Your Glass Might Look Empty, But It's Really Full

If a person finds him/herself feeling gloomy, it's often because his/her thoughts have become focused on the negatives, instead of the positives in life.

But if we put our hope in God and all His goodness, and think of all the blessings He has given us, our spirits will begin to soar and our sadness to disperse. We'll be able to once again praise His beautiful name and rejoice in Him because simply knowing God surpasses all our broken dreams, painful experiences, and indescribable griefs.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? 

Why so disturbed within me? 

Put your hope in God, 

for I will yet praise Him, 

my Saviour and my God."

Psalm 42:5

Just knowing God as personal Lord and Saviour — we have it all! We can turn our sadness into joy by looking at what we have in Jesus, and not what we don't have in the world. The glass, or our lives, might look empty, but the truth is our lives are full when we have Jesus in our hearts.

Complain! Complain! Complain!

It's a terrible sin for people to constantly complain about trivial things that have nothing to do with spiritual growth or morality. The reasons are usually the same: they complain because life isn't as easy as they would like it to be, others aren't as quick or efficient as they would like them to be, or things aren't done exactly the way they would like them to be done.

I've always felt bad for Moses in the Old Testament. He was continually having to deal with these types of complaints and it distracted him from doing God's work in leading the people to a closer and more intimate relationship with their Heavenly Father. As a result, God's true dream for His people was not fulfilled.

Here is a passage of Scripture that describes some of the complaints Moses had to deal with:

"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when He heard them His anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.

The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat!'"

Numbers 11:1-4 (NIV)

Sadly, I've noticed that things are not much different in our churches today. Pastoral staff members spend an insurmountable amount of their time dealing with the same self-centered complaints. Consequently, they exhaust themselves trying to please and satisfy the people, and they have little, if any, time left over to focus on doing what God has called every member of the Church to do: to selflessly focus on the needs of others in the community and further beyond.

As The World Waits, God Waits For Us

The fourth song my sons and I have chosen to teach the children at the Children's Spring Retreat is "What Life Would Be Like" by Big Daddy Weave. We will be omitting the first two verses. Here are the lyrics:

He made the lame walk and the dumb talk
And He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits while His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus live thru you and me

What if you could see yourself thru another pair of eyes
What if you could hear the truth
Instead of old familiar lies
What if you could feel inside
The power of the hand that made the universe You'd realize

He made the lame walk and the dumb talk
And He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits while His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus live thru you and me

All our hearts they burn within us
All our lives we've longed for more
So let us lay our lives before the One who gave His life for us

He made the lame walk and the dumb talk
And He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits while His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus live thru you and me

Let Him live through you and me

I love the words to this song! It starts by acknowledging the miraculous power of our God, and how He longs to meet everyone's needs. God knows! He understands! He aches! And He desires to live through each one of us to touch the hurting hearts in the world around us.

My favourite line of this song is: "And the world waits while His heart aches."

The world is waiting, and as it waits, God's heart aches with unfathomable love for the all the people in it. As the world waits, God waits for His children to reach out to those who don't know Him and are in need of a loving Saviour and a Heavenly Father.

Extra! Extra!

The third song we have chosen is called "God of the City" by Blue True. This song is sung frequently in our church, so it will be a song the children are familiar with.

Here are the lyrics:

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is none like our God
There is none like You, God!

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

You're the Lord of creation
The creator of all things
You're the King above all kings
You are

You're the Strength in the weakness
You are Love to the broken
You're the Joy in the sadness
You are

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for You and love for You
In this city.

I love it when we sing this song as a church congregation. It acknowledges who God is and the great need in this city that has yet to be met.

The Bibles says we are to always be prepared to talk to others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, evangelism should be a burning desire in our hearts that causes us to eagerly look forward to sharing with others the hope we have in Christ.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you

to give the reason for the hope that you have.

 But do this with gentleness and respect."

1 Peter 3:15

I believe if we have this attitude of heart, God will send many people across our path who are searching for answers, because He knows He can rely on us to tell them about the Good News.

The world that God loves so much is lost, desperate, and reckless — and in great need of good news.

I Used To Run Around

The second song that my sons and I chose for the Children's Spring Retreat is "Yes We Can" by Me in Motion.

Here are the lyrics to this song:

I used to run around, round, round, round,
So lost in all of my doubt, doubt, doubt,
How is it possible to stay true,
When the whole world's coming up against you?
But could it be,
That the Spirit in you and me,
Is the very thing that let's us say . . .

Yes we can!
And it's the reason that we raise our hands,
And when we fall we're getting up again!
So when they say we'll never make it,
Tell 'em, tell 'em, again . . .
Yes we can!

So take a look around, round, round, round,
So many people knocked down, down, down,
Now if you're moving and help somebody stand up,
Cuz on our own,
We are headed down a dead end road,
But our God is with us so we say . . .

So if you think you can't take it,
And if you're feeling alone,
Together we can face it!
So here we go (so here we go)
So here we go (so here we go)
We'll let 'em know (we'll let 'em know)
We'll let whole world know!

Don't let 'em say that we're too young.
Don't let, 'em say that we're too weak.
Don't let 'em say that we can't do it.

I like this song because it will encourage the children that they can be strong in God because God will give each of us the strength to live for Him and be a testimony of His great love to those around us.

The Bible says that we will be able to stand on top of the highest mountain with the sure-footedness of a deer; that God will train our hands for battle, which takes place when we study His Word faithfully and establish a personal and intimate relationship with Him; and that God will strengthen our arms to draw a bronze bow, which He does through the power and might of His Holy Spirit. Age makes no difference in the intensity of our strength because the strength comes from God, not man.

"God arms me with strength,

and He makes my way perfect.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

He trains my hands for battle;

He strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow."

Psalm 18:32-34 (NLT)

God, Give Me Your Heart To Feel And Eyes To See

Get "me" out of my mind!

After prayer and much consideration, my sons and I have picked four of the songs that we as a family will use to lead children in worship for the Spring Retreat.

The first song is "Outta My Mind" by Anthem Lights. Here are the lyrics:

Feelin' like I got a front row seat to watch everybody be happy
Can't even paint a smile on my face, it's so hard to not complain
O God, what about me
'Cause I know that's not the way that I'm supposed to be

Get me outta my mind and into Your heart
It's not about me, it's not about me
So I'm gonna start playin' my part in Your design
Now is the time
Get me outta my mind
Outta my mind

There's a bigger picture on display and it's starting to come in focus
Causing me to see the ones in need outside my little world
Gotta try, just to say
O God, what can I do
Doesn't matter what it takes, I wanna lead them all to You

Get me outta my mind and into Your heart
It's not about me, it's not about me
So I'm gonna start playin' my part in Your design
Now is the time
Get me outta my mind
Outta my mind

If anybody asks me what have I been up to
This is what I'm gonna say
I've been spending my time, outta my mind
And I'm really lovin' livin' this way

We chose this song because we want to teach the children through the lyrics how the Christian life is not always about us and how we feel. There's a much bigger picture! It's also about all those around us who do not know Jesus as personal Lord and Saviour, and will not know unless we show them the love of God.

