Live By The Truth

On My Way Home

2010-05-20T10:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday ended with a test for the students and a meal with the leaders of BKH. The test went well as for many this would have been the first test in years! We began the day putting together a sermon from Genesis 6, looking at God's command for Noah to build an ark. After we pieced together a theme and outline, we finished the morning with an encouragement to preach God's Word, knowing that we are never alone - the Spirit blesses His Word. Following lunch - the test! 50 multiple choice questions on Systematic Theology. One of the challenges of taking a test is the language barrier - what may seem like a simple sentence in English can be difficult to translate in Mongolian -so the test ended up being out of 43!

After the final day of teaching, they presented me with some kind gifts (I am now starting my own "ger" collection ;)) and then the leaders took me out to dinner, once again expressing their gratitude that Grace would send me into the countryside to teach their leaders. The meal was fantastic - a bowl of rice served, adding beef (of course!) as the meat from a main plate as the meal progresses. This is followed by Thai soup (I told them I could only have a little otherwise my wife would not recognize me when I returned - I would have eaten so much) and then some apples. A very kind gesture.

I am presently in UB after a wild flight. It was a semi-windy day and for most of the flight we bounced, swayed and dipped. However, I was still able to down a ham sandwich and a can of 7UP. Tonight I am staying at a hotel I stayed at last year, ready for some sleep. I leave tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. to catch the flight to China, Vancouver and then final my family - I mean Toronto.

And They Caught On!

2010-05-18T08:11:00.003-04:00

Today we worked a lot on developing a theme and main points of the message. We first worked on 2 Corinthians 4.12-16 and after they spent some in time class working on it, we discussed their work. At that point, it was a little discouraging because they seemed to miss what was being taught. So we worked through that example and tried again, this time with James 1.2-4. They spent around half and hour studying and putting together a theme and outline. When we discussed the theme, almost all of them that spoke had a similar theme (complete in a sentence and not only stating the truth but making it interesting for the people) and relevant points. It was really exciting seeing them grasp putting together a sermon.

The Lord has been really gracious in the two courses taught this time. Systematics gave them some basic truths of Scripture they had never been taught and Preaching has given them tools to bring God's Word to the people. They have been very attentive and as the week has gone by, have asked more questions. They also sit on very thin benches with no backs for about 8 hours - and they are soaking in the teaching (except when some get really tired and I see heads dropping on the desks ;)).

After class, Jeff, my translator and myself met with the 2 leaders of the church of BKH. The one leader served us supper at his house and we had an extremely positive and productive meeting. They are thankful for the teaching and so thankful that their church leaders are being taught God's Word. There is no one else offering this type of teaching in this area (the leaders are unable to go to the city for training) and they are so thankful someone would come all the way into the countryside to minister to them. It speaks a lot to them that we went out to them.

So I am so thankful for Grace Bible Church and their gift to the ministry, the leaders and the people of Mongolia. I wish you could have sat with me during the visit to hear their appreciation for the service to the people of Mongolia. So I thank the Lord for Grace Bible Church who serves a people they have never seen but Lord willing will, one day in glory!!

Found One More Picture

2010-05-17T09:27:00.001-04:00

Goat's Meat and Preaching

2010-05-17T09:14:00.005-04:00

On Sunday I was able to preach at the "ger" church in town and then have a lunch with the leaders. The lunch was a real Mongolian BBQ where they cut up goats meat and through it in a boiling pot of water with potatoes and spices. Because of the hard winter, goats meat is at a premium so the goat we got was probably fairly old, if toughness of meat says anything. I had one tender piece and it was delicious. All you need to do is pick it up with your hands, make sure the goats hair is off (our goat had lack hair and plenty of it!)tear it with your teeth and and chew! A great meal all in all. The church service was exciting - I am always thankful to experience church in Mongolia - reminds me of how the gospel is going throughout the world!

Today was a good day of teaching, working through how to practically put a sermon together, starting with choosing a text to getting the theme of the passage. The students have been very eager to learn, many of them being called to preach but no practical training at all!

I have added some pictures (which I think are at the top - still figuring this thing out!). Jeff took some pictures of teaching the students. Please do continue to pray as we have two more days of "putting together sermons".

A Tired Day

2010-05-15T07:32:00.004-04:00

Well, this was day five of teaching and a Saturday on top of it all. After finishing up a few matters from the first course, we began the preaching course. After lunch, the group was looking rather tired and after about an hour I saw more than a few heads land on the table. I thought either I am boring or they are tired - I went for option two and called an early break. After en extended break, we continued but the eye lids kept dropping so we called it an early day, stopping at 4:00.

Tonight I was able to take Jeff, Shauna and their daughter Kaylee out for a meal (they are the family that is hosting me and have been very kind, hospitable and helpful). We went to a restaurant called the Byanburd, and Shauna and I had some amazing chicken - the first time since leaving Canada. Jeff had this bowl of rice, some cucumbers and other various matters at the bottom.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to preach at the "ger" church in BKH and afterwards meet with the leaders. We are also going to have a lunch with something boiled in milk - I forget exactly how Jeff explained it but I do remember him say, "oh, you have never had it - you are in for a treat." I will definitely keep you posted!

Camel Time on Mongolia!!

2010-05-14T10:27:00.002-04:00

Today was another busy day of teaching and this time with lots of discussion from the students. We looked at perseverance of the people of God, the church, baptism, Lord's Supper and church discipline - each carrying a lot of practical discussion on how to apply God's Word in their various churches. Does baptism save? What if you do not have enough water in the Gobi Desert to immerse? What do you do if someone is caught in sin but is repentant? It is always encouraging to hear their questions as it lets me know what they are thinking and what the church is struggling with in their ministries.

After the teaching, Jeff took me out into the countryside with a few others and we had the opportunity to ride a camel. Mongolian camels have two humps and because it was such a harsh winter, one of the humps on the camel was "limpy" (you will see the "limpy" humps in some of the Mongolian art work). It was a great experience and as I rode I looked out over the Northern Gobi thanking the Lord for the beauty of His creation and the opportunity to be sharing God' Word. I will say the dismount from a camel can be a little awkward - front knees first and then settling down on his hind legs. Every time the camel had to bend, he would let out this groan as if to say, "Oh man, not again."

It was a good day and I look forward to the opportunity to begin to teach homiletics tomorrow for four days. Sunday I am preaching in the large "ger" church in town, looking forward to worshiping with them. Now, as you are in the middle of your day, I think I will head to bed!

Thursday In Mongolia

2010-05-13T07:54:00.002-04:00

It was another beautiful day in Mongolia. The sun is warm with a cool breeze, the Mongolians enjoying the first signs of spring. Jeff and I traveled to the church where we are doing the teaching and from 9-5 we are together learning God's Word. For many of the students, this is the first time they are hearing from Scripture an explanation of the Trinity, God's sovereignty in salvation, special revelation and other teachings from Scripture. So they are thankful for the opportunity to train and hear the teaching of God's Word. It is amazing to see their enthusiasm and patience as they sit for a very long day.

After teaching, Jeff took me to the large hill in the middle of the city. I was able to see the mountains surrounding the city, the mountains further back still having snow on the tops. The city of BKH is large, filled with gers surrounded by fences in a neat, orderly fashion. While we were up on the large hill, a group of 10-15 grade 5 boys and girls began to talk with us and wanted us to take their pictures. And that is how it began - we would take some pictures and they would look at themselves, then they wanted to take pictures and look at them and then they wanted to run with my camera down the hill to take pictures of their friends... and look at them. It was amazing to see their joy and their laughter at the "tourist". We finally recouped our cameras and drove down the hill, with one guy hanging on the back tire for about 10-20 feet.

First Day of Teaching in BKH

2010-05-11T09:02:00.002-04:00

I landed in BKH yesterday morning at around 8:00 and was able to settle into the house of Jeff an Shauna, have a coffee, study my material, meet some of the men and then hit the bed at 7:30. That's right, I hit the sleep wall and fell right into bed. Slept for almost 12 hours.

Today I began teaching Systematics. I was thankful for all the pastors that attended and we had a good day studying God's Word. We not only covered the material prepared but got into many practical ministry questions. It was good to be able to talk together with them.

This is a short blog, with just a quick update as I have to run. Please do continue to pray. Jeff asked some of the pastors if they had ever heard some of the teaching and they said no - so I am thankful to be sharing God's Word with them.

Sunday in Mongolia

2010-05-09T07:35:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally landed in Mongolia at 6:15 this morning to a bright, sunny and rather chilly morning.

I am thankful to be hear because if I took my usual route, it would have been much more than a 9 hour delay. During my last three trips into Mongolia I have flown with Korean Air from Korea to Mongolia. This time was different as I was booked to fly with Miat, the Mongolian airline. This was considerably more inconvenient as I had to go through customs, collect my luggage and re-enter rather than just do a transfer as I had done my previous times. But the Lord was gracious because while Miat flew out 9 hours late, the next Korean Air flight landing in Mongolia would not be until Monday night! If I was on that flight, I would have missed my flight to BKH tomorrow morning at 6:15 a.m. and probably would have had to take a 12 hour van ride, not arriving until Wednesday. So I am thankful to God for His provisions and feel a little rebuked for the earlier grumbling about the inconvenience.

Presently I am staying in an apartment with a couple who have been very kind to me. We went to church after I slept for 3 hours and spent an enjoyable afternoon getting to know one another and more about the ministry in Mongolia. I also talked to Jeff from BKH and he has said everything is ready for the conference and the leaders are looking forward to the time. I continue to pray for God's good grace to shine.

Sitting In Seoul

2010-05-08T09:28:00.003-04:00

Well, it is 9:28 a.m. Cambridge time and 10:28 p.m. Seoul time on a Saturday night and I am still sitting in the airport in Korea. Apparently there was a lot of sand flying around Mongolia today so instead of a 6:00 departure, it will take place at 3:30 this morning.

God has been gracious in terms of travelling mercies. I am still absolutely amazed at how such a large plane carrying everyone's kitchen sink can stay in the air for so long. I do look forward to arriving in Mongolia and meeting up with the family I will be staying with for the night. They will then drop me off Monday morning and I will fly to Outer Mongolia, hopefully meeting with the pastors, Lord willing.

I could write more but I am not sure you want me to regale you with stories about how tough it is to chose between Robins Donuts and Bean and Tea place. It just may not capture the imagination of the masses. Anyway, I do appreciate your prayers for my safety and for the Mongolian people - I have had some time to focus on/pray about the opportunities of teaching and ministering to these men. I do pray, as we read in John 15, for abiding fruit that will build up God's people and spread God's glory.

I Don't Feel Like Forgiving

2010-04-13T10:17:00.002-04:00

How do we forgive when we don't feel like forgiving? 2 Chronicles 7 is helpful as God responds to Solomon's prayer from chapter 6. God will speak about forgiveness but before he does, he sets out the foundation of forgiveness.

2 Chronicles 7.12-13 read: the Lord appeared to him at night and said: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ...

