same message from the Lord, and God has been blessing their church with growth in faith and in numbers.

We often think of fasting as an old-fashioned kind of discipline, or one that only certain kinds of Christians undertake.  Yet Scripture suggests to us that fasting is a normal spiritual discipline for all followers of Jesus.

In the coming days, I’ll be challenging the people of St. Paul’s Church, Nobleton to participate in a week of fasting and praying for God to raise up Christian leaders – both pastors and volunteers – to give leadership through these days when it is not easy to be the church.  If you’re part of the St. Paul’s family, you’ll hear from me about that, but if you’re one of the many readers of Encouragement who are not part of the St. Paul’s family, feel free to reach out to me to let me know you’d like to participate, and I will include you in my communication about it, so that you can fast and pray for leaders for your own church family.

Too many things create ‘noise’ in our lives, preventing us from hearing from the Lord.  A time of fasting and prayer can be liberating, allowing us to squelch the competition that makes God’s voice merely one sound in a cacophony.  Fasting and praying gives us a chance to hear God’s voice clearly.

Whether you join me or not, give it a try!

Be Bold!

In this worship gathering, we hear a message entitled, “Be Bold!” from Acts 12.25-13.12, in which we learn about how and why Christians should be bold in their faith in today’s culture. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that. At the bottom, you’ll find a link to the audio-only podcast version of the message.

You’re still here!

So the eclipse happened.  I hope it was visible where you live; there was nothing to see but clouds and dusk in my neck of the woods.

And we’re still here, contrary to the predictions of some.

Why is it that a total eclipse of the sun, which happens somewhere around the world at least once a year, only seems to be worthy of apocalyptic prognosis when it happens in North America?

It seems as though the focus is on hype, social media likes, and, well, ourselves.

For some, viewing the eclipse was a once-in-a-lifetime event.  I was fortunate; people of around my age have now seen it twice.  And it was a remarkable astronomical phenomenon.  In seeing the reactions of people on television and social media, the most appropriate word to describe them seems to be awe.  And that’s good!

While some Christians used the eclipse as an opportunity to publish their end-times prognostications, others, wisely, used it as an occasion to declare the glory of God – a wiser approach, to be sure.  Seeing the moon eclipse the sun fully, plunging part of the world into daytime darkness, might be the one time when it would be acceptable to exclaim, as many did, “Oh my God!”

I’m not sure they all caught the truth in that exclamation, but it’s there:  God made this happen, as part of his grand design of the universe.

Of course, there are scientific explanations for it; God created the science that made it happen.  But just as beholding the vastness of the ocean or the grandeur of the mountains might take our breath away and cause us to delight in the goodness of God, seeing a solar eclipse can and should do the same.

Let me encourage you to see the goodness and glory of God not only in the big and the rare, but also in the small and the common.  For example, my wife and I have had a fun little competition for about the last 25 years to find out which of us first sees a forsythia in bloom in the spring (she won this year; it all started as a way to help me identify flowering bushes, at which I am still less than an amateur).  Forsythia bushes are almost as common as dandelions (the same colour, but much more remarkable), but the brilliant yellow flowers bring delight to the eye when we see them.  Channel that delight into praise to the One who made them.

Nobody finds an end-times prophecy in a forsythia.  But you can pay as much attention to the ordinary as you do to the extraordinary, because in it we see the goodness and grace of the Lord.

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship” (Psalm 19.1, NLT).

Seeing What Prayer Can Do

In this worship gathering, we hear a message from Acts 12.1-24 about what prayer can do in the face of persecution that the early church was facing. What are some ways we can pray with passion? You can find out by watching the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that. At the bottom, you’ll find the audio-only podcast of the message.

Was blind, but now I see!

On Monday, much of North America will have the privilege of being part of a solar eclipse, where the moon passes between the earth and the sun, all but obliterating the view of the sun for a small portion of the earth.  Because this doesn’t happen very often, a big deal is made of it; I even have a friend who is taking a week of vacation and travelling quite a distance to what is understood to be an optimal viewing point to be part of the solar eclipse ‘event’.