We need to get "me" out of our minds and put in its place those around us who are crying out for answers, who are slowly dying and are not prepared to meet God face to face.

I know sometimes it can be a struggle, but when we ask God to feel what He feels, the struggle goes away, and we begin to feel an overpowering love for others as God opens our eyes to see the needs of those around us. It becomes no longer about us, but about those who need Jesus.

"And I will give you a new heart,

and I will put a new spirit in you.

I will take out your stony, stubborn heart

and give you a tender, responsive heart."

Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

If we ask God, He will give us a new heart and a new spirit that will be full of compassion for others.

Church Influx Versus Church Outflux

Which is worse: a person who commits a crime of abuse towards an individual, or a person who knew of a situation of abuse, had the authority to do something about it, but did nothing? Is the criminal the more guilty, or is it the person who let the criminal go free, allowing crimes to continue and further victims to be victimized?

The answer is: both are equally to blame; one is not worse than the other.

In the news you often hear of how rich, famous, beautiful, and talented people get away with horrendous crimes, many for years and years, as their worshippers turn a blind eye. And when the abuser is finally taken to court with charges against them, more often than not, the abuser is exonerated and the victims are portrayed by the media as liars and evil-doers, which only causes the victims further pain and heartache. Unless the victims have concrete proof, they don't stand much of a chance against the monstrous giant of fame and money.

Now I ask another question: are churches any different?

It's true that churches may not be the same as the world with respect to the extent or severity of the crimes and sins committed within, but many times the attitude is still the same.

I have heard several pastors over the last few years on stage warn their congregation not to come to them with any complaints because doing so is a sin against God. In effect, they spiritually manipulate the people to keep quiet and not speak a word against a fellow believer. They take Scripture out of context, and quote verses like:

"You, therefore, have no excuse,

you who pass judgment on someone else,

for at whatever point you judge the other,

you are condemning yourself,

because you who pass judgment do the same things."

Romans 2:1 (NIV)

In this verse, Paul is referring to the prejudice that Jews held against the Gentiles. The Jews thought they were better than the Gentiles and therefore above the Law. Paul was correcting their wrong and self-righteous attitude. He was not discouraging the people from reporting abuse, hurt, neglect, rejection, a wrong attitude, or sin in the Church.

Pastors who spiritually manipulate the congregation in this way cause the hurting and insecure people in the congregation to be too intimidated to report any kind of wrong-doing in the church for fear of reprise. It's ironic: this verse says we are not to pass judgment on another person, but that is exactly what churches often do to people who gain the courage to speak up against an unrighteousness action in the church. Because of this attitude, many wounded people leave the church. Some go to other churches, some stop attending church altogether, and some give up their faith in God.

I sometimes wonder if the rate of people leaving the church because of hurt and rejection exceeds the rate of new people coming into the church who give their lives to God in service. Sadly, from what I've seen over the years, working in many churches, I believe the former exceeds the latter: more people are leaving the churches and turning their backs against God than are becoming saved.

As Pastors, Christians teachers, and leaders, we are never — let me repeat — never to dismiss a person's claim of abuse of any kind. We are to deal immediately with the problems inside of a church with the wisdom of God and the respect of all people involved.

We are never to consider one person in the church more important than another, nor one person's word more valid than another, without first seeking out the truth with the wisdom and character of the Holy Spirit guiding us. If correction or disciplinary action is needed, then the church needs to take action.

True Spirituality Is How We Treat Others

True spirituality is not measured by:

• How much God speaks to us and answers our prayers. 
• How articulate we are with a mic in hand on centre stage before an attentive audience. 
• How beautiful we sing as we lead worship in church.
• How many Christian retreats, conferences, and church services we attend.
• How much we give to people in need when others will notice.
• How elevated we are in our church position.
• How much money and material wealth God has blessed us with.
• How amazingly healthy we are compared to others.
• How attractive and physically appealing we are to others.
• How much we fast with a sense of spiritual pride and open announcement.

True spirituality is measured by:

• How careful we are to notice a new-comer in the church and, beyond just welcoming them, make a real effort to get to know them.
• How much we love and support our husbands or wives emotionally, physically, and spiritually, even through times of debilitating illnesses such as cancer.
• How careful we are to avoid speaking only about ourselves, but instead listen with interest to others when they talk.
• How much we have the feeling that we would rather die than intentionally hurt another human being.
• How quick we are to apologize to people whom we have wronged, instead of ignoring our mistakes and convincing ourselves that an apology is unnecessary.
• How quick we are to forgive those who have hurt us.
• How much we are willing to serve, instead of dictating and giving orders with the desire that everything has to be done our way.
• How much genuine praise and encouragement we give to others, even during times when our own self-esteem is not at its peak.
• How deeply and genuinely we love and care for all people, no matter how repulsive their past sins, because we know God can forgive.
• How we don't dishonour a person by taking their body for our own enjoyment and pleasure without establishing a covenant of marriage first.

To sum it all. True spirituality is loving others in the same way God loves them! It's having the heart of God in us and putting His love into motion. True spirituality radiates from within and is seen on our face, in the genuineness of our smile, in the warmth of our selfless words, and the kindness of our actions.

True spirituality is giving our heart to God and having Him replace it with His.

Daily Bask In The Warmth Of God's Presence

If you are finding yourself irritable, causing yourself to lose your temper, and speaking rudely to others, it's because your stress level is far too high for you to respond to people in an amicable and respectable manner.

How do you prevent yourself from being irritable? Lower your stress level by allowing more time for yourself to relax and enjoy the pleasures of life, exercise regularly, eat healthy, and, most importantly, set aside time each day to bask in God's presence and meditate on His Word — just like my kitten, Osha, who basks in the warmth of the sunbeams that falls on my bed.

"I don't have the time to do all that," you might say.

Well, even if you don't, not to worry — you'll eventually have lots of time when you get sick from prolonged stress. An overload of constant stress in your life can throw your body into a chemical imbalance that results in clinical depression and anxiety. Stress can also cause diseases such as strokes, heart attacks, migraines, ulcers, chronic fatigue, and lower immune systems, contributing to many types of cancer.

But even worse, if you are irritable, responding to people with out-of-control anger, barking out orders, and treating people disrespectfully, then you're ruining God's testimony by hurting others.

The Bible says we are not to put any kind of stumbling block in a person's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path,

so that our ministry will not be discredited."

2 Corinthians 6:3 (NIV)

In other words, it's imperative that we lower our stress levels so that our actions and words do not hurt fellow brothers and sisters, which might cause them to stumble, and which ruin our testimony as servants of Christ.

Make the time to de stress!

Here Am I. Send Me!

I received a phone call last week by a friend inviting me to go yesterday to a women's one-day retreat. I will be honest and say I didn't want to go. I told her on the phone I would think about it. When I finishing talking with her, I tried to think of an excuse I could use to politely refuse.  For the life of me I couldn't think of one, so I phoned her back and reluctantly told her I would go.

