Category Archives: Jesus Christ

January 1, 2021 · 12:21 PM

In the Beginning

Was it a coincidence that my copy of The Book of Genesis: Firstfruits (The Passion Translation) lay right there in front of me when I sat down at my desk this morning? I don’t think so. Not on this first day of 2021.

Aside from the obvious, there is something deeper.

When God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was completely formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep. Genesis 1:1 (TPT)

Read it again. When God created . . . CREATED. This word, according to the footnotes in my Bible, is used exclusively in the Old Testament to describe God’s creativity, things only God can do. He created the earth and everything in it from nothing, after all. The very first sentence in the Bible establishes that God is a creator and, until that mind-blowing event occurred, there is no record of anything being created before.

I am so awed that the beginning words of the Bible reveal God’s creative nature. But there’s more.

So God created man and woman and shaped them with his image inside them. In his own beautiful image, he created his masterpiece. Yes, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (TPT)

We are image-bearers of the Most High God. And because He shaped us with His image inside us, we have His creative nature. Our imaginations, our dreams, our abilities to make ideas a reality are a part of God’s nature in us.

All of this might sound elementary to those who may have already grasped the depth of what this means, but I think many have not. I want to encourage the ones who have given up, the ones who can’t see anything but a dismal future, the ones who don’t believe they are important, the ones who are hurting or lonely or full of sorrow.

God has created you in His image, with everything He is inside us. Everything. You are one with Him in Jesus Christ. Allow His peace and comfort and grace and love to flow through you.

In this beginning of a new year, leave the old behind and embrace the Father’s nature living in you, His masterpiece.

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December 24, 2020 · 12:58 AM

Is It Christmas Eve Already?

25 Christmas Traditions and Their Origins - HISTORY

When I was a kid Christmas always seemed to take forever to arrive. Minutes dragged by with sloth-like speed and I’m pretty sure there were years when I’d convinced myself that the celestial timekeeper was slowing down time just to teach me patience. Things gradually picked up, though, and the years starting racing by. Now it’s Christmas Eve again and I’m fairly certain we just had that a couple of months ago. Didn’t we? Or maybe 2020 is finally showing a random act of kindness by getting us through the year as quickly as possible so we can start planning a future without masks and social distancing. It’s a thought.

This week my mind has been filled with memories of Christmases past. Taking part in the annual Christmas Eve program at my grandparents’ church, wearing a brand new prickly, scratchy, ruffly dress (I can still feel that starched crinoline), a multitude of relatives packed into the house, celebrating my Dad’s birthday (he would be 87 years old today if he hadn’t taken an early flight to heaven), and so many other traditions.

It’s different this year. Our nine grandchildren and their parents are having Christmas in their various homes instead of coming over to eat, laugh, and be a family together. We’ve all agreed to abide by the laws of the province. We understand the reasoning, but we don’t have to like it, right?

But, more than the familiar activities we’ve grown to expect year after year, the purpose for all the celebrating hasn’t changed. God was born in human form, to start the ball rolling and make a way for us to be with Him for eternity. That’s rather awesome.

Stop for a moment and think about this:

That night, in a field near Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching over their flocks. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified! But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. For I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!” Then all at once, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing: “Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.” Luke 2:8-14 (TPT)

Prayers for a blessed Christmas are coming from our house to yours!

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December 10, 2018 · 9:50 AM

One Another

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Recently, I looked at all the “one another” references in the New Testament. Because there are so many, I realized that God clearly cares about this.

What would happen if we – Christians, followers of Christ, born-again believers – actually regarded one another as outlined in Scripture? Would we . . . could we . . . change the world?

From the NKJV, here’s my list.

