Living Wisely in 2010

In 2009, some people did some really dumb things. A prime example is the Balloon Boy caper involving two "Reality Show Wannabe" parents who coached their three children to lie to the authorities and the media while staging a reckless stunt.

We need to be careful about pointing fingers, however, because all of us engaged in various kinds of foolishness, too, from spending money we didn't have to saying things that we'd love to take back. God only knows (and I use this expression deliberately) the scandalous things that we have thought and done that, but for the grace of God, could have gotten us into big trouble in the last twelve months.

What all of us need is a dose of common sense and a refresher course in biblical wisdom. To that end, in 2010, I'll be preaching through the book of Proverbs about "Living Wisely". If this appeals to you, listen in at "hopefellowship.ca".

Wisdom, to quote Norman Cousins, "is the anticipation of consequences". And I wish you a new year and decade characterized by wise choices that anticipate joy, peace and glory to God.

Solicitation Letters

Year end solicitation letters have been piling up in our home and creating stress in us. Is it just my imagination, or are there more than ever this year? They certainly have an unusually urgent tone, since most Christian agencies have had to make drastic cuts due to reduced giving during the recession.

This morning over breakfast we put all the letters on the table and ruthlessly decided who we would support and who we would not. It would have been nice to say yes to everyone, but our approach is to give our money only to those causes that we are informed about and interested in.

We also decided which items we would donate from the Christmas Giving Guide that the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee has put out. This week we'll let my parents know that in their name a latrine will be donated to a community in Cambodia and a goat to a Third World family.

I feel lighter now that we've made our year end "giving" decisions. Not only is it more blessed to give than to receive, it is also a relief to be done with that imposing pile of donation requests.

Tiger In The Woods

Tiger Woods has asked for privacy to deal with his personal problems. The media and the public, however, have not granted his request. Every movement between his home and the hospital is being scrutinized. Every word on his website is being analyzed. And news program and current affairs magazines are intent on keeping viewers tantalized.

His desire for privacy is understandable. The allegations of multiple affairs have tarnished his squeeky clean image and I'm sure that he is both embarrassed and fearful. But the best defense in a situation like this is to be pro-active, like Late Show host David Letterman who confessed on his show to having sex with employees and NBA All-Star Charles Barkley who went public with his gambling problem.

It was Jesus who said, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known." Since that's the case, you're always better off stepping up with the truth instead of letting others step all over you with whatever dirt they dig up. That's not just true for Tiger but also for the rest of us who struggle with our own temptations.

Right now, Tiger is in the woods. I hope he uses the "truth club" and gets back in the game as a "flawed but real" hero who everyone can respect and support as he seeks help.

World AIDS Day

AIDS is an epidemic that some Christians have dismissed as a disease that only infects the gay population. Some have gone so far as to suggest that anyone who gets AIDS is being punished directly by God for immoral sexual behaviour. But missionary doctors and nurses, as well as relief workers, tell us that there are many who are AIDS victims because of sexual abuse or sexual ignorance. Their hearts bleed for these victims and their strategy is simply to love each patient and to educate them about prevention.

I'm glad that my denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, has taken a very compassionate stand on this issue. Too often, the church is known only for what it is against, rather than what it is for. But in places like Africa where 12 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee is pro-actively providing home based care programs for AIDS sufferers, HIV/AIDS education and values formation in schools, and programs that help community leaders provide pastoral care, counseling and funding for medications and clinics. This ministry of the Christian Reformed Church is called Embrace AIDS.

In Jesus' day it was lepers who were rejected and isolated by the community. Today's lepers are the world's AIDS victims, of whom there are now 33 million. Our thoughts and feelings about these infected persons should reflect the loving way Jesus dealt with those who were labeled "unclean" two thousand years ago.

A November to Remember

I can't remember a November this warm. What a gift after the cool, wet summer that we had this year. But should we be thankful or alarmed? If it's just one of those interesting blips in the weather pattern, great. But if it's an example of global warming, then we should be concerned.