All week I tired to put the thought of the women's retreat out of my mind. I hoped that maybe something would come up that would prevent me from going, like a snow storm or something. (I can't believe I actually wished for that, but I did.) However, when no such thing happened, I reasoned that it must be God's will for me to go, although I couldn't figure out why.

The retreat started at nine in the morning, and by ten, I was ready to go home. I couldn't shake the intense guilt I felt for being there. If the retreat was an outreach, then it wouldn't have bothered me at all. But it wasn't. There was a $30 charge, so it attracted only Christian ladies who could afford it.

The first portion of the retreat centred around how we should revel in God's love and goodness. But how can we do that when there are so many people outside the church that God loves too but don't know it? Churches seem so inward that it grieves me so.

I have a heart for evangelism. It's a burning desire inside me that I'm not able to shake.

I don't understand why long-time Christians can't move on from the basics of the Gospel of Christ and the four protective walls of the church, and go beyond to reach the lost with the Gospel of Christ. It's God's heart that no one should perish!

"He is patient with you, 

not wanting anyone to perish, 

but everyone to come to repentance."

2 Peter 3:9b (NIV)

After lunch I felt pretty much the same. I passionately told a lady who was sitting beside me, "God loves us; that's true." I then pointed outside the church. "But God loves them too!" The lady just looked at me with bewilderment. I was so disheartened. Sometimes it feels so hopeless.

Then the guest speaker got up. I didn't have high expectations. I really couldn't wait until the retreat was over so I could go home and cry out to God.

Well, God obviously heard my many past prayers and my heartfelt desires because the speaker spoke on evangelism in our community and how this should be our driving force as God's people.

I was so excited! Yes!!!!!!! I could hardly contain myself! I rooted the speaker on the whole way. There was one other lady that did the same.

The female speaker spoke on everything I have been blogging about concerning the lost.

After she finished speaking, I gave her my name and phone number to contact me for help in prison ministry and/or start a First Nations peoples ministry. The other excited lady gave the speaker her phone number as well.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

'Whom shall I send? 

And who will go for us?' 

and I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)

Never Be Too Timid To Ask God

My husband, Brian, has never called me by any of the common terms of endearment, such as "sweetheart," "love," or "dear." Instead, he privately calls me by a nickname that he has used since we were first married: He calls me "Tigger."

I've never liked this nickname, although I've never told him that. In our first year of marriage, he bought me a stuffed tiger and said it reminded him of me. I was slightly offended, but I never said anything because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Anyways, aren't husbands supposed to buy their wives stuffed teddy bears, puppies, or kittens? Why a wild cat?

I kept the tiger, but ended up giving it away a few years later to one of our sons to play with. Eventually the tiger was thrown out when it became worn and tattered-looking. My husband wasn't too pleased, so he went and bought me another stuffed tiger. I still have this one. I didn't want him to keep wasting his money buying me stuffed tigers all the time.

Finally, a few days ago, I confronted Brian and asked, "Why do I remind you of a tiger?"

I will be honest and say I was on the defensive, ready to pounce on him.

(Uh . . . did I just say "pounce?" I meant to say "defend myself.")

Anyways, Brian's explanation was that I reminded him of "Tigger" in Winnie-the-Pooh because Tigger was his favourite character as a child going up. He told me he loved Tigger because Tigger was spirited and full of bounce or life. He just naturally assumed I'd know what he was talking about. But I didn't know because, for one reason, Tigger is a male, not a female; and two, all the stuffed animals he gave me were of other tigers, not Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Anyways, I am glad that, after twenty-nine years of marriage, I finally asked my husband why I remind him of a tiger. Now when he calls me "Tigger", I'll think it's sweet, not offending. And when I gaze upon my stuffed tiger, I'll be reminded of his thoughts for me.

It's funny how men commonly don't explain themselves, and how women often mistake the meaning of what they say. I guess women need to not be apprehensive in asking their husbands.

The Bible encourages God's children to never be afraid to approach Him and ask.

Here are some of my favourite verses in the Bible about asking God:

"Ask and it will be given to you."

Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

"If you believe, you will receive everything you ask for in prayer."

Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

"You may ask for anything in my Name, and I will do it,

that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

John 14:14 (NIV)

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

John 15:7 (NIV)

"Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

John 16:24 (NIV)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,

who gives generously to all without finding fault,

and it will be given to him."

James 1:5 (NIV)

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God:

that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask —

we know that we have what we asked of Him."

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

It's such a comfort and a security for a child of God to be able to approach the King at any time, any place, and ask.

An Insult Disguised As A Compliment

Has someone ever given you an insult disguised as a compliment?

Here are a few of the examples I've heard:

• "Your children are so brilliant! Where did they get their brilliance from?"
• "You're lucky you don't have to work." (This referred to a stay-home mom.)
• "You are much more (a positive adjective) than your siblings." (Teenagers might think it is OK for them to insult their siblings, but not someone else.)
• "Your parents are quite attractive-looking. What happened to you?" (This referred to a teenage boy who was going through the acne stage.)
• I am sorry, but it is your fault I . . . . (This started out as an apology, but ended with an accusation.)
• When I am not with you, I think of you, but when I am with you I think of so-and-so. (This is a comment from a guy to his girlfriend when he didn't succeed in getting his way with her.)
• "You may not be the prettiest girl in the family, but you make up for it in personality." (This referred to a young girl who was burnt on the side of her face when she was a baby.)

Do we remember the compliment or the insult? Let me answer: We remember the insult. I can guarantee you that posing an insult as a compliment doesn't mitigate the hurt or psychological damage.

People who use a compliment to hide an insult are trying to deceive you. They want you to be initially confused, because if you're not too sure how to respond, they can get away with their insult. It's only later as you digest their words that you feel the puncture wound. In other words, people use this tactic to trick you into accepting the blow of their insult without comment. This is called "psychological manipulation". Wikipedia defines this type of manipulation as "social influence that aims to change the perception or behaviour of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics."

Manipulation is a sin. People use it to elevate themselves, by degrading others.

How should Christians deal with this type of behaviour from others? See it as it is: a form of manipulation and a tactic of the devil. Don't allow other people's insults to take root and fester inside you.

A person that psychologically manipulates has a jealous and selfish heart.

"For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition,

there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

James 3:16 (NLT)

If you're hurting from an insult wound, go to God, talk to Him about it, and allow Him to soothe you with the truths from His Word.

Their Sins Were Discovered

Yesterday morning, I got up, went downstairs, and was horrified to see socks, underwear, undergarments-which-I-won't-mention, pants, and T-shirts lying all over the house.

"What happened?" I exclaimed, as I turned to two of my sons who were already up getting ready to go for their morning run.

They both answered my question at the same time by saying one word, and that one word explained everything: "Osha!"

"Oh," was all I could say. Osha spread my clean laundry all over the floor of my house. I looked at Osha and thought for a second to ask him to put the clothes back in the laundry basket. He is definitely smart enough to do it, but I knew of course he wouldn't. Sigh. I find it so very hard to look at Osha's sweet face and be mad at him — he's just too cute!