  • Mark 9:50  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.
  • John 13:14  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
  • John 13:34  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
  • John 13:35  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
  • John 15:12  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
  • John 15:17  These things I command you, that you love one another.
  • Romans 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members  of one another.
  • Romans 12:10  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
  • Romans 12:16  Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
  • Romans 13:8   Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
  • Romans 14:13  Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
  • Romans 14:19  Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
  • Romans 15:5  Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
  • Romans 15:7  Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
  • Romans 15:14  Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
  • 1 Cor. 11:33  Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
  • 1 Cor. 12:25  That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
  • Galatians 5:13  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
  • Galatians 5:15  But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
  • Galatians 5:26  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
  • Galatians 6:2  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
  • Eph. 4:2  With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
  • Eph. 4:25  Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
  • Eph. 4:32  And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
  • Eph. 5:19  Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
  • Eph.5:21  Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
  • Col. 3:9  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
  • Col. 3:13  Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
  • Col. 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and  admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
  • 1 Thess. 3:12   And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,
  • 1 Thess. 4:9   But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
  • 1 Thess. 4:18  Therefore comfort one another with these words.
  • 1 Thess. 5:11  Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
  • Heb. 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
  • Heb. 10:24  Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
  • Heb. 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
  • James 4:11  Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
  • James 5:9   Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
  • James 5:16   Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
  • 1 Peter 1:22  Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
  • 1 Peter 3:8  Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tender hearted, be courteous;
  • 1 Peter 4:8  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
  • 1 Peter 4:9  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
  • 1 Peter 4:10  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
  • 1 Peter 5:5  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
  • 1 John 1:7   But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  • 1 John 3:11   For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
  • 1 John 3:23   And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
  • 1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
  • 1 John 4:11   Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
  • 1 John 4:12   No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
  • 2 John 1:5   And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.

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October 11, 2018 · 8:00 AM

De-Conform

different

To all the wordaholics reading this, I am well aware that de-conform is not a word. I made it up for this blog post. Wordaholic, for that matter, isn’t a real word either. Just let your OCD tendencies slip a little for the sake of literary license, okay?

I read Romans 12:1-2 in The Message Bible, and this is what it says:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I know, I know. I’ve caused you more grief by using a paraphrase instead of an actual bible translation. Live with it. But don’t miss my point.

Which is to de-conform.

Remember my last post (click here) about the crowd-following bridge-jumpers? The whole de-conforming thing fits right in. Read the two verses above again and get a small glimpse of what the Apostle Paul is saying here. In a nutshell, THINK! Use your brain.

In a world gone berserk – come on, let’s call it what it is – going against the culture is unpopular, and can even get you in trouble if your attention isn’t fixed on God. But when you ask Him, hear Him and include Him in your life, He’s going to give you some pretty specific instructions. He will change you. He will bring out the best in you.

I had the opportunity to pray with and speak into the life of a young woman today. The details of the situation are hers to share, not mine, but the amazing and completely God thing about it all was that because I put aside my own comfort zone in order to do what the Holy Spirit directed me to do, this young woman got something she would have otherwise missed. It had nothing to do with me, except that I was obedient. It had everything to do with her receiving a gift that the Lord wanted to give her.

As it says in the above passage, readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. I clearly recognized God’s direction in that moment (believe me, I don’t always), and I acted on it immediately. As a result, a precious woman was blessed. How awesome is our God!

So, what does de-conform mean? (Again, my own word, so my own sort of definition.) Rather than chugging along with the crowd, I am striving to hear the voice of my Father so that when He tells me to move in a different direction, I won’t even hesitate. It’s a process. But He is so patiently teaching me, waiting for me to catch up, nudging me along, and scooping me out of the ditches when I stumble. Oh, He is good!

I don’t want to be a photocopy of everyone else. I want to be what God wants me to be – a reflection of His Son, Jesus Christ. I want to be obedient and faithful and true to what He has for me to do. To say. To be. Holy and acceptable to Him.

De-conform.

It’s a real thing.

 

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October 9, 2018 · 8:30 AM

Take a Look

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When I was a young teenager desperate to do everything my friends were doing, my parents often asked the question, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?” Well, of course not, but I did want to do some bridge-jumping, despite the dangers of going along with the crowd.

Admit it. That was you, too, once upon a time.

As a matter of fact, we’ve grown up now and we’re still those crowd-following bridge-jumpers.

We live in a world where we carelessly rush into things before we’ve stopped to take a look at where we’re going and why. The general masses are headed in a particular direction, adhering to particular social norms, and behaving in a similar manner; so much so that you can hardly distinguish one personality from another. And we don’t dare disagree. But we keep going along with it because they must be right. Right? Because breaking away from that crowd would make us different. And we don’t want to be different.