Global warming is one of those topics where there's a lot of disagreement. Several years ago, for example, National Geographic devoted a whole issue to it. The editor expected many readers to appreciate the articles. He was also prepared to have some subscribers cancel their subscriptions because they believe that global warming is a bunch of nonsense. Despite the possibility of a negative response, he pushed ahead because he felt that carbon dioxide and other air pollution warming our atmosphere is one of the biggest threats to our planet today.

Wherever you stand on the issue, two things are clear. God is sovereign and in control in every season, whether we're experiencing record highs or lows. And he has assigned us to be the earth's earthkeepers and care takers. That's why an exceptionally warm month like November should prompt us not only to give thanks for a break in our heating bills but also to examine our lifestyles with a view to protecting His beautiful world from harm.

Less Judgment; More Grace

Tennis great Andre Agassiz has published his autobiography, Open, in which he admits that he wore a hairweave early on in his career, took crystal meth more times than he can remember during one year, and always hated tennis. These are shocking admissions from one of the most charismatic payers of all time and the only male singles player to achieve a Career Golden Slam ( Wimbledon, U.S Open, Australian Open, French Open and a Gold Olympic medal).
Reaction to his drug use was swift and strong, especially from Martina Navratilova who said, “Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it. Do you take away a title he wouldn’t have won if he had been suspended?”
To his credit, he is telling the truth now. On Sixty Minutes (Nov. 8, 2009) he asked for grace. I hope he gets it not only from his colleagues but the rest of us. Everybody could use a little less judgment and a little more grace, especially when a person remorsefully 'fesses up.

Infection Control

We introduced the fist bump in church last Sunday as an alternative to hand-shaking. It seemed like a wise, pro-active move in light of the swine flu fears that are sweeping the nation. Reaction was mixed. Half of the folks continued to shake hands while others had fun touching knuckles or elbowing each other. Privately, several people told me that I was over-reacting to fears stirred up by the media. Others let me know that they thought it was a good way to reassure people who might otherwise stay away from church.
In addition to this new protocol, hand sanitizer bottles can now be found throughout the building and sanitizer dispensers will be attached in various locations once our order arrives. Hand washing instructions have also been placed by every sink.
All of this makes me feel linked to Old Testament times when the Jewish priests functioned not only as spiritual leaders but also as infection control staff. While I'm not willing or able to declare who is and who is not "unclean", I am certainly supportive of our medical community's efforts to mobilize against the H1N1 virus.
My next infection control challenge is to encourage people to sneeze into their sleeves instead of their greeting hand. Now that's "unclean" behaviour that ranks right up there with the curious list of unclean things and practices that you can find in the books of Moses.

Redeeming Halloween

Halloween has turned into a very ghoulish event with more and more cemeteries, skeletons and grinning skulls showing up on people's lawns each year. I have always liked the dressing up and candy collecting parts of this annual event, but I can't stand the macabre parts. In fact, I wonder what parents who are usually so protective of their children are thinking when they expose them to hawk-nosed witches, groaning corpses in caskets and haunted houses filled with ghosts. Mocking evil and death may be our way of turning up our noses at the Grim Reaper, but it is hardly conducive to a child's good sleep.
Thankfully, kids have a way of focusing on the costumes and the treats, making it a good experience over all. In the meantime, others have found ways to redeem the night so that good still trumps evil.
Among those redeeming Halloween are the teenagers from various church youth groups in the area who will be out collecting food for the local foodbanks. When you see them coming to the door, trick or treating for hope, receive them with respect and give them some groceries. In so doing, on the most ghoulish night of the year, you can, in the words of a Bruce Cockburn song, help them "kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."

Close Call

The best laid plans of mice and men can quickly go awry, as Robert Burns said in his poetic apology to a field mouse after overturning her nest while plowing a field. Last night our lives almost went terribly awry when the pickup truck we were following lost a ladder. The truck had just passed a slow car and sped away, putting a lot of distance between himself and following traffic. Then we also passed, moved back into our lane, and suddenly saw ten feet of aluminum lying on the edge of the pavement, a disaster waiting to happen. Had we still been following the truck more closely, we would surely have been hit! Thankfully, the ladder had fallen parallel to the shoulder of the road, rather than sideways across the highway and we easily skirted it while the pickup driver parked and waited to retrieve it.
Some might say that we were lucky. I prefer to say that we experienced God's provision and protection and that He had other plans for us.
I encourage you to also live your life with an open-eyed awareness of His provision, protection and good plans for you.