Osha is our kitten. She steals everything — flowers from my floral arrangements, ceramic bird ornaments, decorative ribbons and bows, and my summer slip-on shoes. These are forbidden items, but she takes them anyways as soon as any of our backs our turned.

Osha reminds me of Eve when she took a bite of the forbidden fruit, which God commanded Adam and Eve to not eat. God warned them that if either of them disobeyed, their actions would lead to certain death.

"And the Lord God commanded the man,

'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'"

Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV)

But Satan in the form of an upright serpent, (not the slithering kind that one sees today,) tempted Eve with deceiving words, and Eve listened. She believed his lies and partook of the forbidden fruit.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food

and pleasing to the eye,

and also desirable for gaining wisdom,

she took some and ate it."

Genesis 3:6a (NIV)

The Bible says Eve then offered to Adam some of her fruit. It doesn't say Adam asked Eve for a bite, nor does it say Adam refused Eve's offer just so he could reach out to the tree and greedily grab a whole fruit for himself.

"She also gave some to her husband,

who was with her, and he ate it."

Genesis 3:6b (NIV)

The Bible just says Eve gave some of her fruit to her husband. She didn't ask Adam or try to convince him with words. The verse just says Adam took the fruit and ate it without protest.

Eve was motivated by two selfish desires: to taste a fruit that was so delicious-looking, and to gain wisdom.

But what was Adam motivated by? The Bible doesn't say. We can only speculate. Was it fear at the thought of losing his precious love and being separated from his new companion and helpmate? Was it guilt because he should have protected Eve by stopping her from eating the fruit in the first place? Was it doubt of God's Word because Eve was still standing and very much alive? Was it greed to have more than what he already had? Or was is to please his beautiful wife rather than to please God?

Whatever the reason, we do know that Adam chose to follow Eve's disobedience rather than obey His Creator. Eve chose to listen to the serpent instead of obeying God and before seeking her husband's advice. Eve was tempted by Satan, and Adam was tempted by Eve. Both sinned against God their Heavenly Father.

Then the Bible says both their eyes were opened at the same time. I wonder why God didn't open Eve's eyes immediately after she ate the forbidden fruit? Why did He wait until Adam also ate the fruit? If God had opened Eve's eyes first, would Adam still have been tempted? Hmm . . . an interesting question. I will have to think about it some more. I guess it would depend on what Adam's actual motive was in eating the forbidden fruit in the first place. However, I do think if Adam saw his wife running around looking for leaves to cover herself, he would have had second thoughts about taking a bite of the fruit.

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized they were naked."

Genesis 3:7a (NIV)

The Bible Says Go The Extra Mile

The day before yesterday, I talked again to the man from the town hall concerning my AWOL garbage bin. He told me that he received a total of seven calls from people last week who couldn't find their garbage bins. He also told me that in all the years he has worked for the town, never have so many garbage bins disappeared in one time.

He said he can't figure it out. It boggies his mind, and there is no rational explanation for it. I guess the theory he told me last week, which was that the wind must have blew them away and vanished them into thin air, didn't quite pan out with his coworkers.

I have come up with a more reasonable explanation. On the same day that the garbage bins went missing, there was a drastic drop in temperature. I think the homeless have taken them to use as shelters from the dangerous cold. My bin was recently washed while most others are disgustingly dirty. Therefore my bin was selected over the others. It's just a theory, but it does make sense.

Anyways, early yesterday morning, the city dropped off my new garbage bin. The man who delivered it even went the extra mile and put into the bin my two garbage bags that were sitting next to the road. I thought it was really nice of him to do that so that I didn't have to brave the freezing, death-defying, Arctic temperatures to do it myself.

Then I thought how important it is for Christians to "go the extra mile" by doing more than what is expected of us.

Did you know that the idiom "to go the extra mile" originated from the Bible? The Word of God says that if someone forces you to go one mile, volunteer for two.

"If someone forces you to go one mile,

go with him two miles."

Matthew 5:41 (NIV)

If we have this selfless kind of attitude in our work places, schools, homes, or churches, then we become a blessing to others and a testimony of God's wondrous and beautiful character, thereby drawing others to Jesus Christ and establishing harmonious relationships with others.

This is the second way we can evangelize. The first, which I wrote about in an earlier post, is by showing respect to God and fellow believers. The second is by going the extra mile.

Winter Is Here!

I was beginning to think we were going to by-pass winter this year, but unfortunately I was wrong. Winter did come late, and for that I am very grateful. However, in the last few days, it's been blisteringly cold outside. I had to go out yesterday to buy some groceries, and I wished I'd stayed home. When I came back home, I was so chilled that I immediately went upstairs to have a hot bath.

I know I shouldn't complain. It's the middle of January and the winter season is almost over. Up till now, we've been blessed with mild temperatures and hardly any snow. I guess I was feeling spoiled. It's funny how we can be spoiled so easily.

The Bible says God doesn't spoil His children here on earth. We are told that we will go through trials and difficult times while we live here on earth, so that our faith in God can be tested to see if it is genuine.

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead,

even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine.

It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold —

though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.

So when your faith remains strong through many trials,

 it will bring you much praise and glory and honour

on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)

If our faith in God remains strong through the trials, then much praise, glory, and honour will be brought to the Name of Jesus.

Our faith in God is much more precious than gold, so don't allow any bad that may happen to you here on earth to take away your faith in God.

It saddens me greatly when I recall how many people I've known personally — relatives, friends, Bible College graduates/students, and pastors — who once served God, but do no longer. Most of them turned their backs on God when they went through a terrible ordeal, like a divorce, the early death of a loved one, a financial crisis, a church split, a debilitating illness, and so on.

Always keep your faith in God strong because the end reward will be worth it. One day, God is going to spoil us forever, and there will be no more trials or tribulations.

Evangelism Begins By Showing Respect To God

Have you ever invited guests to your home for dinner at such-and-such a time, only to have them arrive an hour late? You excitedly plan for days, shop for groceries, clean the house, and, at last, lovingly prepare the meal. When everything is ready, you look at the clock and wait with anticipation.

But your guests do not arrive on time.

You tell yourself, "They will be here any minute now."

But the minutes go by and there is no knock at the door.

You begin to worry. "Maybe something bad happened to them."

More minutes go by and you anxiously half-expect an emergency call. But the phone does not ring,

After an hour of waiting, your nerves are frazzled. But at last you hear a car pull into your driveway. You look out the window. Sure enough, it's them! You open the front door with concern as they get out of their car. When you see their pleasant smiles, you are a little surprised, but very relieved they've arrived safely.

As they greet you, they flippantly apologize and give a flimsy explanation for their late arrival. This leaves you feeling disrespected and hurt.

The dinner is of course cold, the excitement has worn off, and there is no more joy — only a melancholy feeling in your heart.