It’s hard to be different.

It’s hard to stop and take a look around while you’re in the middle of a crowd that’s moving along at a rather alarming pace. You put yourself in danger of being trampled. Or yelled at. Or mocked. There is a strong likelihood that your friends and/or family won’t stop with you. They’ll probably urge you to get moving so you won’t be left behind.

So, we continue along, not even bothering to question why we do what we do. We see everything changing and we might even protest a little, but it’s hard to be different, remember.

This even happens in the Church.

Yup, I said it.

We really don’t want to stop to take a look while we’re in the middle of the Church crowd because in that context, the backlash could be even greater. We don’t want to say anything to rock the boat because the Church crowd can be harsh.  And it’s Church, after all. God must be in it, right?

Right . . ?

At this point, you’re probably wondering what the point of my point is. I can’t possibly get into it all in one blog post, but I will say that I am stopping more frequently to take a look – to take a look at how Church is being “done”, to take a look at the people around me who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ (not crowd-following bridge-jumpers), and most importantly, to take a look at my own relationship with Him. Why? Because there seems to be a big disconnect between what the Bible says and what I see around me – and what I see in myself.

I have been on a personal journey (that word has been so overused, but I can’t think of a better one right now) for the past few years, and I am convinced that we Christians are missing way, way, WAY too much because we are allowing the crowd to tell us what we believe and how to believe it instead of listening to what God says. Spiritual deafness, is that a term?

Time to pop the cork on your crowd-following. You’re not going to jump off the bridge with the rest of them. You’re going to stop and take a look, regardless of the consequences, and find out how deep and wide is the love our Father has for you. His plan has always been for you to follow Him, not the crowd filled with people who haven’t got time for Him.

Take a look in the Bible. Take a look at the Father in prayer. Take a look at where you’re going with Him.

It’s quite a ride.

Want to come with me?

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October 8, 2018 · 12:29 PM

Grateful?

Grateful-Heart-2

This is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Feasting, family, friends, football . . . you know the drill. It’s often a busy day with the people you care about and there might even be a comment or two where someone offers a word of gratitude.

Aside from this day set aside for thanksgiving, however, are we really grateful?

Hmm . . .

I read an article this morning about the victims of what’s known as the Great Purge, some of the more than 9,000 German Mennonites arrested in Ukraine from 1936-38, during Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s ethnically motivated persecution (click here). I am of Mennonite ancestry and my family immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine, so this news story caught my attention.

I got to thinking about Thanksgiving and how my generation, and those following, have little context with which to understand the sacrifices and hardships that made it possible for us to be where we are today. We, in North America, have not experienced world wars, the Great Depression, or ethnic persecution such as the Jewish Holocaust and that which is described in the article I read. We’ve certainly had rough times, but nothing to the extent that our forefathers lived through, and sometimes even died during.

Yet, they were thankful.

I know this, because I’ve read my great-great-grandmother’s diary. I’ve spoken with elderly people who shared their stories. Almost without exception, they repeatedly express their deepest gratitude to our heavenly Father for giving them courage, for protecting them, for making a way for them, and for never leaving or forsaking them.

I am certain that the Lord pointed me to that website with the article I mentioned. Reading it caused me to stop and really think about my own often ungrateful heart and how I can become more purposeful in expressing thanks, not just to my Father, but to others around me.

So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, 
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations. – Psalm 79:13 (NKJV)

 

 

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October 5, 2018 · 12:27 PM

Shifting Gears

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I have to repent.

For years, I have stubbornly refused to use this blog as a forum to document my personal journey as a follower of Jesus Christ. Oh, I’ve posted smatterings, but I wanted to be careful to keep it generic enough to stay out of trouble, so to speak. I didn’t want the controversy or the potential criticism.

I don’t care anymore.

So, I repent. I am so sorry that I caved to the social correctness of the days we live in, despite the gentle coaxing of my Father to write what He wanted me to write. I tried to reason with Him, because He’s all over being reasoned with, right? Uh – no. I used the excuse that I had nothing of life-changing relevance to share. After all, who would listen to me anyway? Yeah, that didn’t go over so well with God either.