Why did God not simply begin with the words, "I will forgive when you humble yourself before me"? Because God is teaching his people that before forgiveness takes place, one must understand grace. God speaks to Solomon expressing that He will hear but it is an ear given to sinners who deserve punishment. God knows that the people of Israel will sin but he rsponds with grace as he will hear and forgive.

So, what happens when you don't feel like forgiving? God does not simply say "forgive". Instead, he teaches about grace and found in the realm of grace is the strength to forgive.

Forgiveness is not based on feeling or strictly speaking, raw obedience. It is built upon the foundation of knowing the amazing and abounding grace of God in our lives.

Why Those Who Sin Have Hope

2010-02-10T17:16:00.006-05:00

Earlier I wrote a few paragraphs entitled Why Guys Who Watch Porn Will Never Get Married. The title was admittedly inaccurate and was used to grab the attention of the reader. The purpose of the post was to expose what is often hidden behind all the supposed glamour of porn and how porn negatively impacts relationships. But the post was incomplete as it left no hope for the one who struggles and may have conveyed that they are trapped in this sin.

So we ask, why do those who sin have hope(and not just with porn but a host of heart sins which affect relationship - words, lack of forgiveness, envy, greed, etc)? Where do they find encouragement? We want to look at just two places from Scripture.

First, in 1 Corinthians 6.9-11 Paul lists a number of sins, among them sexually immorality, greed, drunkenness and slander. Is the believer ever trapped? Paul writes: And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

There is hope which begins with our standing before God. We are a changed people in His sight - we are washed (cleansed), sanctified (set apart, made holy), justified (given a righteous standing before God because of Jesus). It would seem strange that someone who struggles with sexual immorality would never be able to grow in holiness and therefore, never grow more and more conformed to their standing before God. This gives the believer great hope because the change will not ultimately come because we change ourselves but simply and profoundly, because God will change us. God within us through His Spirit will grow us in holiness. This change is often gradual and therefore the believer must continually come back to the cross, being reminded of God's work in us. God will mercifully and graciously discipline us so we become more like our Father in heaven.

Second, Romans 6 tells us that we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. The good news here is not only is God working on our behalf, but humanly speaking, God gives us means to strengthen our resolve to walk in holiness. We are not powerless and the grip of sin is never stronger than the grip of God. And so the person struggling with porn, words, envy, greed or anger is able to bow before a sovereign God pleading mercy and then rise, using God-given resources to battle unrighteousness.

And so, is there hope? Absolutely. It is an amazing paradox that in the glamour of porn we find death and in the horror of Christ's death we find life.

Christians As Icebergs

2010-02-02T11:34:00.005-05:00

What do you mean "Christians as icebergs"? Sounds harsh doesn't it? Do you mean that they are usually cold and unwelcoming? Well, no. Generally I have found believers in Jesus to be the exact opposite - warm and welcoming.

However, I have heard that when you see an iceberg you are really only see 10% while the remaining 90% is submerged from view. It is only when you come closer do you realize what lies underneath.

I expressed to the people at church recently that when I look out from the pulpit, I view them as icebergs - what I see is the 10%, with another 90% underneath. This is not a paranoid pastor speaking, nor is it trying to find issues when there are none to be found. Instead, it is to be honest with the circumstances of life. We are taught to wear a happy face as worship for worship is really only for those ready to praise God and give their all to Him. But what about those found in Psalm 55.1-5: Listen to my prayer O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught ... my heart is in anguish within me ... fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed. me.?

That is the hidden 90% the "iceberg" brings into the church as she quietly sits in the back row - trapped in a sin, filled with guilt and desperate. However, recognizing the hidden spiritual struggles allows us to minister God's powerful, personal Word AND deal honestly with people's lives - the 90%. It is here we will see God revealed in the Psalm and conclude God is the only place to cast all our cares. Suddenly the 90% finds hope.

How do you view those coming into church? How do we get past the superficial? How about beginning to view believers as icebergs - it will impact preaching for the pastor and fellowship for all, creating a deeper level of true ministry.

Got the Grumbles?

2010-01-20T13:58:00.003-05:00

The Israelites had just been delivered from slavery when they began to grumble against Moses and Aaron: If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this assembly to death.

There are two lies that are believed when we begin to grumble.

The first lie is God is not wise. The Israelites really believed they knew better than God as He had made a mistake bringing them into the desert. If God really knew what He was doing, He would have left them in Egypt where slavery was so much better! Really? Remember the bricks? Here is the truth about the person of God - He is all wise, even when we do not understand His ways. We become convinced that God does not need to work on us any more and really, if we are happy, he should leave us alone. But God is interested in change and grumbling resists change. A thankful heart knows that in God's great wisdom, trusting that He is bringing us to a better place.

The second lie is God has abandoned His people. Would God really leave His people to die in the desert? Did He not make a covenant with them? Did He not just deliver them from a powerful army? Did He not declare "I am the Lord"? We have so many assurances God is leading us and will never abandon His people. Grumbling forgets the promises and person of God.

Grumbling is a matter of the heart, resulting in a sinful view of God. Knowing God and holding onto His promises will produce a thankful heart as we know all that is given is far more than we have ever deserved.

Expecting Trials

2010-01-12T11:11:00.002-05:00

John 10.28 is a verse not only of great comfort but one that teaches us to live life with a certain expectation. We read I give them (my sheep) eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

The great comfort is easy to spot - the promise of eternal life and never perish. What a great God! But before we meet our Father in glory, the believer must live the Christian life knowing that he or she is on Satan's hit list. They are a target as Satan and his demonic forces come to visit you, your family, your life, seeking to "snatch" you from the Father's hand.

Jesus is teaching His disciples to live a balanced life - one which has the believer's feet firmly planted in the promises of God and at the same time aware of the vicious, subtle attacks. Do you know you are under attack? That when you repented and put your faith in Jesus, you were put on Satan's hit list? This awareness will spur us on to rely on God's great promises as well as live with great boldness. Satan may attack but God will prevail as the victory has been won for God's people.

An Essential Question for Holiness

2010-01-05T12:09:00.003-05:00

Moses had two choices - life surrounded by all the riches of Egypt as adopted son of Pharaoh or life among mistreated slaves serving God. Seems like a no brainer, correct? Moses thought so as we read in Hebrews 11.26: He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of far greater valuethan the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward.

For Moses, he chose life among God's people even when he was surrounded with all the pleasures of Egypt. How did Moses come to this conclusion? How did he resolve to battle sin and momentary pleasures filled with self love?

He asked one simple question which is brought out again and again in the entire sermon to the Hebrews: what is better? Are the momentary treasures of Egypt better than the everlasting treasures of God? Are the sinful self filled moments better than the self-sacrificial calling of the believer? Moses answered - Christ and His path have much greater value and his life showed his answer to this simple truth.

When you are tempted, begin with this one question: what is better? What is of greater value? And as Hebrews says, Christ is better - a better sacrifice, a better covenant, better blood and better promises. Moses was right - this is a no-brainer.

Can God Use You To Serve Him?

2009-12-15T12:30:00.004-05:00

Sadly, there seems to be a group in the church which falls under the "too bad you messed up that bad in your earlier life and therefore cannot have full joy in Christ nor the freedom to serve in the church anymore" category. This group really, really messed up in the past - you know, the serious sins like divorce or premarital sex or homosexuality or thieves or greedy or drunkards or swindlers - the sins found listed in 1 Corinthians 6... and who were part of the church! Bottom line - all in the church have really, really messed up.

In John 8 we read a woman caught in the act of adultery. The sensitive religious leaders of the day haul her before a crowd of people, using her as a test case to trap Jesus. She had, after all, sinned a biggie and she was caught red-handed! After the religious dance takes place, Jesus is found alone with the woman uttering these words: Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.

Jesus shows the church how to deal with the "biggies" - there is no condemnation- NONE - because Jesus bore our wrath. But Jesus also shows those who fall under the "I've messed up" category that there is a lot of room for joy and service. The "go and sin no more" is not just negatively, leave adultery but positively, serve Christ in the fullness of joy. In fact, Jesus is adamant that she GO - get active in serving Him. Jesus did not add "but you cannot serve in this area or this area"! He simply said "from now on sin no more". There is freedom in Christian service as God gives strength and wisdom.

The church needs to work hard precisely at this point: do not ask saved people to do lifelong penance with an evangelical twist. You know, the penance of the divorced who cannot enjoy a Christian marriage (once having followed Biblical directive) or in time, potentially serve as an elder if qualified. Or the one who had a child out of wedlock, never to enjoy a godly husband or a blessed family life. The message to them is simple and unbiblical - you sinned BIG so you cannot have the fullness of joy in the Christian life. If this standard were held before a holy God, then none would serve Him in ministry. Isaiah was a man with unclean lips, but spoke some of the most glorious truths found in Scripture.

What about the following: Abraham, an idol worshipper, became the father of the nation of Israel; Moses, a murderer, became the under-shepherd of Israel; David - the adulterer and murderer - continued to serve God as king and write as the poet; Matthew, the tax collector, became a disciple; and Saul, the persecutor of God's people, became the "least of all" the apostles.

Can God use you in the church to serve Him? Based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, he does not condemn you and says simply: GO - and sin no more. Go and live in the freedom of the gospel, the joy of Christ and the active service among God's people.

3 Reason Why Guys Who Love Porn Will Not Get Married (And Why Those Who Are Married Will Never Fully Love Their Wives)

2009-12-08T14:10:00.006-05:00

Why will guys who love porn never get married (and for those who are married, never really enjoy their wives)? Here are 3 simple reasons:

Porn is all about self. A guy who loves porn really does not love porn - he really loves himself. He won't get married because he loves number 1 in the world - himself.

Finding a wife is not like finding porn on the computer. Porn teaches that there is always (we promise, we promise, we promise) something better on the next screen or in the next act - just one more click, one more sight, one more video. The reality of porn is it teaches us to be "grumblers". Porn destroys thankfulness. In the world of porn, we always deserve more and better as people serve our needs. In God's world, we know we do not deserve anything other than His wrath and really, our wives are greater gifts than we deserve because they are from God. For a guy to find a wife he must step down from his "self-serving" throne and worship God with thanksgiving for undeserved gifts. And then he must be able to see and value godly character and God-created beauty in the context of the whole person, enjoying the multi-layered blessings of a relationship. In other words, guys who love porn live their lives with their finger on the computer mouse grumbling rather than on their knees giving thanks. Men addicted to porn will never find a wife because they are not thankful.

Guys who love porn will not get married because they learn to live a shallow life and actually enjoy it! A life filled with porn actually stunts their growth - spiritually, emotionally, relationally - and marriage is too much to handle. Do you need proof? For those who are married, do you know how beautiful your wife is - created by God for His glory to know, protect, love and enjoy? She is complex, beautiful and wonderfully created and you can only know this as you develop an intimate and close relationship with her - and you want to settle, really settle with a harem of "screen-women" who only do that? Shallow! And for those not married, you would settle with being alone in front of a screen before a female who does not even know your name! And that is as good as it gets? One word for you my friend - shallow.