But you hide your feelings as you heat up the dinner in the microwave and try to be as pleasant as possible to your guests. You ignore the increasing disappoint that comes when he see how the food that once was delicious and appealing has come out of the microwave looking mushy and gross.

If that's not enough, further disappointment piles onto your disappointment as you notice that your guests don't even eat all of the food on their plates. Although, this you can understand, since it would be hard for you too to eat food that tastes like yesterday's left-overs.

At the end of the night when your guests leave, you can't help but still feel low-spirited. You wonder why your guests didn't make more of an effort to arrive on time. You inevitably come to the conclusion that they weren't as excited to come to your house for dinner as you were excited to invite them.

But this is how God feels when His beloved people arrive late to church on Sunday morning.

Some respond with, "Well, it's better to be late than not show up at all." I'm not so sure that it is. For one thing, it's a very poor testimony to those who don't know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It shows great disrespect to our King, and to our Christian brothers and sisters who give their musical gifts and talents to God in leading His people into worship.

If we want to evangelize, we need to start from the very beginning. How are we to be a testimony to the unsaved if we are a poor testimony of our faith and devotion to God in our own church?

The Bible says we are to respect all our Christian brothers and sisters, and we are to fear God and respect the King.

"Respect everyone,

and love your Christian brothers and sisters.

 Fear God, and respect the King."

1 Peter 2:17 (NLT)

And yet I have noticed in multiple churches that when the music starts on Sunday morning, only one-third of the congregation is in the sanctuary. People slowly trickle in until, half-way through the worship, about two-thirds of the congregation is present. Finally, when the music ends, everyone is there.

What happened? Did the people sleep in? Did they chat too long with their friends in the foyer? Did they stop off at Tim Hortons for coffee? Or did they arrive just to hear the sermon?

If Christians think the unsaved won't notice, they're wrong.

This is where evangelism begins. Do we show our respect to our Christian brothers and sisters? Do we fear God and respect the King?

"Soul Mate": A Dangerous Ideology

What does "soul mate" mean exactly? I've been hearing this term increasingly often, so I decided to look up it's meaning. This is what I discovered: "In New Age spirituality [— interesting terminology —] the ultimate soul mate is the one and only other half of one's soul" (Wikipedia).

I also discovered that the ideology of a "soul mate" has ancient roots. It was Plato, a Greek philosopher, who, over 2000 years ago, first came up with the idea of a "soul mate". He believed that human beings were tragically split in two, and for them to feel complete they have to spend the rest of their lives yearning and searching for the other half of themselves.

This is clearly not Scriptural, and yet I even hear Christians using the term "soul mate".

Even more shocking, the idea of a "soul mate" is being used as an excuse for marriage breakups. When a marriage becomes turbulent and requires work, men and women falsely come to the conclusion, "I must have made a mistake — my husband or wife can't be my soul mate." Then tragedies occur, covenants with God are broken, and families are destroyed.

The idea of a "soul mate" can also cause infidelity in a marriage. When a married man or woman convinces him/herself that he/she has finally come across his/her "soul mate" — who is not his/her spouse — he/she feels he/she must be with the new "soul mate" to be completely happy. This is a deceptive lie of Satan because a person can never be truly happy living with the guilt of disobeying God and betraying the trust of his/her spouse.

There are also others who are continually trying to find their "soul mate", a perfect replica of themselves, but are never succeeding. This prevents them from marrying. Instead they are always searching. Even if God brings them a good mate, they doubt God's infinite wisdom and reject God's choice because of this New Age philosophy on love.

This ideology of "soul mate" is wrong and dangerous.

The Bible says we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, not we are only half a being who can only be made complete by finding our other half. That's crazy!

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

When we marry, the Bible says two [whole] people will join together to become one flesh, not two [half] people will rejoin to form one person who was split apart.

"And the two will become one flesh,

so they are no longer two, but one."

Mark 10:8 (NIV)

As Christians, we need to be on guard against New Age philosophies that are contrary to the Word of God. That's why it's so important to know God's Word.

The idea of finding a "soul mate" might initially sound good, but it is a falsehood of Satan that is destroying God's plans for people's lives, ending marriages, and splitting families.

The Bible says that God will give you the desires of your heart when you delight yourself in the Lord.

"Delight yourself in the Lord 

and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

If you have a desire to get married, you don't have to worry or fret, or go desperately searching. You just have to love, serve and trust God! And when God blesses you with a mate, be thankful and trust God's decision. Never stop loving your husband and wife!

Never Stop Trusting God

When I was sixteen, my parents, my twin brother, and I were summer-holidaying in Salmon Arm near Shuswap Lake, where my family owned a piece of property. My godmother and godfather, who were my aunt and uncle, lived further up the street from my family's property. My aunt and uncle also had two sets of twins, like my parents, and one set, a male and female, were close to the age of my twin brother and me.

My godmother was a dedicated Christian with a servant heart. She had a beautiful singing voice, loved pansies, enjoyed the sound of the waves crashing against the lake shore, and adored animals, especially dogs.

One warm summer day, I remember being alone with my godmother in her vehicle. We had just come from town when we passed a truck with two teenage males in it. The young men smiled at me as we drove by. I foolishly smiled back and waved. That was a mistake! I knew it the moment I did it. The truck with the teenagers suddenly picked up speed and began to follow us.

My godmother was not happy to say the least. She immediately lectured me on the dangers of flirting with strange men. As I slinked down into my seat, my godmother tried to lose them. I was amazed at her confident driving skills! I also felt very guilty and scared for both of us, not because of her driving, but because of those determined young men and us females alone in a car — my godmother was still a very pretty woman.

Thankfully my godmother lost the strangers in the truck. I was ashamed at my foolishness and promised that I would never do that again. I learned my lesson about flirting with danger, and it's one I haven't forgotten.

It is even more dangerous today when women flirt on the Internet by posting provocative pictures of themselves and attracting strange men to meet with them.

*     *     *

Sadly my godmother died in her early middle age with cancer. I still miss her to this day. I grieved very hard when my mother phoned to tell me that my godmother finally died. It was a shock that I wasn't emotionally prepared for because I had been believing in my heart that God would heal her.

Have you ever wondered why God sometimes heals some but not others? This question is something I have pondered for years. I don't know the answer to it. All I know is that God still heals today. We are to never stop having faith in God's healing power no matter what past disappointments we have experienced. We are always to trust God to heal, and also to continue to trust God even when He doesn't.

The Bible says God heals all our diseases — not some, but all.

"Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things He does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

Psalm 103:2-3 (NLT)

Certain things must then prevent God from healing, but never are we to blame a person who wasn't healed. Only God knows the reason why. Sometimes the future of a person here on earth is too distressing for them to bear. Now that I can look back and see the heartaches my godmother would have had to endure, I am glad she is in Heaven in the loving arms of her Heavenly Father.

Here is a picture of me, Brian, and my godmother on my wedding day, as Brian and I leave the church to go on our honeymoon. She loved Brian. Everyone in my family did! My godmother sang a beautiful song for us at our reception and my mother-in-law played the piano for her.