I’m shifting gears.

I’ve told the Lord that I want to write the words He’s given me, sharing the insights He’s revealed.

That’s scary.

Scary, because it means I am exposing myself in ways that I’m not entirely comfortable with. But then whoever said being a Christian was supposed to be comfortable?

Here’s the thing: life is short. Especially when you’re on the back end of middle age. I don’t have time to piddle around and make lame excuses anymore. I’m going to write what my Father tells me to write, in the way He wants it written. And I think He is smiling and heaving a great sigh of relief because I will finally use the gifts He has given me for the purpose He meant them to be used in the first place.

But this is hard. So hard. My brain is shouting at me, saying I’m crazy to even consider this. Well, Brain, get with the program.

We’re shifting gears.

Stay tuned.

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July 21, 2017 · 9:41 AM

Complete

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What comes to your mind when you think about the word complete?

Here’s the dictionary definition:

     – having all parts or elements

– lacking nothing

     – whole; entire; full

– finished; ended; concluded

– having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like

     – consummate; perfect in kind or quality

There’s more, but I think you get the picture. Complete means complete. You cannot be more complete than complete. What is complete has no further need for correction or it wouldn’t be complete.

Colossians 2:9-10 says this:

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (NKJV)

Stop. Read that again. And let it blow your mind a little.

You. Are. Complete. In. Him.

Him is Jesus Christ. You are the son or daughter of the Father. And you are hidden in God with Christ. Because you’re in that place with Him, there is no condemnation, no fear, no threat – you are in Him and He is in you.

The second you accept the monumental gift of salvation He offers to every single human being, you are complete.

Let that settle in your brain today.

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July 18, 2017 · 11:33 AM

Words Have Power

Words

Writers are well aware that words have power. Choosing exactly the right words for any given sentence can be a painstaking exercise because you want your reader to experience the scene just like you do.

But the power of words reaches to even the furthest corners of our existence.

This morning, I read Matthew 5:21-22. Here’s what it says:

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.” (The Message)

Strong words.

Think about the sixth commandment, which very clearly states, “You shall not murder.” For the vast majority, this is clear enough and we get that God did not intend for this to be a suggestion or a guideline. It’s a command. Period.

But not only does this “written in stone” law prohibit the actual deed of murder, it extends to thoughts and words, to unrighteous anger and destructive insults. Calling another person stupid expresses contempt for their mind, and saying that they are a fool attacks their character. The above passage in Matthew indicates that the speaker of such words is on the brink of hellfire.

Yet, how thoughtlessly we fling words around, giving little attention to their destructive nature, their power, and their ability to kill. The consequences not only do damage to the one(s) to which we refer, but to our own eternal life.

Lord, help us to choose the right words – words that pour life and love and encouragement into the lives of the people around us.

 

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January 8, 2014 · 1:54 PM

Done With Average

You’ve seen this curve before, right? That’s because the world around you is based on averages – education, industry, science, economy, everything. You name it, there are averages. This obsession with average has created a society that says it’s cool to go along with the crowd. To be just good enough to get by. To blend in. After all, if you’re average, you’re okay.

What a lie.

Being average was never God’s plan for us.

Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” John 14:12 (NKJV)

Does that sound like average to you? I don’t think so. Jesus did some pretty awesome things during His time on earth, yet this scripture says that if we believe in Him, we will do the same things He did – and even greater.

I thought about this and decided to be done with average. No more mediocre, second-rate, or uninspired. Average does not reflect the person God created me to be.

When you read through the Bible, you see how much God has promised to those who serve Him – joy, peace, strength, power, blessings, abundance, forgiveness, confidence, wisdom, success. That’s a supernatural life. And definitely not average!

So, there’s a choice to make.

Will you continue along, frustrated and dissatisfied with where you’re at? Will you write your dreams off because you’re too afraid to pursue them? Or will you take a bold step of faith and leave average behind?

Get into the Word and read all of God’s promises you can find. Take them personally. Act on them. Ask God to reveal those things you need to do in order to walk away from average and become what He’s wanted you to be all along. Stay in really, really close touch with the Father. Talk to Him often. Listen to what He has to say.

You’re on your way to being done with average.

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