Why will a guy who loves porn never get married? Have you ever seen a 2 year old walk up the aisle, exchange vows and rings and expect him to be a man?! Neither have I. Guys who love porn have not learned to love, have not learned to be thankful and have not grown up.

Returning Home

2009-05-28T07:31:00.002-04:00

Today was the last day of class. The students wrote their final test on Homiletics III after another week of studying how to present God's Word. The last few days we focused on Christ Centered preaching in the flow of the text and context. It was interesting watching them write their final test as they were asked to write an outline and theme for a certain passage. I have not been able to read what they have written but it was good to see them putting what was learned into practice.

This evening at 5 we all met at a Mongolian Grill type restaurant to share a meal and also present a Carey School of Theology certificate to one student who completed all his tests. It was good to be able to thank the Lord for His labours and entrust him into God's care. Also, because of a kind donation, I was able to present the students with a Bible Dictionary - all were very excited!! None of them possessed a Bible Dictionary and all were extremely happy to receive them. One person said that they appreciated the gift very much as they could never afford this helpful tool in the study of God's Word. They also presented me with a traditional Mongolian "vest", a picture and a very warm pair of slippers.

It has been extremely encouraging this year as I feel I have connected much more with the students. I was able to go out for supper with a number of them as well as develop relationships with them during class time. While language is still a barrier, 3 years of coming to Mongolian have built solid relationships. I do wish I could bring my family and GBC to come and meet these men and women so they may see their passion for the Lord and their love for God and His people. I am thankful to my home church for allowing me to serve in Mongolia and look forward to telling them of the blessing they have been to the leaders and their churches.

I leave tonight at 12:20 in the morning and am waiting in my hotel room. Lord willing, I will land in Seoul at around 4:00 in the morning and then leave once again at 5:00 in the evening to arrive at 8:00 the same night in Toronto. While God has been gracious in Mongolia, I do look forward to returning to my family and church family.

Picked up my first English newspaper in UB ...

2009-05-26T08:20:00.004-04:00

... and read about what the students have been talking about all week - the Democrat Party defeated the Communist Party in the election held this past Sunday. There was some tension here as last year when the elections took place, there were riots and 5 people killed because it was claimed that the election results were rigged. This year, there was much more control over how the election took place and as a result, the Democratic Party now enters power.

Today in our class, we put together a sermon from Psalm 77, looking how God gives rest to His people as they continue to seek the Lord. In the afternoon, we looked at various passages which speak of how the Word and the Sprit work together and also the need for the Spirit's work in the pastor's life as he ministers. Please pray for the students as the end of two weeks is coming close and they are getting tired.

I remember my first hear here, I visited the countryside with Andrew and Liz and saw some people just spreading a blanket with food and relaxing. I asked Andrew why people do this and he mentioned how they love the fresh air. After being in the heart of the city for almost two weeks, I can understand the need for a picnic every once and a while. There is a row of trees with their spring flowers blooming and everytime I walk by on my way to and from our classes, I try to take in the smell with a deep, lingering sniff. However, all I get is more bus exhaust than flower. They do, however, look beautiful.

Well, two more classes, a meal tomorrow night with a pastor and his wife and then a meal with the class with graduation and I will, Lord willing, be headed to Seoul and then back to Canada. Please continue to pray that God's blessings would be on the students.

A Little Delayed

2009-05-25T08:04:00.002-04:00

Well, it has been a while ...

My internet connection here is a litle suspect and is very sensitive so I really try to be nice to it but it still cuts out on me for extended periods of time. As well, when I did try to sign in to my blog, I got blocked under suspicion of being a spammer - imagine, me being a spammer - I barely know how to turn on a computer. How exactly does one spam? Does one create a spam or does one just spam and spam just happens to come out as spam? Anyway, my name was cleared, I was pardoned and am now allowed the full rights and privileges of blogging. So I do apologize for not being able to keep up to date.

We just finished our second Monday of classes. So far we have done a lot of work putting together sermons - capturing the flow of the text, looking for the fallen condition focus, applications, illustrations, preaching the text from the immediate context and historical redemptive context, and other aspects of sermon writing. There have been times taken up with questions unrelated - pastoral questions concerning circumstances in their churches, concerning other points of theology, and many others.

This past Thursday night I was able to have supper with Andrew and Liz and some of their family - they work with the organization that helps bring me into Mongolia. It was nice to see them once again as 2 years ago I stayed in their apartment. They are a very kind family and also very hospitable - it was good to catch up with them.

On the Sunday, I had the opportunity to preach out in the "ger" district - a place just outside of UB with about 2000 people. The pastor and his wife are very passionate for the Lord and for their community. They have asked us to pray for their people and for their outreach - a place where they seek to minister to those without showers, without schools, without police or medical aid. They would like to minister to children and families, providing a place not only for the proclamation of the gospel but also for ministries of mercy. After preaching in their service, I met with their church leaders and we had about a two and a half hour lunch where they asked plenty of questions. We also had an enjoyable time getting to know one another and how the Lord saved us.

In order to come back into the city, my interpreter and I had to catch a taxi - I could not believe this guy - he was the Mario Andredi of Mongolia - it did not even matter if traffic was coming the opposite direction (now I have been in my share of taxis in Mongolia so I have already experienced and somehow got used to this unique thrill - but this guy took it to a whole new level!). About 3-4 minutes earlier, we missed taking a small mini-van like taxi. Well, with Mario at the wheel, we caught up to him, passed him, and left him in our pothole dust. When I got out of the backseat (I did look for a seatbelt but they seem to hide them in the backseats or just take them out), I thanked the Lord for bringing me safely back into the city.

Tonight, after teaching I was able to have supper with a pastor, his wife and their lovely 6 year old daughter. I preached at this man's church last year and so it was good to catch up once again on how their church is doing and how they are doing as well. Last year they where concerned that their church building may be removed and apartment buildings would be raised on their land. I asked how that was going as I had been praying for them and they mentioned that they are not going to build anymore apartments in that place - thank the Lord.

It has been good to be in the Word with the pastors and also to listen to their questions. The Lord continues to do great things in this young and vibrant church. I thank the Lord for your prayers - He has been gracious with health and strength.

Putting a Sermon Together

2009-05-20T09:55:00.000-04:00

For the past 3 days we have been looking at how to put a sermon together. Today we began with a devotional in Jeremiah 23, speaking about how false prophets are those who speak their own words while true prophets are those who have "stood in the council of God."

It has been axciting to watch as the pastors are beginning to understand expository preaching (exposing the text). Today we looked at how to outline a passage to see the flow as it fits within the context. We looked at Ephesians 1.3-6, 2.1-3 and Luke 7 - the story of the sinful woman. We went from outlining to looking at how a sermon can flow from the text. At times there would be creases of confusion and at other times, a smile. So God has been gracious and tomorrow morning we will begin once again.

Today I also had the opportunity to visit a buddhist temple in UB. It was sad to walk through, seeing all the idols and deception - a time to spend praying for Canada and Mongolia.

1st Day at School

2009-05-18T08:21:00.003-04:00

I was picked up at 8:40 this morning after a "time-zone adjusting" sleep and the taxi barreled through angst-driven traffic to the apartment where we held our classes. It was really good to see most of the students had returned and even though the language remains a barrier, we could sense it was good to see one another again.

We began the day with thanksgiving that God had brought us all together, followed by a devotional in Psalm 29 - how God will be exalted through his "voice" (his Word) which in turn will bring strength and peace to His people. We spent today examining how the voice of God or the Word of God is both powerful and effective. In other words, before we learn how to put a sermon together, we need to be passionate about the Word of God. So from 9 until around 4 we went through Scripture looking at the powerful Word of God.

After the classes, I got dropped of at the parliament buildings or the square and from there took a tour through the Mongolian Museum of History - a very interesting look at the rise and troubles of a nation. This was followed by a meal at the Irish Khan restaurant - a natural hang out of Nick Dunne if he were to visit Mongolia. Nick, I would suggest that you do not order the Khan burger - it does not do the name of Khan very proud at all.

This was followed by an hour's walk home, a drop in to the grocery store to pick up breakfast (no, it is not Fruit Loops - and did you know that 2 apples from Korea cost approx. 8 US dollars!! I passed). I arrived home and I was so very thankful to have hot water, none of which has been found in this apartment building since I arrived.

It is good to be back in Mongolia and be with the men (and a few women) once again. They are eager to learn God's Word and eager to preach His saving work on the cross. I am thankful for what God is doing in this country - His Name is great and His glory is shining.

A few funny (or not so funny) things

2009-05-17T09:11:00.004-04:00

Today I was asked for directions instead of asking for directions. Amazing - a guy approached me as I exited the internet cafe this morning and asked if I knew where the black market was located? He did speak English (obviously) but it struck me as odd that I was pointing down the street giving him the location. I thought afterwards I should have added "you can't miss it" as the cherry on top of that experience.

Under the funny but may not be so funny experience: I was walking back around 2:30 to my apartment on this relatively warm day (probably 20-25 degrees) when I spotted a lady carrying a garbage bag and picking up another one from the trunk. The trunk, on this hot day was filled with all types of meat - not thinking trunks are refrigerated. Anyway, one of the bags splits open causing a huge chunk of meat to fall splat on the pavement, intestines spilling out of the meat. Curious, I watched from a distance as to what you do in a situation like that - in case it ever happened to me, say. After laughing - maybe it was a nervous laugh or an "on-no" laugh", one is to pick up the meat as quickly as possible and carry it straight into the restaurant.

I made a mental note to self not to visit the restaurant in the near future.

Back in Mongolia

2009-05-16T22:50:00.005-04:00

I am sitting in an internet cafe in Mongolia writing again on my blog - hard to believe. Leaving Friday morning I arrived in Ghingis Kahn Airport Sunday morning at 12:30 and the first question asked after making it through customs and luggage: Need a taxi? I declined, looking for Turuu my personal taxi. He was there and we headed to my apartment for the next 2 weeks. I arrived safe, half way around the world - our God is gracious.

Part of my flight took me into Vancouver, a place I had never been before. I sat in an aisle seat but I could see out of the plane's window a portion of the magnificent mountains and marvelled again at the majesty of God. I thought that is probably how I see God - just a porthole of his greatness. The mountains seemed so magnificent as they rose to the clouds lifting their hands in praise and I only saw a portion.

If you would pray - God would show more of His glory! We will be looking at how to prepare and preach God's Word to the people.

Please pray as the lessons in preaching begin tomorrow. Pray that the glory of God through His magnificent grace would compel his called pastors to preach the Word faithfully and with deep passion.

I thank you for your prayers - in weakness God has given strength.

Come to Jesus (Isaiah 24:8-11)

2009-04-23T23:28:00.000-04:00

"The gaiety of the tamborines is stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers. The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth."

Silence. Gloom. Bitterness. Stillness.

Jesus came to save sinners - guilt ridden rebels with one cause - our glory our way. Jesus came to bring life to those imprisoned in their sinful desires. Come to Jesus in repentance of sin and faith in his righteous life, perfect sacrifice and new resurrected life and find life now and everlasting.