Still Thankful

Apparently, it's a rare thing for everyone to get along in a family. But by some miracle, whenever my siblings and all of our spouses get together, we have a fabulous time. That's ten adults, each a leader in his or her own right, who can be together for a week without one person ruining it for everybody else.
For us, it begins with liking each other. And it continues with all of us accepting each other, quirks and all.
Perhaps the real key to our compatibility is another rarety: all ten of us love Jesus and are actively involved in a local church. All of our parents get a lot of credit for modeling joyful commitment to each other and to the Lord. But God gets all the glory for five couples in their fifties who enjoy each other's company and still have a living faith despite life's ups and downs.
A family wedding last weekend brought us together. And once again we talked non-stop and wished we could spend still more time with each other. That's why, despite feelings of sadness about their departure, I'm still thankful four days after the Thanksgiving weekend.

There But For the Grace of God Go We

The news that David Dewees, the Grade Ten teacher from Toronto accused of sexual luring over the internet, committed suicide over the weekend is devastating not only to his students and colleagues, but to all of us. Such a desperate act! We can only imagine this young teacher's agony as he made his way to the subway station and placed himself before an approaching train. We can only imagine the confusion and pain of every young person he ever taught at school or led at Camp Pioneer. We can only imagine the horror and sorrow of his parents and family.
At times like this we must rely on God's grace and remember that Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. This includes Christians who struggle with double lives or face the future without hope.
If the charges against him are proven to be true, we will need to pray for any and all the victims of his alleged sexual abuse. In the meantime, our prayers are with his extended family and all the kids who experienced him as a wonderful role model.
As we sort out our own feelings, let's be quick to admit "There but for the grace of God go I" and examine our own lives for anything that would hurt others and harm the cause of Christ.

A Devastating Week

It's been a devastating week for the Christian faith. The Catholic bishop who brokered a $13 million dollar settlement with the sexual abuse victims of the Mount Cashel orphanage in the Maritimes has allegedly been caught with kiddie porn on his laptop. A 32 year old Toronto teacher has been charged with sexually luring two teenagers that he met while working as a camp counselor at Camp Pioneer, a Christian camp in Huntsville. Not unexpectedly, many people are more suspicious than ever about anything related to the church and to Christianity.
I hope that these two men will get the help that they need, that their alleged victims will find healing and that the cause of Christ will not be harmed. I also pray that Christians everywhere, including all of us at Hope Fellowship, will take stock of our personal and private lives and make daily choices that lead us closer to the Lord, instead of farther away. This bishop and this teacher are not the only ones struggling with sin; their exposure and the devastating aftermath may be just the wake up call that many of us need with respect to our own vices, temptations and deceits.

Fear or Faith

Fear keeps driving the world in a negative, downward direction. It's contagious and making even believers afraid of the future. Will I have a job next week? Will I be able to give next month? When will I become one of the layoff statistics? For times like this, faith is the only antidote. We have to trust that the Lord will give us our daily bread and more. We have to relax in God's identity as "Jehovah Jireh", the one who will provide in even the most desperate circumstances. What is faith for, if not for a time like this! As Christians this is an opportune time to let our neighbours and colleagues see what it means to trust in God and to give all of our cares, worries and fears over to him. Rooseveld was right when he said, "The only thing to fear is fear itself." And the apostle Paul had it even more right when he said, "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything."

Watching the snow fall

Authentic worship is not possible unless we recover three "in's". First, we need to be "in awe " of God. As I watch the snow fall through my window, I realize that the number of flakes that fall in one minute on the tiny patch of the world that I can see is more than the world's biggest number. Multiply that by all of the snowflakes that have fallen on the world since time began. Then consider that each snowflake is different. If that doesn't fill you with awe for God, I don't know what will. I am definitely "in awe " of God today, and I urge you to recover your awe for him so that you will see the glory of the Lord filling your life. I'll tackle the other two "in's" in my next two blogs.