Like everything else, it’s become a commercial event.  Companies are selling special glasses so you can safely view the solar eclipse.  Vacation packages in Niagara Falls are being offered for sale.  The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

Some school boards are not having classes that day.  A solar eclipse occurred when I was in elementary school.  There was no thought to cancelling classes; we just had an assembly in the gym and watched the eclipse on television.  We all had to squint, though, because in those days, the biggest TV the school could dig up was about a 26-inch cathode ray tube unit.  (Boy, I’m getting old.)

We are told not to look at the eclipse with the naked eye because of the risk of retinal damage.  In reality, looking at the sun under any circumstances for any length of time can do that.  It’s also why people who do arc welding wear a protective shield with shaded glass.

At St. Paul’s Church, Nobleton, we’re spending our Sunday mornings in the Book of Acts these days.  We’re not quite halfway through the book yet, and already, we’ve encountered a couple of instances of people being struck blind.  In each case, God’s purpose was not to harm, but to get the attention of individuals and change their hearts.  (I’ll be looking at another one a week from this Sunday.)

The most obvious example is the case of Saul of Tarsus, the zealous Pharisee, bent on the destruction of the Jesus movement.  The Lord knocked him to the ground and struck him blind so that he would see the error of his ways.  He was led to his intended destination, Damascus, but instead of persecuting the church there, he was healed of his blindness by a follower of Jesus, and became one himself (the story is in Acts 9).

If the solar eclipse happens where you are on Monday, as the sky darkens – if only for a few minutes – use that time as an opportunity to think about your relationship with the Lord, and pray for others who are spiritually blind today and need to receive the saving grace of God.

And don’t look directly at the sun without significant eye protection!

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (Jesus, John 8.12, NLT).

What Easter Does For You

In this Easter worship gathering, which includes sharing in the Lord’s Supper, we hear a message from Acts 11.19-30 about how the resurrection, and our faith in Christ, makes us each a Barnabas – an encourager. The message talks about how we can make that practical in our lives. You can watch the message below, the entire worship gathering below that, or listen to a podcast of the message at the bottom. Happy Easter!

Not Criminally Responsible

In this Good Friday worship gathering, we hear a message from Isaiah 52.13-53.12 about Jesus’ role in ensuring we are set free from sin by his work on the cross. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that. An audio podcast link is at the bottom.

It’s personal.

It’s Good Friday – “God’s” Friday – the most somber day of the Christian year.

Our congregations will likely see lower attendance for Good Friday worship than we will for Easter, which is unfortunate, because the celebration of the resurrection is made all the more sweet when we have also sorrowfully marked the death of Jesus.

Unfortunately, though, a lot of folks avoid anything that deals with death.  I don’t know if it’s because they’re afraid of jinxing something, or they are unwilling (or incapable) of facing the reality of their own impending death.  But without Good Friday, there would be no Easter, so if you’re reading this in time to go to worship for Good Friday, please do; it will make your Easter celebration more meaningful.

It is easy to make the death of Jesus very sterile, very transactional.  After all, we understand it to have been part of God’s plan all along.  But that doesn’t make it any less painful, any less real.  And what makes it particularly emotional is that Jesus did this for you, and for me.

It’s personal.

As the second Person of the Godhead, Jesus could envision all time and space, and knew he would die for sins that had not yet even been committed.

But with every sin, it is as if we are driving in one more nail.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?  Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” (Romans 6.1b-2, NLT).

Going to worship on Good Friday is a call to growth in holiness, a reminder that sin should not be our master.

If you’re not connected to a church near you that has a Good Friday service, I invite you to join us at St. Paul’s Church, Nobleton, either in person or online.

Jesus died and rose again for us.  Let’s worship him not only in the victory, but in the defeat – a defeat that many onlookers thought was the defeat of Jesus, but was, in fact, the defeat of death itself.

See you at the foot of the cross.

Gentile Pentecost

In this worship gathering, we hear a message from Acts 10.34-11.18 about how the Holy Spirit fell on those gathered in the home of Cornelius – a Gentile – showing that faith in Jesus was open to Gentiles as well as Jews. You can watch the message below, or the entire worship gathering below that.