Come to Jesus.

Praying for the Church in Mongolia

2008-10-14T11:28:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday night I was able to show some pictures of my recent trip to Mongolia. I showed the people Sunday night a little embroidered picture of "gers" with the word "Pray for Mongolia" - a gift given to me by the students. How then should we pray for the Mongolians?

Pray for the leaders - there are many challenges in "the early church of Mongolia" for which they need much wisdom. Pray that God would give them wisdom as they are lead by His Spirit.

Pray that there may be a burden to preach God's Word. One of the pastors shared with me that after my last visit, he determined to preach more in his church. While there was a little opposition, he persevered and now preaching is part of his weekly work. God's people will be built up through the preaching of God's Word.

Pray for the church as they grow. The Lord continues to work as hearts are changed in repentance and faith to the finished work of Jesus. Pray that the people would mature and continue to have a heart for evangelism.

Pray for families. While family units can be strong, alcohol and other vices rip families apart. Pray that the gospel works in marriages and families so they live out the gospel in a radical way.

Trusting that God will continue to work in amazing ways in the country of Mongolia ...

Arrived and Settled

2008-10-06T19:27:00.003-04:00

13 hours after take off from Seoul, I landed in Toronto to meet my family. Missing them for two weeks, you can imagine how fantastic it was to give them all a big hug! On the trip home, they regaled great adventures of home life while I tried to match them with a few stories from Mongolia.

I am thankful to be home once again and look forward to showing pictures and sharing the work in Mongolia this coming Sunday night at Grace. Thank you for your prayers and I thank God for hearing and answering.

Now - I think it is bedtime, isn't it?

Landed in Seoul

2008-10-04T23:43:00.003-04:00

Last year when I left for Seoul from Mongolia, snow fell in the morning with high winds, causing a delay in departure. Last night the weather was perfect and the plane left on time - 12:20. We landed at around 4:30 (Korea is one hour ahead of UB) and I was able to land a hotel room and have a good rest.

This morning I wake up feeling refreshed and looking forward to the final flight, leaving Seoul at 9:00 p.m. Thank you again for your prayers and I trust that as God's people meet today at Grace, His presence would be known in amazing ways.

A Nice Day for a Walk

2008-10-04T06:35:00.006-04:00

Today is the day I wait for my flight at 12:20 a.m. I woke up this morning and after I marked the tests with my cup of "wanna-be-bucks" (my term for powdered coffee), I went for a walk downtown. There is a large square downtown with the statues of Mr. Khan and his offspring.

As I walked through the square, there was a wedding with bride and bridegroom with some dressed in traditional clothing.

At 1:00 I met with a family and had a tremendous time of fellowship. We met (get ready for this Nick) at the Khan Irish Restaurant and it was quite a revelation when I told them that Genghis Khan was actually Irish - history changing, really.

Following the terrific lunch, I walked around the black market - a huge market where they sell everything.

Along the way, I found my dream van ...

... and the store that - well, what else could you include?

And now I am going to shut down my computer, pack it up, vacuum the apartment and wait for my ride to come and pick me up. It has been a gift from God to be in Mongolia but I am very thankful to return to my family and Grace Bible Church.

All Done - but the flight

2008-10-03T05:51:00.003-04:00

Well, another teaching session in Mongolia finished with the study of Romans 15-16 and the final test. We ended early today at the request of some of the pastors who come in from the countryside. So after the test, we had pictures, lunch, a final prayer and I hopped in a taxi and went back to my apartment. It was a privilege to study God's Word and in particular the book of Romans with these church leaders. Together we worked through the book chapter by chapter, seeking to apply it to our own lives and learn how to take the Word and preach Christ.

One lady who took the class embroidered a nice little picture of "gers" (Mongolian houses/tents) with the words PRAY FOR MONGOLIA. I am looking forward to taking this back home and showing the people at Grace, a simple yet profound reminder to pray for the growing church half way across the world. I am also thankful for Grace Bible Church as they supported my trip. Again, I wish I could take all of them to Mongolia with me so they could see the impact of their giving and allowing me to be apart from them for these three Sundays.

This afternoon I went to the Mongolian market and wandered around. The market is absolutely huge, enormous - even gigantic. You have a huge section for shoes, for jeans, for rugs, for food and for many more items. It was relaxing after a busy two weeks. Tomorrow I plan to meet with one of the pastors tomorrow around 1:00 and then look forward to packing my stuff and heading to the airport around 9:00 for a 12:20 a.m. flight.

Thank you for your prayers - God has been gracious, providing abundantly more than we could ask.

So ....

2008-10-01T09:45:00.002-04:00

So ... today we travelled through Romans 6-10. One of the great advantages of working through an entire book in one week is you can begin to see the big picture. After introducing himself and his love for the people, Paul begins to preach the gospel declaring all are under God's wrath. BUT there is a righteousness outside of the sinner sent by God received through faith - Jesus. Paul then turns to the Old Testament and shows how Abraham was justified by faith in the promised seed and this took place before he was circumcised, so the promise is offered both to Jew and Gentile. But if justification is a declaration, what about sanctification? Romans 6. And what about our relationship with the law? Romans 7. And what takes place between salvation and glorification, including our suffering? Romans 8. But is there a problem with God's Word if the Jews are not believing? Romans 9- 10. And God's plan for Jew and Gentile? Romans 11.

One of the joys of my day was taking the students through Romans 8. We will suffer, as our Saviour suffered but He will keep us as the Spirit intercedes for us and as the work of Christ is applied to our lives. Will anything separate us from the love of God? If God is for us, who can be against us? Imagine, after Romans 1-3, we read God is for US!! It was such a joy to rejoice in the gospel together and celebrate the love of our God.

Romans 7 went smooth - or at least for a while. I went through Romans 7 with them, expressing my view (I'll keep it a secret for now so I do not lose 2/3's of my faithful blog readers, assuming the three views are evenly divided!!) and then asked if there were any questions - NO. OK, we move on. But we got sidetracked on a totally different question and when I thought I was clear, a student asked about another view. Rats - they caught me!! So we spent some more time on it and I told them that I held all three - loosely;). Actually, whatever view one holds, all agree that our position with the law has changed and we rejoice to be under the new covenant with the leading of the Spirit.

Now, Romans 9 and "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated" - (as you can see - a BIG day in the small classroom on the ninth floor of an anonymous Mongolian apartment building where church leaders are studying Romans to bring back to their people so those outside the apartment can maybe one day hear the gospel!!). We went through the various questions and at the end, one of the men stood up and said that it really helped clarify his understanding!! I rejoiced in the good providence of our sovereign God. One of the amazing things about teaching in Mongolia is they do not have years of baggage - it is so clear in God's Word and therefore, it is accepted and believed.

So ... tomorrow we start again. While exhausted at the end of the day, there is an inner joy as my heart has been nurtured by God's Word and Spirit.

Now ... on a totally different subject I know I have ranted about traffic in Mongolia and I assume you are still reading so if you will permit me another rant - elevators. I am on the 12th floor and I leave the apartment about 8:15 so I can meet my ride at 8:30. Here is how the elevator works in this apartment: if there is someone lower then the 12th floor (in other words - everyone!), then the elevator will stop, go all the way down to the first floor and drop them off. It starts the trip up again and if someone happens to be on the 4th floor, it stops, picks up and then drops them off. I saw - I saw the elevator stop at the 11th floor (there is a crack in the wall) and I heard it travel down. Seriously - 10 minutes waiting.

So... why did I not walk down? A good question - a very, very good question. I have three views on why, let me share them with you ...

A Typical Day

2008-09-30T09:35:00.005-04:00

So, what takes place here in Mongolia? What happens in a typical day? Let me begin with last night as it was rather special and then we will end with tonight.

After teaching class yesterday, I was invited to a student's home. We walked up the three stories of a very run down building and the door opened to a spacious apartment with a beautiful family. This man has 4 children and I was able to meet them as I entered. I also met his wife who invited me to the kitchen were we sat and had supper. The man of the apartment invited another student and the four of us had a time of fellowship. I was able to ask about their lives and the church in Mongolia (the man spoke English) and they were able to ask me questions. After the meal, we played a game, talked some more and then had a word of prayer. It was a rich time of fellowship and you could sense the Christian unity. On the way out, the man showed me his home and in one of the rooms was his 92 year old grandma - a short, hunched over lady. I took pictures of her with her family and then reached down to shake the elderly ladies hand while she pulled me to her and kissed my cheeks. What a blessing to see how the gospel impacts a whole family and the warmth of fellowship in Christ.

After being driven home, I got ready for bed and was asleep by about 9:30. I woke up at 6:00 and began to prepare for the day by reviewing Romans 4-6. After some serious instant coffee, I was picked up at 8:30 to begin class at 9:15.

This morning I began with a devotional asking how the church grows in maturity? We looked at the end of Hebrews 5 and saw that the church must go from drinking milk to eating solid food. There were some questions about sermon preparation and ministry in general that lasted until 10:30 - time for our first break. I had originally wanted to begin with Romans 4 but once the questions started pouring in, these immediate ministry concerns became front and centre. At the end of this time, one of the students talked about the need for all sorts of demands in ministry, such as mentoring, church planning, evangelism, etc. The interpreter told me what he had said so I thought I would address the concern after the break.

I said I would like to make four comments about the man's question but then we should really begin to look at Romans. I said first - be patient because growth happens over time; second - do not panic - God is sovereign; third - love your wife and children (God first, then marriage and family, then church); and fourth, preach the Word (make it your main goal to preach the Word and pray for the people - all else leads from this). It was a unique moment as this young Mongolian church grows in their faith and knowledge.

We began to go through Romans 4-6 which lead us through justification, propitiation, faith, saving faith, faith and not the law, assurance, representation and many other teachings. One of the aims for me is not only to bring them through the book and teach them doctrine but to first show that doctrine impacts all of life and second to show that God gives grace to preach the Word.

We finished a little early today at the end of Romans 6. I travelled back to the apartment to get ready to take a family out for dinner (this is the family that took care of me last year and also has done a lot to help me this year). While we ate in a Mongolian Grill style restaurant, near the end of the meal the lights went out. No problem - they just brought candles to the tables and life went on. (The power has gone off in my apartment several times, one time for about 30 minutes. If you are on the elevator and the power goes off, you just have to wait until it the power is on. So, every time I get on the elevator, I pray that God will keep the power on!!)

I arrived home to email my wife and family and write this quick blog. During the day there are still those special, real moments. A man received a call to hear that his child was sick and was going to be brought to the hospital. Before he left, he asked for prayer so the men sat, prayed silently, concluding with one man praying for the young child. Then there are the moments when we are going through Romans and their faces light up with the truth of the gospel. These brothers and sisters have been God's gift to my life and I have learned a tremendous amount about vulnerable, simple faith in ministry.