God's Understanding Has No Limits

Tuesday is my Garbage day. Every Tuesday morning, I open my garage door and roll out my city-leased garbage bin onto the curb.

Last Tuesday, I put out my garbage as always. Later on in the day, I heard the garbage truck come by, but I was busy at the time. It was almost an hour later before I was free to retrieve my garbage bin and bring it back inside my garage. However, when I looked out the window, I saw no garbage bin. At least, there was no garbage bin anywhere near where I had placed mine. But it was windy and I saw a bin sitting out in the middle of the street near my neighbour's driveway. When my sons came home, I told them to bring in the garbage bin from the middle of the street. They told me that they thought it was the neighbours. I told them the bin was mine, and to go bring it in. So they did.

The evening before last, the man next door came knocking on my door and asked me if I had seen his garbage bin. I explained to him what happened and said honestly, "I have no idea. I might have it. I just don't know."

Each garbage bin has a number on it, so I told my neighbour that I would phone the town hall the next morning and ask for my number. If my assigned number doesn't match the number on the garbage bin, then we would know that it's his. Truthfully, I suspected that the garbage bin sitting in my garage was really his because I didn't think mine was quite so dirty.

While I was waiting for town hall to open so I could phone, I decided to do some detective work to try and figure out what happened to my bin. After all, I didn't want to sound like a dimwit on the phone.

First of all, I decided that no one stole it — at least not on purpose. Who would steal a garbage bin? It's gross to touch your own, let alone someone else's.

Therefore I rationally concluded that my other neighbour must have two garbage bins. He must have brought one in and his live-in girlfriend must have brought another in, not realizing that they now have two.

"OK, that probably doesn't make any sense either," I thought. "How do you not notice that you have two garbage bins in your garage? They are colossal-sized and take up an irritating amount of valuable garage space.

"There has to be another explanation." As I looked out my bedroom window to see if I could gain some insight, I noticed that, five houses down the road, there was a lonely garbage bin sitting on the curb. Either the owners have for three days forgotten to bring in their garbage bin, or that one must be mine.

"Wow! That reasoning is even more ludicrous! How can a garbage bin travel on its own that far away?" As I looked out the window again, I saw that the owner finally noticed his garbage bin and brought it in.

"Well, I give up," I thought. "I guess I am just going to have phone the town hall and admit I don't know where my garbage bin is. Boy! That sounds dumb."

I humbled myself and dialed the number. I ended up talking to a very nice, but very crazy man who confirmed that the garbage bin in my garage wasn't mine. He said that the wind probably blew mine away.

I knew that the right thing at that moment was to keep my mouth shut, but I just couldn't. I had to ask. "How in the world can the wind, unless it's a tornado, blow my garbage bin out of sight?"

His response was — you are not going to believe this, but it's the truth — "Oh sure, it can."

I immediately decided not to encourage any further conversation. The man was obviously delusional, or perhaps he had seen "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" one too many times. But he was still very nice. He told me that I would receive a brand new, I-don't-have-to-clean-in-the-spring garbage bin next Tuesday free of charge.

I am happy now, but it still bugs me that I don't know what happened to my garbage bin.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever had something you really wanted to know but couldn't find the answer to?

Of course, when I studied mathematics, I would always get excited when this happened. If I had a challenging question, I would work gloriously at it until I found the answer.

But unfortunately life isn't always like that. Sometimes you have to accept that you just don't know, and may never know on earth, the answer to life's perplexities. However, we can have faith that God knows everything and that one day we will have the answers to our questions.

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

His understanding has no limit."

Psalm 147:5

It is too bad our understanding has limits because I sure wish I knew what happened to my garbage bin.

Amongst A Sea Of Business Cards

A few years ago, just after I moved here, a newly appointed pastor handed me a dozen business cards, which had his name printed on it, as well as the title, address, and phone number of his church. I just stared at the cards in disbelief. When the shock wore off, I looked up at him and asked him what he wanted me to do with them. He was annoyed with my question. "I don't know," he said. "Leave them at the police station when you and your sons go to request a criminal record check."

I didn't leave them at the police station. I was disgusted. When I got home, I tossed the cards into the garbage and asked myself these questions: Does this pastor think people are like potential customers to whom you hand out business cards? Does he view people as a source of revenue for his church? What would Jesus think of those cards? After all, His name wasn't located anywhere on them.

When I told my oldest son about the business cards, he told me that it was quite common for pastors to have them these days. I was even more shocked.

It is God's burning desire for His Church to gather together and support each other with the sole purpose of doing the will of God and that is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church is to be a place where God and His Word reign supreme.

Today's churches, however, largely consist of chain-of-command pastors, thrown-together sermons that leave people bewildered, theatrical stage shows, clips of ungodly TV shows or movies, references to ungodly celebrities, musical concerts, Broadway-like drama productions, and a variety of programs to satisfy the believers. All the while outside of the church the sick are dying, the depressed are suicidal, the drug and alcohol addicts are homeless, the abused children are suffering, the married couples are divorcing, the lost are wandering, the poor are starving, and the dying are going to hell.

The Church needs to wake up because the world needs Jesus, and the churches today do very little to help reach those souls that are crying out for answers, looking for a miracle, and longing for a Heavenly Father to love them.

The Bible says that God is to be the head of everything that goes on in the Church. The members of the Church are parts of Christ's body, all of equal importance. The Church is the extension of Jesus to others, and it is the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. God's power and God's glory is to fill the Church. It is not the pastors or the Church itself that is to be glorified, only Christ Himself.

"And God placed all things under His feet

and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church,

which is His body,

the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."

Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)

When I was in Bible college, a group of us students used to go street-witnessing every Friday night. We would go out on the streets and bring people out of the cold into a warm shelter where coffee and cookies were served. We would read to them Bible verses and share with them the love of Christ. Afterwards we would pray with them. None of us had business cards to give them — just Jesus and His Word.

Christianity is just that simple and it doesn't cost much. All that is required is a servant's heart and a love for God's Word. Over the years though, Christianity has gotten so complicated and expensive that the simplicity of it has been lost and, in the process, Jesus went missing.

Rubber Tires Or Souls?

Are you catching valuable souls for Jesus Christ, or are you catching things of no value in God's sight?

A popular catchphrase that is being used by many famous celebrities and becoming adopted by people all over the world is: "I'm not religious — I'm spiritual." In other words, "My faith in God is a personality trait that is all about me."

To say, "I'm a Christian," means you are a follower of Christ, and that's all about Him, not about you. If you are a follower of Christ, you study His Word daily so that your faith doesn't become a fuzzy set of values and beliefs. You have a full desire to please God in everything you say and do, so that God will be glorified in your life because He is the only One who is deserving of man's worship. You would never use your gifts and talents to glorify yourself and become an idol to others. Your foremost desire in life is that, when you die, God's Name will be remembered, not yours.

It is also important for a follower of Christ to go to a Bible-believing church that is outward in its faith and not inward; in other words, a church with a heart for reaching out to the lost souls in the community and the world around.