Why God is silent

I recently read an article in which were given four reasons why God is silent in our generation.  It was a short but fascinating piece.  The reasons given were:

• that people will not take the time or make the effort to meet with God or hear him speak;
• that God is the friend of sinners, but if people continue committing themselves to evil as a way of life they lose the capability to hear God speak;
• that many people, in today’s world of technological achievements, are asking, ‘Who needs God?’; and
• that we always insist on laying down the ground rules under which God will be known, that we try to determine the method by which we will encounter God.

Where do you think that came from?  A denominational magazine?   Christianity Today?  Nope.

The article, as far as I can tell, came from the Ridgetown Independent, a local newspaper serving that small community in southwestern Ontario.

When do you think it was written?  Last week?  Last year?  

Given the comment on “today’s world of technological achievements”, you might be surprised to learn that the article was from the early 1970s.

The article was among a bunch of papers given to my wife last week by her father, who was the Presbyterian minister in Ridgetown during that time.  He had invited one of his mentors, Dr. Allan Farris, to address the congregation and community at a special evening service, and the local paper (as local papers used to do) gave coverage by snapping a photo and giving a summary of the sermon.

Plus ça change, as the saying goes.

The reality is that Dr. Farris’ four points at that Sunday evening talk could have been given last Sunday evening, or, frankly, anytime in human history.  They transcend time.

Go back and read them again.  Still today, we make little time or effort to hear from God.  Still today, we continue to live contrary to his will.  Still today, our wealth and technological advancement make us question the need for God.  Still today, we insist on being in the driver’s seat in that relationship.

Understand this:  God is not silent.  God longs to be in fellowship with us.  But as long as, by our actions if by no other means, we continue to pursue our own agendas and desires instead of submitting to God’s agenda and desires for us, we will have a hard time hearing him, whether as we read his Word or in times of silence and solitude.

Let me encourage you to structure your life in such a way that you make time and space for the Lord on a daily basis.  Position yourself to hear from him, and you will.

“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  Remember what it says: 

‘Today when you hear his voice,
     don’t harden your hearts
     as Israel did when they rebelled.’”

                                                (Hebrews 3.14-15, quoting Psalm 95.7-8, NLT)

Setting Aside Prejudice

“WHAT HAPPENS NEXT MAY SHOCK YOU!” Clickbait has been around as long as internet advertising has existed. In this worship gathering, we hear a message from Acts 10.1-33 about how the apostle Peter was forced to reconsider his prejudices, and, indeed, what happens next may shock you! We learn about the importance of evangelistic hospitality, listening for God to speak, living with the uncomfortable, and the fact that there is no such thing as a hyphenated Christian. You can watch the message below, the entire worship gathering below that, or you can listen to an audio podcast of the message at the bottom.

Have the difficult conversation

Recently, I’ve had conversations with a number of colleagues about the challenges they are facing in ministry.  Most of them stem from what I would call unbiblical behaviour on the part of complainants.

What do I mean by that?

There is a tendency, in our sinful human nature, to talk about things with people of like mind.  Now, that’s not always a bad thing; talking with people of like mind is often how friendships develop.  What I’m getting at, though, is the idea that when a person has a beef against another person, instead of dealing with the other person, many people tend to share that beef with people who will agree with them.

It happens in any organization, not just the church.

This causes the problem to fester, when it could have been solved by a simple (if difficult) conversation between the complainant and the person against whom one has a complaint.

In the church, we call that a “Matthew 18” conversation.

Take a look at what Jesus says about this:

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.   If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector” (Matthew 18.15-17, NLT).

When you have an issue with another follower of Jesus (or, quite honestly, anyone), take Jesus’ approach.  Have the hard conversation.  Assume the best of intentions on the part of the person who has offended you.  It could save a lot of headache and heartache.

In our day, as in no other, the world needs to see the church unified.  Satan’s plan is to divide the church so that its ability to proclaim the gospel is weakened.  A unified church has the ability to trumpet God’s truth to the world, which it needs more than ever before.

Have the difficult conversation.  It could save the gospel witness.

Being Orange

In this worship gathering, we hear a message from Deuteronomy 6 about the importance of the church and the family partnering together so that kids can become spiritually mature. The church’s role is to equip parents so that they have the tools to be the primary spiritual role models in their kids’ lives. We celebrate a baptism in this service, too! You can watch the message below, the entire worship gathering below that, and you can find an audio-only podcast of the message at the bottom.