Every Nation, Every Tongue

2008-09-28T07:55:00.004-04:00

One of the great joys of meeting with God's people is singing. This morning I walked for about 10 minutes to Zion Church (some of the churches have very interesting names, at least from a North American perspective: Salvation of Word; Glory of Jesus; Eternal Life; Amazing Blessing; Light of Life; Star of Grace; Jesus' Sheep Herd; Light Future - some of the church names represented from the students in the class)to be greeted by the pastor - one of the students in the class. He is a quieter man, gentle and very kind. As the people gathered, it became very obvious that there were a lot of young people. They opened with a few words and then began to sing with enthusiasm - an older man on the drums (yes!! it is true), a younger man on the guitar, and a young lady all helping with the singing. Singing filled the building - loud, enthusiastic and filled with expressive actions. It was a joy to see the young church of Mongolia express freely God's amazing gift of salvation, to see young people lifting their hands and voices to the Saviour and to see young and old celebrating the goodness of God. I knew two of the songs: Create in Me a Clean Heart and Hosanna, Hosanna. They sang in their tongue while I sang in English - what I consider a foretaste of the glory to come. I really wish that I could take my family and church family and fly them all to meet the brothers and sisters in Mongolia and worship God together, singing the praises of the Almighty - one Lord, one Saviour, one God, one gospel, one family.

They asked me to come up and preach and I began by bringing greetings from my family and my church family - what a privilege to connect God's people with God's greeting, the ties that bind believers who have never met. I preached from the book of Ephesians beginning with Ephesians 2 and the great gospel message - Christ's kindness expressed through his salvation. And then we went to the great prayer of Ephesians 3 and saw the enjoyment of the kindness of Jesus through his great love. We finally ended in Ephesians 4 and saw how we are to express that great kindness in our lives. My goal, by God's grace, was to show by God's Word that the Christian life is not just a list of do's and don't's but is a relationship in the great love of God and the reason we do what we do as believers is because of God's kindness in Christ.

I was just so happy to preach to the people, a people who have so much to teach me in so many areas of my life.

After the service, I was able to meet some of the people and then I had lunch with the leaders and their wives. I asked them how we could pray for them and they responded that the government may take their land to build apartments - please pray the government would not touch the land as God did not allow the lions to touch Daniel or the fire to touch his three friends. They also asked for prayer as they grow as a church in Mongolia - the church is only 18 years old, the freedom of the gospel coming in 1990. Please pray that God may continue to grant them an enthusiasm for evangelism and that they may grow in maturity in the knowledge of God's Word. Almost every church leader I ask about how we may pray for them respond with the need to be taught so they may train the next generation of leaders.

Before we left, they prayed for me - I don't know what they said but you could sense the warmth of Christian love in Christ. I asked if I could pray for them and I prayed God would bless and guide the leaders and the people and that the great gospel would shine bright for the glory of God in Mongolia.

Revelation 7:9: After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. and they cried out in a loud voice:

Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.

Canadians and Mongolians will be together one day even though miles separate now and they will stand side by side, basking in the glory and love of the Triune God, singing: Salvation, this great salvation, belongs to God, who sits on the throne and the the Lamb, our Saviour, to whom be glory forever and ever.

My First Mongolian Head Butt

2008-09-27T07:59:00.003-04:00

I'll get to my trip to the countryside in a moment, but I have to tell you about a first for me in Mongolia. I had supper tonight (chicken and Greek salad - very tasty and no ill effects - very thankful) and on my way home I stopped to get some groceries. After picking up a few things, I was walking down the sidewalk looking for a place to cross the very, very busy road when I saw a group of three young guys heading towards me - they seemed somewhat unstable on their feet and a little happy. One of the guys approached me and I did not know what he was going to do. I know that alcohol and violence are a problem as well as pick-pocketing.

I was carrying a bag of groceries and this young man (he came to about my shoulders) leaned into my chest and gave me a subtle head butt. I didn't know what was going on. It didn't hurt at all but I did not know what he was going to do. My money was well protected but I know these guys can wrestle. However, he simply moved on down the street with his buddies - thankfully.

And now that I am safe in my 12th floor apartment and writing this, I wonder if instead of a moment of potential violence, he was simply trying to reach out and become my friend. I wonder? Maybe it was a cry for help? Seemed like a rather nice guy and maybe I mistook his rather aggressive stance - you know, judged him too early - for hostility when I should have been more open. Oh well, just thankful to be safe.

Today I had the opportunity to go out into the country. The Mongolian countryside has a rugged, dry beauty with wide open plains surrounded by rolling, steep hills. The countryside is vast. After a 45 minute drive, we first arrived at a new statue of Chinggis Khan - gigantic Chinggis. Made of steel, this vast structure is like the America Statue of Liberty and the Canadian ... the Canadian ... oh well, I'll move on (boy, that was uncomfortable, eh?). It was quite magnificent. After stopping off the beaten path by a river and having a small fire with some snack food, we travelled to a 1500 year old monument to dead Turks (not Turkey but the ancient Turkish people). Cylinder stones planted in the ground many years ago still contain noticeable writing while a broken stone table 20 metres away lays crumbled. There are also stones "planted" every metre or so apart from one another in two lines that run 200 kilometres through the countryside in remembrance of all who died in their wars. 200 kilometres! It is said in those days war was so prevalent that 25% of men would die in battle. It was a real moment walking through history, remembering our fallen world and longing for Christ to return once again.

Tomorrow morning I will be preaching in a church of one of the students. Please pray that God's Spirit may lead and the Words of Life may penetrate the hearts of the hearers.

So, a few things have happened ...

2008-09-26T07:35:00.003-04:00

I moved ...

to a unoccupied missionaries 12th floor apartment. The arrangements are a little better as there is hot water (in the other place, hot water was rare - not that I am complaining!!) and it is more centrally located.

I finished Systematics I with the class ...

we were able to discuss the doctrine of Scripture, God, His creation, and His decrees and providence. We began with a devotional each morning and then from 9:00-4:45 (with a lunch and 2-3 breaks) we discussed God's Word. This morning they wrote the test and in the afternoon, we began to look at the book of Romans. We made it through the first 4 verses and then they began to ask questions concerning practical areas of church life. One man mentioned that there is much confusion in some of these matters so it was a really good opportunity to discuss and look at how to apply God's Word to church life.

I have made some plans ...

the family I stayed with last year is going to take me out into the countryside and we are headed to some statue of Mr. Khan. Also, I have the opportunity to preach this Sunday morning at 11:00 for one of the pastors attending the class. And finally, I am going over to one of the student's house Monday night for supper. This is a great privilege to be invited and I am very thankful to God because one of my prayers has been that I will connect better with the students.

Thank you again for your prayers. I have been somewhat tired and am thankful for the rest I will be able to have this weekend. We have had some very special moments in God's Word as we looked at various gospel truths and I very much look forward to digging into the book of Romans with the pastors of Mongolia.

Super Hero Moments

2008-09-23T05:48:00.003-04:00

As I begin to write, it is presently 5:50 p.m. Tuesday night in Mongolia. I arrived safely Saturday night around 12:00 at night and got to my apartment at around 1:00 in the morning. I was so thankful to God for a safe flight.

It is good to be back and I am thankful to have some familiarity with the surroundings. It still takes a while getting used to the traffic - it is completely insane. For example, if there is not a lane, they will create a lane all on their own and it does not really matter if another vehicle is heading straight for you - that is his problem, not yours. Crossing the street still ranks up there as one of the most dangerous moments in your life - EVER!!! Agility, a keen eye and lightening speed all come together in a great "super hero" moment as you bound across the street and hopefully don't get wiped out by someone honking their horn.

These past two days 17 students have met to study Systematics I. It is a tremendous time to share God's Word to these church leaders. At one point today, we talked about how the knowledge of God leads to practical living. It was one of those moments in the class that you could sense God's presence as we talked of knowledge that leads to greater worship of God. If we are going to truly worship God, then we must see His glory and taste and see that He is good, so that all the other false gods that we taste pale in comparison. We also saw how in 1 Corinthians 8:1 knowledge does not puff up but leads to a life of love.

This year I am intentionally seeking to get to know the men and women better. The language is a huge barrier but I was able to talk with 2-3 men and learned more about their ministries. It is a real privilege to stand alongside of these leaders and serve God with them.

I walked home after having supper last night at around 8:00. Actually, I had supper at the Irish Pub (that one is for you Nick!!) and had bacon and eggs - nothing like breakfast for supper!! During my 45 minute walk I saw a fwy young children begging with one little boy holding his even smaller sister and another little boy swaying and in a very quiet voice singing; I saw a number of drunk men, staggering, one man in particular trying to find a wall just to brace himself; and I saw just lots of ordinary people enjoying the night life. Sights like this common all over the world emphasize once again the need for the great gospel of Jesus Christ to penetrate Mongolia.

Please pray for the leaders of Mongolia - the church is growing and God is moving. Pray that the church might serve with passion and faithfulness for His glory.

Has Such A Great Thing Ever Happened?

2008-09-20T04:33:00.003-04:00

The plane landed in Seoul 2:30 a.m. Saturday (or 1:30 p.m. Friday Cambridge time) and I was thankful to the Lord for a safe and relatively smooth flight. One of the highlights - or at least I thought it would be a highlight (and so would my children!!) was the showing of the movie Kungfu Panda. Sadly, I had not slept for a very long time and even a panda doing karate could not keep my determined eyelids from shutting.

Today I have been able to sleep, read, email my family and just wander - what else do you do until 7:30 in the evening? It has struck me once again in my wanderings the amount of people that fill this hallway and country.

As I wandered, I prayed that a great gospel presence may be found in Korea and Mongolia. As we have been looking at the book of Deuteronomy, my prayer for the people of Mongolia is Deuteronomy 4:32: For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. While Moses would go on and talk about creation and the exodus, he would point to a greater message - Jesus and the good news. Has there ever been a greater thing to happen than the life, death, resurrection, ascension and promised second coming of Jesus? Please pray with me that this message of the great grace of the only God through Jesus may resound from one end of heaven to the other.

On a more personal note, I really do thank you for all your prayers. I will miss meeting with God's people at Grace Bible tomorrow and trust that God's presence will be felt and enjoyed for His glory. It is tremendously comforting to know that I have a church family who will pray and who will care because the gospel has so radically changed their lives.

... know therefore today, and lay it in your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39

Mongolia and Hot Tubs

2008-09-18T22:01:00.002-04:00

Well- my second trip to Mongolia begins. I am presently waiting in Toronto Airport for an 11:50 p.m. departure so I only have another 2 hour wait. After waiting in line to hand over my luggage, the kind gentleman ushered me to the window with the sign above it reading PRESTIGE CLASS. Now this is the life, I thought, they have upgraded my ticket! I can see it now - I will stretch out the entire flight, maybe take a dip in the hot tub that I am sure is on the plane somewhere (did I bring my bathing suit???), and then finish off with a fine three course meal- maybe T-bone steak with some mashed potatoes and a pile of gravy.

I am loving this. The kind lady behind the counter processed my luggage (I was a little over because of a huge container of peanut butter I am bringing the family I stayed with last year - but she let it through. One of the perks of my new status, I thought) and then handed me my ticket. Seat 51!!! I thought - PRESTIGE has taken a hit these days.