In the Bible, Jesus called out to a group of fishermen and told them to come to Him — Jesus wanted the men to draw near to His presence and be close to His heart. Then Jesus told them to follow Him — it was His heart's desire that they become like Him and obey His Word. Thirdly, Jesus told the men that He would teach them how to bring other people into a saving knowledge of Him.

"Jesus called out to them,

'Come,

follow me,

and I will show you how to fish for people!'"

Matthew 4:19 (NLT)

Looking at this verse, we see that a Christ-filled walk is divided into three steps:

1. Come.
2. Obey.
3. Evangelize.

Celebrities and other people who say, "I'm spiritual and not religious," don't even make it past step one. They may be cool in the world's eyes, but they aren't cool in God's eyes.

No Longer Will The Moon Give It's Light

One day God is going to reign over the Church in all of His glory. There will be no need for the sun to shine during the day nor the moon to give its light during the night because the glory of of the Lord will shine eternal and brighter than any of these sources.

"No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

nor the moon to give its light by night,

for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory."

Isaiah 60:19

The glory of the Church will not be her physical beauty, her riches, or her architectural designs. Neither will it be how mega the congregation is. The glory of the Church will not be its name, the titles of her ministers, or the talents of her members. Instead, the glory of the Church will be Jesus Christ, and all that He represents in His character. He will be the One who will be exulted, and it will be His Being that will permeate every part of the church.

All With One Mind

If a church wants a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit such as that which is recorded in the book of Acts, it needs to be unified. It's just that, plain and simple.

The Bible says in Acts 1:14 that before God sent the outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon the believers, "they were all with one mind."

All the fasting and prayer in a church won't bring the power of God unless that church is of one mind. Most people in churches today, however, are confused and divided because their church has become nothing more than an organized religious institution rather than a unified body of believers with one mindset, which is to extend the Kingdom of God — not the other little kingdoms that exist in churches today.

Modern churches mainly operate under human control through positions, ministries, and honourable titles rather than under God's control. As a result, pastors and leaders in the church use their authority to dominate the congregation through spiritual manipulation. They use prayer and sermons to coerce the people to do their will, not God's will.

Churches today need to focus on unity where everyone is of one mind and where God has absolute authority. All the members of the Church are to be one body, not several bodies. And there should be no hierarchy, just servants with God as Ruler.

God's perfect will for the Church is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But when I look in most of the church bulletins, all the retreats an adult or child may want to attend and invite an unsaved friend to have prices attached, usually twenty to thirty dollars. Is the main objective of these retreats to reach the lost in the community? No. If churches would decrease their expenses and paid staff members, and encourage volunteers, they could use the people's donations to pay for those retreats so they could become outreaches instead of social events for Christian adults and venues of entertainment for the children of saved parents. It is offensive to God when special speakers and Christian bands ask for money to do God's will in spreading the message of Jesus Christ.

Churches wouldn't have the division, strife, and murmurings they have today if all the people had one mindset: to touch the hurting, lost, desperate, and dying souls of the world with the healing power and the love of Jesus Christ.

Never Be Ashamed

"So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.

And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for him.

With the strength God gives you,

be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News."

2 Timothy 1:8 (NLT)

The Bible says we are never to be embarrassed to tell others about Jesus Christ, even if we are ridiculed or persecuted for our faith and Biblical beliefs. Likewise, we are to not to be embarrassed of other Christians who fearlessly stand up in the secular world for their faith in God.

Many times Christians shy away from publicly announcing their belief in God because they see other Christians in the news media being harshly criticized, harassed, or otherwise oppressed for their beliefs. But God says we are to never be ashamed of the Gospel. Instead we are to be bold and courageous in Christ.

If all the Christians in the world were unafraid to be spokespeople for God, then the atheists, the immoral, the ungodly, the idolators, and the antichrists wouldn't dominate so much the world's media, where they constantly dishonour the Name of God. When Christians are afraid to speak out, it hinders the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and prevents the salvation of many.

For example, there are famous TV evangelists and preachers who stir away from the unpleasantries in the Bible and preach only messages that are sweet-sounding to people's ears. These evangelists easily become famous, honoured, rich, and idolized by others, but most of them eventually fall into deep corruption and moral sin, disgracing further the Name of God. They fall into the trap of wanting to please others more than pleasing God, of desiring fame, popularity, and money over obedience and sacrifice.

There will be suffering in living our Christian lives as we are obedient to God's Word and tell others about Jesus Christ. But God has promised to give us His strength and endurance along the way.

Let's never be ashamed to tell others about Jesus Christ and let's never be ashamed of each other as we suffer for spreading the Gospel, which is the Good News. Instead, let's support and encourage each other with our prayers and words, and pray that God will open up more doors of opportunities for us to tell others about Him.

The Bible Is Our Road Map

Yesterday, Matthew and I went to a large costume store in the north of the city to look for medieval costumes. As a family we have been asked to lead the children's worship on Friday night and Saturday morning of a Children's Spring Retreat in March. The theme: knights.

While I drove, Matthew directed me using a printed Google map in his hand. After forty-five minutes of driving, I turned to Matthew and said, "We should have been there by now."

Matthew responded, "I know what I am doing. Trust me."

I didn't trust him, but I went along with his directions anyways.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, Matthew looked around and sheepishly admitted, "I don't know where we are. The map is wrong!"

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't. The male ego is too fragile.

I turned off the freeway at the next exit and stopped to get gas. As I was pumping the combustible liquid that would fill our depleted tank, I saw through the vehicle window that Matthew was intensely studying both the printed Google map and a city road atlas that we store in our vehicle for emergencies.

At that moment I couldn't help but think about the Bible and how God's Word is our road map. We can never say God's map is wrong. It will always keep us on the right path, so it will do us well to study it thoroughly.

"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain,

and you will do well to pay attention to it,

as to a light shining in a dark place,

until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

1 Peter 1:19

Once I finished pumping the gas and climbed back into the vehicle, Matthew quickly put his maps down and said with confidence, "I am just going to follow my instincts now!"

So I did what every female should do: I fed the male ego, went along with him, and followed Matthew's "instincts". A half hour later we were at our destination...male instincts are amazing!

The best news is that we found five great costumes for us to wear, and each of them is unique. Matthew has a wealth of knowledge about historical clothing. He reads a lot of Christian historical fiction, and he never skims over the author's descriptions of characters' clothing and appearance. When I read a novel, I couldn't care less about the humdrum descriptions. I always skip those boring parts.

Once we got home, Tim and Matthew tried on all the costumes to see what each of them looked like. (Except, of course, for my costume, which is a purple medieval dress.) The costumes looked better than we expected! We are definitely looking forward to this special event!

Matthew has recently bought a GPS enabled tablet that he will use to help confirm his male instincts the next time we navigate through the city.

Love Never Ends

When I went shopping yesterday for light bulbs, I was shocked to see Valentine cards and gifts on display. I still have Christmas memories fresh in my mind. How can anyone be thinking about Valentine's Day so soon?