Knowing my hot tub moment was over, I asked one more question before a real Prestige person presented himself - is it an aisle seat?

She nodded yes and I walked away a happy man. An aisle seat! May not be a hottub but on a long flight, it ranks right up there.

Time To Be Kind

2008-07-30T16:41:00.002-04:00

Do you wish you were more kind?

We go through life examining our sins and coming to certain conclusions: I wish I could control my anger; I do not want to look at a woman that way; I don’t want to be so greedy and self-centred, etc. When we enter a situation, do we walk away with that one question: I wish I was more kind? I confess, I do not often think like that – did I win the argument? What else could have I said that would have convinced that person? Not – was I kind?

Kindness, like love, is often easier to describe than define. Kindness is also most often described in Scripture as some sort of action – unexpected, contrary to circumstances, filled with a spirit of humility, grace and selfless action. If I had to define kindness, I would say it is active humility that sets aside self and places God in the centre of a relationship or circumstance. When God stands in our place, surprising things happen like forgiveness, gentleness in tone and language, self control in actions, and unforeseen grace that honours God.

Kindness takes a prominent place in Scripture. We read of kindness in lists - 1 Corinthians 13.4 (love is kind) and Galatians 6 (fruit of the Spirit). We read of God’s kindness in places such as Acts 14.17 (God’s kindness to all people as he pours rain from heaven for the crops) and Ephesians 2 (God’s kindness in the giving of His Son) And we read of how our Christian response is to be one of kindness. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 reads: Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and every one else. The amazing thing about this verse are the qualifiers: nobody, always, each other and everyone else. Here there is little wiggle room. We are to always seek to be kind – humility with God at the centre – even when we are wronged by one another and every one else. We also read in 2 Timothy 2:24 that the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Again, the qualifier: everyone – even with those who oppose our ministries.

But it is not only in particular verses that we find kindness passages. Elisha, among others, was a very kind prophet. There was the incident were he cursed some youths who where then mauled by bears after they called him “bald” and told him to “go up” (possibly a reference to what took place with Elijah – so not even so much a personal reference) but the rest of his ministry was filled with acts of kindness – much like the ministry of Jesus. He healed water with salt so the town could drink; he provided oil to a widow so she would not have to sell her sons into slavery; he restored the Shunamite’s son to life; he fed a hundred people; he poured some flour in a pot so the prophets could eat soup; and he healed Namaan the Aramean (an enemy) from leprosy. The story before the one we will look at is Elisha hearing the plea of a prophet whose axe head fell into the water. This may seem small scale to feeding a hundred people or healing leprosy but you hear the anguish in the prophet’s voice: Oh, my lord, it was borrowed. And so a simple act of kindness follows – Elisha causes the axe head to float.

Our passage is 2 Kings 6.8-23 and it is a powerful passage about the kindness of God leading to kindness among enemies. Elisha takes the people of Israel out of the “vicious circle of folly” which would lead to more war and leads them to acts of kindness which stops the Aramean raiders from invading Israel. If kindness is active humility leaving God in the centre, then in the story of the Arameans and the king of Israel, we learn how to bring kindness into our relationships.

There are two incidents before the Arameans enter Samaria which place God in the centre. In other words, if we are to express kindness, we must understand God’s kindness or more specifically, experience it. The first act of kindness was shown towards the King of Israel, the one who would later ask: Shall I kill him, shall I kill him? The king of Aram would set up ambushes to capture the king of Israel but time and again, God would tell Elisha who in turn would tell the King of Israel where the ambushes would be set. We read in verse 10 this happened time and again.

The point in verses 8-12 is that God’s kindness is expressed to us daily. Every day, whether we give thanks or not, we receive kindness from God. We read throughout the Scriptures of God’s protection – David and Goliath, Daniel and a few lions, Peter in prison. We also read of God’s presence in the valley of the shadow of death and refuge in times of trouble. The very fact that we breathe is a kindness of God. Food on our tables, a roof over our heads – all expressions of God’s kindness.

But God’s kindness does not stop with general kindnesses such as protection. In verses 13-19 the King of Aram becomes very upset so he sends an army to attack Elisha. The next morning Elisha’s servant steps out of his house with his cup of coffee, looks up and sees – AN ARMY!!! After spilling his coffee he runs to tell his master – Oh my lord, what shall we do? And what does Elisha say? Do not be afraid. A man who probably had as good a reason to BE AFRAID as anyone in Scripture is told – do not be afraid. This is the amazing kindness of God as it goes beyond protection and provision (verses 8-12) to absolute rest in God so His people never need to be afraid. There is perfect peace found in God’s expressions of kindness. Even though troubles and “sorrow like sea billows roll” causing fear, God stands before us and calms the waves: peace is like a river that attends the soul – it is well, it is well with our soul.

This calmness brings Godly response – grace, mercy, love, wisdom – all done in his strength. God’s stands in the middle and we reflect what we have enjoyed – kindness. The reason the servant is told not to be afraid is because those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Amazing. God is so great and His strength so surprising that the servant’s eyes are opened to God’s army – hills full of chariots and horses of fire.

Here is God in the middle – we have all received undeserved kindness from God. But this only comes when our eyes are opened and we live by faith – when we see God. It is like Paul in 2 Corinthians 4.16-18, pressing forward through difficulties because he looks to what is unseen, not what is seen.

Elisha and the King of Israel had both experienced God’s kindness and now it is time to express God’s kindness to the enemy ((19-23). After Elisha prays, the army is led blind right into the heart of Samaria. When the king of Israel sees this, he is like a little boy in a candy store – Shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? And then in what I think is one of the key verses, Elisha reveals the natural human heart – the natural response to the enemy: Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword and bow? Well, yes I would and so would the king of Israel. But God gives a different answer – throw a banquet. While you may kill, God offers a feast. You kill with words and attitude and anger and tone but God pours a feast of love and grace. You hate, God shows kindness.

Elisha tells the king of Israel: Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master. God stops the vicious cycle and reveals the gracious cycle of wisdom. The people of Israel send them away and the bands of Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory. The consequences of kindness are freedom from war and fear.

It is those consequences – war and fear – from which many long to be freed. Their lives may not be surrounded by a physical army but they are married to someone who ambushes them time and again. How do we stop the cycle of foolishness? How do we cease (over time) the angry words, the harsh tone, the acts of revenge or the neglect of gentleness? How does a wife not fear that God is not dealing enough with her husband but rather that God is out to get her – everything is against me in the words of Jacob.

How many times do we walk into a relationship and we hear the words (although put in a more sanctified manner) – shall I kill them, shall I kill them? What is the great danger? It is not only destruction of a relationship but it is the hardening of the heart that becomes distant from God. We read in Romans 12.21, the reason we are to not repay anyone evil for evil is that you may not be overcome with evil. That is a strong warning.

So where does one find compassion, gentleness, thoughtfulness and consideration? Is it to try better and not let things hurt so much? We read in Ephesians 5 31-32: Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another …. How? Like Elisha, we have been shown kindness (Ephesians 1-3). In fact, Paul’s final prayer is a desire that you get a glimpse of the depth of the love God has for you – sinners. And it is this reflection of God’s kindness that we bring into our relationships. It is what Elisha experienced and then reflected so the Arameans where able to see who God is and His gracious feast of kindness.

Walking With Sinners

2008-05-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

In the last post I mentioned that we are to walk with those who have addictions in their new life. How do we do this? I think a number of ways.

First, the person is probably hurting and so they will need great encouragement. We read in Psalm 32 that when the Psalmist kept silent about his transgressions his bones wasted away through [his] groaning all day long. We read later that his strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer. We need to understand that they are engaged in a battle and even the small advances in holiness should be noticed and pointed out. They need to hear someone thanking God for victories they may not yet see.

Second, the person should continually "expose" his sin - that is he should be accountable to you. Ephesians 5 encourages us to expose our sins by the light. As you walk with this person, you need to be someone they can trust with their sin. You need to be someone who will speak the truth in love, not as one standing above but as one walking alongside - a fellow sinner. In fact, we need to understand that it is often us who has the log in our eye while we see their speck.

Third, the person needs to know this is a process. Sanctification is in part the process of God working His will in our lives to separate us from the world. In fact, walking beside someone is a very appropriate image because it conveys a journey that takes time but as you travel, you become closer to the destination. In the case of someone fighting an addiction, we need to reassure them of Biblical truth that God is working - at times slowly and at other times more decisively - and creating in them a pure heart.

Fourth, the person needs to know that while God's discipline is at times harsh, it is always for our good. We need to allow people to speak about the groaning and weariness of the battle but we cannot leave them there. We must ultimately point them to Jesus and the hope that is found in him.

Fifth, the person must be encouraged to become active in Christian service and Bible reading/prayer (fellowship with God). Why? Because there is joy found in a deeper relationship with God and in a serving relationship with God's people. That is joy. And the more joy they experience of God and His people, the less attractive sins looks. This means that the one walking with the person must also exhibit great joy in the Lord.

The greatest battle against sin is won not ultimately looking at sin and its consequences but looking at the cross and knowing the joy of the Lord (Hebrews 12).

Sexual Addictions

2008-04-30T10:14:00.003-04:00

Sunday morning we looked at Ephesians 5 when Paul spoke: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as it proper among the saints.

It is striking how often the Bible warns God's people about sexual sins. Not only that but we read that when there are specific sins recorded, sins of a sexual nature often appear at the top of the list. What do we make of this? Well, we may say for certain that sexual temptations are serious in nature and also that God's people struggle. This means that the church should be talking about it - but we don't. We pretend no one looks at "those" pictures or visits "those" websites and I believe the result is people suffer and struggle in silence. Or, we don't know how to respond other than wagging the religious finger at that shameful sinner.

Jesus met up with a "sinful" woman in Luke 7. She struggled with immorality and made her living by it. And what did Jesus do?

First, she felt welcome. In order to feel welcome, she must trust Jesus. He is a welcoming trustworthy person.

Second, the first words spoken directly to her were: Your sins are forgiven. If someone comes to you confessing sexual addictions, Jesus teaches us that we are to point them to the cross. There is forgiveness for sexual sins and hope for future victory at the cross.

Third, (and note the people begin to question his worthiness to forgive sins - and Jesus does not even answer - he is focused on ministering to the sinful woman) he gives hope for the future: Your faith has saved you - go in peace. Jesus says - from this point on, your life is a changed life. And that is what Paul will go on to say in Ephesians - your life is a changed life and there is hope for obedience.

If someone comes to you and confesses that they have a sexual addiction, Jesus teaches us - welcome them, point them to the cross and then walk with them in this new life.

Ministering To Those With Cancer

2008-04-25T07:48:00.003-04:00

Where to begin? What to say? These are just a few random thoughts about how to minister to believers who have cancer.

1. They are first of all not believers with cancer; rather they are believers. That may seem like splitting hairs but the point needs to be made. When we talk with them we may want to focus on how they are doing with their cancer or how they are feeling. As difficult as that is (and it can be extremely difficult) there is a spiritual battle that is being waged fought in many areas including trust in the sovereign ways of God. That leads us to how we minister to believers with cancer - that is we come alongside of them as brothers and sisters in Christ and seek to encourage them through genuine Christian fellowship. Sometimes it is just listening; sometimes it is praying with them or praying quietly for them while you are listening; or sometimes it is providing practical help with providing meals or cleaning their house or doing yard work or caring for the children for a while. Pray for wisdom that God will give you insight as you make a phone call or talk with them at church - and God will lead.

2. When you approach the believer with cancer, they may have already talked about their health with 10 people beforehand and are a little tired of discussing their medical health with everyone they meet. There is a fine line between caring and smothering. They are not only going through cancer but they are also a mother, a wife, a believer, a employee - whatever it may be. Focus on the whole person.

3. Laugh with them. God has given moments of laughter and we do not need to be so "spiritual" with them that we lose our joy.

4. Share your life - not in a comparison sort of way but in a "you can pray for me in this area" sort of way. In other words, be real - they want to help you and minister to you as God gives them strength.

5. Pray often for them in your heart. Psalm 63.1: O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. They are in a dry and weary land. As you talk with those who have cancer, weariness can be their greatest experiences - appointments, effects from treatment, anxiety concerning their family, etc. Pray that their soul would be fed by God - He is the great provider and comforter.

Emptiness

2008-04-24T10:14:00.002-04:00

This Sunday we are looking at Ephesians 5:4-14 as Paul reminds believers that the gospel radically changes people's lives. Specifically, in verses 3-14 Paul speaks out against sexual immorality, any kind of impurity and any kind of greed. The believer is to be shaped not by darkness and sin but by light and the gospel.

One verse I found interesting is verse 6: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. In the battle against sin, you will hear many deceitful words that lead to emptiness - empty living, empty purposes, empty hearts, empty minds and empty futures. It is all a lie! Satan, the world and our remaining sin would have us ignore the great promises of God and live not by faith but by sight as we seek to satisfy our desires with emptiness.

One is reminded immediately of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes as he relates various experiences with money, women, work and great possessions - all of which lead to one word: emptiness (meaninglessness).

Why does the church seem to run on empty, filling time with religious words but so little godly action? Why are so many Christians filled with anxiety and disappointment rather than joy? Is it because we are listening to deceitful words that lead to empty living? In other words, true joy and meaning is found in light, not darkness and that means our lives must be radically different than the world which is without the gospel.

Battling Sin

2008-04-23T09:19:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when we read the Psalms which deal with "enemies" and "bloodthirsty men" we wonder how we can relate. As far as I know, I am not on anyone's hit list - at least not yet. So what do we do?

Recently, I read Psalm 59:

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; (2) deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. (3) For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD, (4) for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see! (5) You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah (6) Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. (7) There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips-- for "Who," they think, "will hear us?" (8) But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision. (9) O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. (10) My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies. (11) Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield! (12) For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter, (13) consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah (14) Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. (15) They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill. (16) But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. (17) O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

I began to think - who is attacking me? Who are my enemies? Well, my own heart can be my enemy, Satan and attacks from the world. These are my enemies. They would rise up against me and I need to be delivered. And so I started to pray Psalm 59 asking the same God as King David served to Awake, come to meet me and see.

I noticed a few things including an awareness that I was in a battle and also God is more powerful than my enemies. There are enemies that would seek to destroy our testimony and our salvation but when we cry to God, the One who laughs at the rebellious nations, we may rest in Him as he is our fortress, the God who shows [us] unfailing love.

Take the Psalms which talk about your enemies and begin to pray against your sins, your own battles of the heart and the attacks of Satan and his legions. God will grant you the desire of your heart as you battle.

SGF Day of Prayer Saturday Feb 23

2008-02-22T14:29:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we will meet at Grace Bible Church from 10-2 and pray - pray for SGF churches, our governments, churches throughout our land; we will pray for the unsaved and missions; and we will pray for church plants, Toronto Baptist Seminary and theological training.

Tomorrow we meet confessing our dependence on God. If the gospel would spread and if the churches would be effective and if His people would be encouraged, we must pray for God's moving, God's leading and God Spirit.

And so we gather to pray ...

Run the Race

2008-01-24T15:38:00.000-05:00

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

There is so much that would pull Paul away from the "race" - he went through persecutions, he would defend the faith against false gospels, and he would go through difficult church issues, all of which could have torn him away from the race. However, he would live out his ministry with faithfulness, passion and courage. As I recalled 2 Timothy 4:7, I was struck by how powerful these words really are in their context. It is not an easy task to finish the race for Paul or for any believer. How many have you known who have "dropped out"? Many? How many times do you hear - well, they made a decision but I don't know anymore.

Paul writes to Timothy and reminds him - it is a fight, it is a race, you must keep the faith. Simple words but profound truth. What was it for Paul that kept him? Verse 8: Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Paul longed for God and His appearing.

Fight the fight. Run the race. Keep the faith. One day, one day you will see Him.

God the Gardener

2007-12-21T07:48:00.000-05:00

John 15.1-2: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will become even more fruitful.

Why? Why do we see people who love the Lord all of a sudden or over time just stop serving? Why are there no kingdom priorities in their life? On the other hand, why do God's people go through such great difficulties? They may ask, "Why is my life so difficult? Does God love me? Does He see my pain?"

Jesus answers those two questions in John 15.1-2. Jesus uses a picture of a vine and a Gardener and explains in a way that cannot be misunderstood. If you do not have a life that is bearing fruit for God, then you will be cut off. They will not care because they have already stopped bearing fruit. Pangs of guilt may arise once and a while but on the whole being cut off is really not a deep concern because they have already cut themselves off from God.

But the life of a true believer is different. They are bearing fruit as they live in Christ and for Christ. The difficult matter for the believer is that God knows that with some pruning, they can bear more fruit. So God steps up to the believer and begins to shape and mold and cut so that they become even more fruitful. This wise Gardener knows where to cut and how much to trim so that the vine will produce quality fruit.

This means at least two things. First, it is exciting to know that every believer will bear fruit. There is no one who is able to say that they are of no consequence in the kingdom of God. Part of your privilege as a child of God is to bear fruit for God as you serve him in your sphere of life. Second, this can be a painful process. That is why at times the believer is left wondering about God's activities. Why Lord? Well, the answer may be that some pruning is being done so you can bear even more fruit in His kingdom.

Hospital Gowns

2007-12-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

Recently my brother-in-law had to take his wife to the hospital and as they sat down to wait for her operation, he noticed the gowns the patients wore. As he contemplated this, he mentioned how it struck him that it did not matter your social status, the size of your house or the amount of presents under the tree - they all wore the same type of gown.

His reminder was timely as Western culture is consumed with material gifts while neglecting the true gift of Christmas - Jesus. It shows you how rebellious our hearts are before God. We have the freedom to learn about the birth of Christ and our culture spends its time in malls - not church. It also shows you how great and precious the gift of God is - that it meets our greatest need, not just felt needs.

When it comes time for me to put on one of those gowns, I am so thankful to God that the gift given me is not under the tree but He is on the throne.

Battling Temptation?

2007-12-14T06:55:00.000-05:00

John 12:25-26: The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

The battling temptations surround all of us - daily, constantly. We can experience the triumph of obedience one moment and the defeat of disobedience the next and so it is important in the moments of being tossed by the waves of temptation to stand on the solid Word of God.

Jesus, in John 12, gives direction and hope as he tells his disciples not only of his coming death but also of what the believer's life must consist.

1. Learn to hate your life and value the life to come (While that man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life) When Satan tempted Jesus it was about the here and now - you can have bread now, you can have the kingdom now and without the cross. Jesus' answer? Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God; worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Jesus practiced what he preached as he valued the life to come and the life he would give to all who would follow him.

2. Learn to be a servant - this life is not about you (whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be) Even in the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve with words that would make her the master and put God in His proper place. But Jesus states: you are my servant. That one line or that one heart attitude helps us understand temptation and what is constantly bombarding us: will we serve Christ or our desires? Will Christ be master or will we?

3. Learn to be satisfied with God's approval (My Father will honour the one who serves me.) God will honour the one who serves Christ. Will I be satisfied to let go of the praise of men and women and simply long to hear the words of God: I honour you, my servant and my child? I sometimes wonder if the most precious moments in Jesus' life on earth were when he heard His Father say: This is my Son, in whom I delight. The servant of Jesus, as he battles temptation, must have a greater longing for God's approval and honour.

Psalm 9 - A Good Reminder

2007-12-13T15:16:00.000-05:00

Psalm 9 begins with the inscription For the director of music. To the tune of , "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David. Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Put away the happy instruments and bring out the "low, sombre notes" setting the stage for the death of the son tune. David finds himself surrounded by the sad "music" of rebellion against God as the Godless relentlessly attack God and His people. However, what is surprising is that the death of the son seems to be a warning to those who oppose God. We read in the Psalm that David spends most of his time warning the rebellious that God reigns forever and therefore He will judge, He will avenge the blood of His people, and He will strike them with terror.

But it is this last line that I want to mention - let the nations know they are but men. Imagine the last words of the song - you, you who stand against God - know this: You are but men. Nothing more, nothing less. Try to stand against God as you will but you will fail and you will know that you are but men.

We also live in a culture that says: we are men! God adds a simple word - as you stand before me, you are "but men".

Sin Is Active

2007-11-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

Genesis 4 is an interesting chapter because it is the first glimpse of a sinful world after the Fall. Genesis 4.7 gives us a great deal of information about sin. We read as God speaks to Cain after his sacrifice was not accepted: If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

What is striking about this picture is that sin is active - it desires to have you, it is crouching at your door. That means you always have an enemy hiding, prowling, leaping - ready to attack. We do not even have to go and look, sin is right there on the doorstep.

What does this mean? It means that there is no down-time for a believer in Jesus. If sin is right there we must be ready to stand firm. It also means that the believer must take sin seriously - it is not like a rabbit attacking but as we read in the New Testament, a lion seeking to devour God's people.

Sadly, Cain was mastered by sin as he invited his brother out to the field and he killed him. He was mastered by sin and it led to devastating consequences.

Do not let sin master you instead master sin.

David Brainerd C&C Retreat Nov 2nd and 3rd

2007-10-26T09:32:00.000-04:00

David Brainerd was a preacher/missionary and a passionate follower of Jesus who gave his whole life in service to God. He lived to the age of 29, having committed his life to Christ and having sacrificed all for His Name. Our prayer as we host this two day retreat is that a generation of young adults will be raised to give their all to Christ, counting the cost and impacting our culture in a radical way.

That is why Grace Bible Church is holding the David Brainerd C&C Retreat November 2nd and 3rd. Friday night at 7:30 I will be speaking on the subject God IS Great (a response to the bestseller god is not great by Hitchens) and then on Saturday Pastor Carl Muller from Trinity Baptist Church will be speaking from Romans - Not Ashamed: Why the Whole Truth Matters.

If you know any young adults who would like to attend or are a young adult, married or single, please feel free to email Janice VanEck at janicevaneck@rogers.com . The cost is only $25.00 for the two days, meals included. The location is Grace Bible Church, 334 Preston Parkway.