However, the stores succeeded in brainwashing me. When I drove back home after buying my light bulbs, I started thinking about the true meaning of love, as outlined in the Bible, compared to the worldly meaning of love.

This is God's perfect and beautiful definition of love:

"Love is patient,

And kind;

Love does not envy

Or boast;

It is not arrogant.

Or rude.

It is not insist on its own way;

It is not irritable

Or resentful;

It does not rejoice in wrongdoing,

But rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things,

Believes all things,

Hopes all things,

Endure all things.

Love never ends."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

As far as the world's definition of love goes — let's just say it's the complete opposite of God's definition.

I then thought about how I would define love:

• Love is when you think about the person throughout the day even when the two of you are not together. You wonder what he/she is doing at the moment or what he/she is thinking.
• Love is when excitement rises in your soul when the person comes through your front door or calls you on the phone.
• Love is when you don't notice anybody in a large crowd except the person you are in love with.
• Love is when you are more excited to buy a gift for the person than to spend money on yourself.
• Love is when you surprise the person with a gift that was made especially for him/her or bought thoughtfully with the person in mind.
• Love is when you are deeply sorry after realizing that you have hurt the person you love; you can't bear the thought of the person in emotional pain.
• Love is when you can suddenly write poetry or a long letter even though words have never before come easy for you.
• Love is when you don't feel complete without the other person by your side. You feel lost and saddened without the other person's near presence.
• Love never forgets the first holding of hands or the first kiss. Those intimate moments can never be wiped from your memory.
• Love is when you hold each other, and never want to let go.
• Love touches your heart, heals your past hurts, and brings down a part of heaven to your imperfect world.
• Love is pure joy.
• Love is forever! Loss, death, or even divorce can never destroy the love you have for someone. You may try to forget it, bury it, deny it, or replace it, but love is permanent, forever etched in the recesses of your heart. You can love another, but one doesn't erase the other. The more people you allow yourself to romantically love, the less of your heart you have to give.
• Love is a gift from God! Cherish it!

Love Discipline And Do Not Hate Correction

For Christmas, I bought my cats their very first bag of Friskies Party Mix. It is a 60g bag of special treats for cats. On Christmas day, I divided about half of the bag between the two of them. They gobbled the treats up almost instantly!

I thought I would save the other half of the bag for New Years Day. However, several hours later, I realized my cats had different plans. They both looked at their regular cat food, looked at me, meowed, and licked their lips. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I, of course, said, "No! Eat your regular food." They weren't too pleased with me and indignantly walked away from their dish. They didn't touch their cat food until the next day when they were too hungry to be finicky. I thought, "If they think I am going to buy them cat treats for the rest of their lives, they're crazy!" Either that or I was crazy for buying them treats in the first place.

The Bible says that to learn, we must love discipline, but we are fools if we hate correction.

"To learn, you must love discipline;

 it is stupid to hate correction."

Proverbs 12:1

My cats need to learn that I know what is best for them. Eating cat treats every day will cause them to become obese and unhealthy. Cat treats are only for special occasions. And when I say, "No," they need to accept my discipline without being disgruntled.

Sometimes, we as Christians get angry or upset when we too are corrected by others. However, correction is good for us, if it is given in love. I would much rather have people care enough to be honest and correct me when I am wrong, than for them to talk negatively about me behind my back. To hate correction is foolish. We need each other's correction if we are going to grow in God, and become like Him.

The most transforming times in my life were when my friends gave me correction and I listened.

When I was in Bible College, one of my best friends said to me, and another agreed, "You have way too much of an analytical mind. It drives us crazy!" (That's what happens when a mathematician studies at Bible college.)

I learned from that point on to keep my mouth shut and express my thoughts at only appropriate times or through special means, like writing blogs. Today, I am sure that most of my friends and Church co-workers would describe me as quiet and introverted. Little do they know what is going on inside my head.

If You Are A Leader, You Must Be A Servant, A Slave

Have you ever known a person who has an insatiable desire for control? Such people find their way in leadership positions at work, home, and, yes, even church. They are not happy in a supporting position. They have to be in control. They can never say they are sorry for their own mistakes. Instead they cover them up and make it look as if someone else is to blame. They steal other people's creative ideas and answers to existing problems and then take credit for them. They constantly give insincere or exaggerated compliments to others to gain their support and loyalty, but if they feel that someone is a personal threat to them or might expose their evilness, they talk negatively behind his/her back. Whenever they have the opportunity to speak publicly, they will take longer than the time allotted. They monopolize conversations. They always have to be the focus of attention. They never listen to others, and when they do, they only pretend.

These people come across as super-spiritual and they constantly boast about miracles that God has done for them and others when they pray. They go up on stage during the Sunday service at the wrong times and give a prophetic message or verse, or just plain take control, thus interrupting the flow of the Spirit. They brainwash others to put their faith in them instead of God. At the opportune time, when people can take notice, they show false humility.

If such a person is a woman, she usually dresses seductively, wearing low-cut blouses, short skirts, and so on. She knows how to get the attention of a man with smiles and flirtatious words. If such a person is a man, he is overly affectionate with women and a smooth talker.

In general, such people have a great deal of charisma. They do not have healthy relationships with their spouses or their own children. Instead, they are abusive. Many times they have sexual relations outside of marriage or use their spiritual power to sexually abuse children and young people.

They are greedy for wealth and material possessions. They never offer to work voluntarily without pay or low wages.

Every church needs to be spiritually aware of these controlling leaders or pastors because such people can hurt many souls, halt the move of God, and possibly split the church. Do we force the controlling leaders to leave the church? No! Do we publicly embarrass them in front of others? No! God loves them! Several elders and/or pastors in the church should approach an ungodly leader privately with love and the wisdom of God, and confront his/her controlling spirit. I believe that if this is done in the power of God's Holy Spirit, the controlling person can be set free and delivered before considerable damage occurs.

Controlling spirits tend to develop in people who have deep-rooted hurts and insecurities. As a Church, we just need to watch out for rising leaders and pastoral staff members with controlling spirits before they begin to destroy the unity and spiritual growth of a Church.

The Bible says that anyone who is a leader in a church or any kind of Christ-filled ministry must be a servant and a slave, not a controller.

"So Jesus called them together and said,

'You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people,

 and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

But among you it will be different.

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

 For even the Son of Man came not to be served

 but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.'"

Mark 10:42-45

Jesus, God Himself, came to earth to serve others, not to be served. We are called to follow His example and serve others with the same selfless attitude, and this especially includes those who are in leadership positions.

The pastor who reminded me the most of a servant of God was the one who pastored our previous church in BC. After a church dinner, he would get up, help clear the tables and put things away. He didn't think anybody noticed, but I did, and so did everyone else around me. When it would snow, (and it snowed lots there), he would get up very early in the morning and shovel the sidewalks. One time I caught this pastor sleeping in a chair in a small dark room because his hours of sleep were few. This Pastor was a true servant of God. Was the church small? No. It was the largest and the most beautiful church building in the city.