We are thankful that we have around 90 registered so it should be an encouraging time of worship and fellowship.

The Mongolian Poet

2007-10-25T09:34:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, at the end of the second week of teaching, a man stepped forward and in great Mongolian poetry told the tales of the last two weeks. I couldn't believe it! Poets pop up all over the world. Anyway, here he is - the Mongolian poet.

Class Moments from Mongolia

2007-10-24T14:12:00.000-04:00

Teaching in the country of Mongolia.

Mac Coffee time! A mixture of coffee, sugar, powdered milk and water - after a while it is very addictive!

I am talking with Pastor Chinzorig Jigjidsuren of Immanuel Church. He is one of the two pastors who spoke English and he also translated for me when I preached at his church. Very kind man with a zeal and passion for the gospel to be shared in Mongolia.

Teaching Hermeneutics the second week.

A picture of my translator (who did a very excellent job!! If I lifted my Bible up, he would lift his Bible - very enthusiastic and kind man!)

Here is the class of men and women standing on the church steps. This was taken just before the took their Hermeneutics test which explains their HAPPY faces!

Mongolia 2007 Pictures

2007-10-17T16:11:00.000-04:00

These past few days I have tried unsuccessfuly to put a video montage on my blog so I will begin to post some pictures and continue to work on the video.

Here is a picture of the church I attended the first Sunday morning I was in Mongolia. The little "barrel" with the cross you see at the front of the stage is their "offering plate". While they sing, the people will walk up to the front and give their gifts.

Chinggis Khan - a good view of the city!

A picture outside my apartment window

Another picture looking out of my window off the balcony. These apartment buildings are middle class dwellings in the city. Sometimes whole families or various families woulc occupy one apartment, each taking a room.

Back Home

2007-10-08T17:19:00.000-04:00

Well, last night at 8:55 the plane landed in Toronto and after passing through customs and waiting for my luggage I once again saw my family at around 10:20 p.m. The plane trip back to Toronto was packed, much more so than on the way down. I sat beside a young teenage girl and her mother , both of whom slept for most of the trip. While I was happy for them I wished I could figure out that sleeping thing on a plane - I probably maxed an hour, maybe.

So today has been pretty much wake up, have a breakfast, go for a walk and then sleep - and sleep. Our ETB (Estimated Time for Bed) is going to be extremely early tonight. I can't wait.

It has been great to see the family and I learned while I was away there was a tremendous amount of work done around the house. Our hallway and living room were painted, trim completed in the bathroom, wood split and stacked and the roof shingled! Imagine that, all done without my expertise and gifted hands that make work projects look easy. Thank you to all who helped my family finish everything - you were all busy!!

Thank you again for all your prayers. I hope to give a report with pictures this coming Sunday evening at our church and also post some of my pictures on my blog after my report. God has been extremely gracious in all aspects and we give Him all praise and glory for His kind gifts.

Well, I think it is a quick supper and then something that never happens in airports: our ETB has been moved up a few hours!

Landed in Seoul

2007-10-07T05:21:00.000-04:00

I am once again in South Korea Incheon Airport and it is around 6:30 p.m. (thirteen hours ahead of Cambridge ON time). The plane from UB was delayed because of weather (it snowed earlier in the day and there was quite a bit of wind) so we did not take off until around 2:45 in the morning. The flight only takes 3 hours but because of the time change, we landed around 6:30 in the morning. Just a note on the time change thing - Mongolia decides on a yearly basis whether or not to follow the change in time. Some years it does and some years it doesn't. This year apparently they did not so that is the reason for the hour difference.

After the plane landed, I was able to email my family and then I found a "couch" and slept for about 2 and a half hours.

The rest of the day has been somewhat of a blur and I am thankful that in about 2 hours I will be boarding the flight from Korea. My wife tells me the weather has been hot the past little while so it will look kinda funny walking into Toronto Airport with my winter jacket strapped over my carry-on. Probably my bahama shorts would have been a better option - or maybe not, come to think about it.

Anyway I am praying for the church services today as various people serve and as Paul Martin preaches in both the morning and evening. I pray that God's Word may prosper in the hearts of His people and they will meet with their Redeemer, enjoying His presence as they worship Him.

Psalm 89.1-2: I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known throughout all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that your established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

Last Day of Classes

2007-10-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

Well, today was the last day of teaching Hermeneutics. This morning we looked at the prophetic books followed by wisdom literature. After we broke for lunch, which consisted of a big bowl of soup and a large plate of rice, potatoes and meat (fat included), we discussed interpreting the book of Revelation. I closed in a word of prayer, asking God to bless the men and women, their churches and the spread of the gospel in Mongolia. We then went outside and had a group picture, capturing all their happy faces at one time. I passed out the test at about 2:35 and they took their time answering the multiple choice questions (I was able to mark them when I got back to the apartment and they all did very well).

Then they all sat close to the front and Sundui, one of the organizers, thanked them all for coming. They then presented me with a very kind gift of a “ram” enclosed in a picture frame. This gift was hand made by a Christian in one of the local churches. I thanked them for the kind gift and told them we would hang this up at our church in Canada so we would be reminded to pray for them and the churches in Mongolia.

Then two things happened which are very memorable to me. First, one of the men stood up and gave a funny poem he had written about the week. I couldn’t believe it! If you are familiar with the Carey Family Conference held in August, you will know that there are two men in particular who WOW the people with their poetic finesse and musical ability – the first being my dad and the second being Paul Martin. And so I come to Mongolia and what happens? At the end of the conference, a man stands up and in the Mongolian language, delivers a poem about our two weeks together. I could not understand a word but it was a great time seeing the men and women laugh. One woman had tears running down her cheeks. We had worked hard for two weeks and it was a real blessing to see the joy on their faces.

The second memorable event was after the laughter (a little poetry of my own), they asked me to sit on a chair and they all gathered around me and prayed. Again, I did not understand a word but it was a real time of unity and blessing as they prayed for me out loud and I quietly prayed for them once again. I had been told before they wanted to pray that God would bless the ministry in Canada and that I would have a safe journey back. We then said good-bye to one another and the only words I spoke to them so they could understand was a prayer once again: God bless and keep you.

At 5:00 tonight the team from the organization that planned the conference took me out to supper at, get this, a Korean restaurant that was Korean – I know, it sounds too simple to be true. It was a very filling meal as I had beef, rice and French Fries (I don’t know if French Fries are considered Korean but will let this pass so as not to make it too confusing) followed by a very spicy bowl of soup. They asked if I wanted more and I had to say that I was still full from lunch and I could not eat anything else. We had a good time talking as I heard some of their testimonies of how the Lord worked in their lives. And then one of the men, who had grown up in the country and had ridden a horse since he was 6, asked me if I had ever ridden a horse. Well … this gave me the opportunity to tell him my famous story about the last time I hopped on a horse and almost smashed my face in the side of a mailbox as it turned into the driveway. The moment was somewhat lost as a mailbox sticking out of the ground is really an unknown object in Mongolia but after it was explained the story was somewhat of a success. I was then told that when you ride a horse in outer Mongolia it is very relaxing as there are no mailboxes. I thanked them for the encouragement and assured them it was probably much safer in Mongolia and I would probably enjoy the ride.

The Lord has been very gracious these past two weeks and I thank Him for the opportunity to serve the “infant” church here. All of them were very thankful for the teaching of the Word. One of the leaders of the team that I went out to supper with this evening expressed his thankfulness because he said the church really needs this teaching in Mongolia. I responded that as I have spoken and watched the pastors, I can see that the Lord has begun a good work and we trust that He will bring it to a completion in the years ahead.

So thank you for your prayers over this past week. God has been gracious, as He always is, and has done much in my life and the lives of the men and women in the class. I now look forward to returning to my family and church and seeing them all once again. I leave tomorrow night, Lord willing, at 12:00 landing in Korea at 4:00 a.m. and then fly out of Seoul at 9:35 p.m. and land on Toronto tarmac at 9:35 p.m. I will have spend 13 hours on a plane and not gained a minute!

Surfaced Once Again

2007-10-04T09:16:00.000-04:00

I feel like I have been in hiding for the last few days as I have been unable to get to a computer. A $22.00/night hotel in UB has a 3 piece bath (the toilet seat is not attached, the shower doors barely shut), a sitting room (classy green leather chairs and couch) and two single beds (pillow cases were not included so you do two things: first, you turn your brain off not letting your mind wander about who was here before and second, you grab a towel and use it as a pillow case). The hotel lobby is a large room with the service desk near the far end close to the corner. My room was almost directly beside the desk so you could hear all the phone calls, the shoes “clipping” on the wooden floor and the TV that roared 25 feet away from the desk until 2:00 Tuesday night and 12:00 Wednesday night.

However, here is how the Lord works. There is a “house” that is on the premises of the church, half the house being used for cooking and the other half for living space – at least I think as I have not had a “house” tour yet. On Wednesday the door to the living space was open (mysteriously, as it was usually shut) and I had a quick peak inside. I noticed the pastors had their beds on the floor all in one room and all of a sudden, my $22.00/night room is a quality 4 star resort. How is that for perspective! God certainly works in mysterious ways to show us our many blessings (and our often grumbling hearts).

The last few days of teaching have gone very well as we have been able to cover many areas of Scriptural interpretation and sermon preparation. Today we covered parables, the kingdom of God and the interpretation and preaching of the Psalms. As an example, we talked about how to interpret “imprecatory” (to pray for “curses” on the enemy) Psalms and how they apply to today. Then we talked about how the Psalms are not just God’s Word to us but God’s Word to us so we can speak about God and to God. We had some interesting conversations and discussion time.

The pastors are really soaking in the teaching as we have worked through how to prepare a sermon beginning (exegesis) to end (sermon and application) following rules of interpretation (hermeneutics). We prepared a sermon from Mark 1.40-45 on the compassion of Jesus to the Leper and then we prepared an Old Testament narrative sermon on the faithfulness and uncompromising message of Micaiah in 1 Kings 22. My goal was not only teach Hermeneutics but to show them how the Word of God lives and how the preached Word is powerful. So we went through sermons so they could experience the joy and challenge of the preached Word. I was told that many pastors base their sermons on what has taken place throughout their week or on topics they think their congregation needs to hear. I encouraged them that the amazing thing about the Word of God is that when we preach through a book of the Bible, God has organized Scripture in such a way that we will cover areas for our people that we would never even have thought to cover. God has not only given us His Word, His Word is effective for all of life.

Tomorrow will be my last day of teaching. We will look at Epistles and Wisdom literature in the morning and the book of Revelation in the afternoon. After the classes the Genesis Team is going to take me out for supper which is very kind of them. While it seems I have only contributed a drop in the “spiritual” bucket, I am thankful that I am heading home to see my family once again.

Well, thank you for all your prayer for me and my family. At the beginning of the week I asked if you would pray for the course in Hermeneutics and I am so thankful that God has heard your prayers. I had a pastor come to me today and just express his appreciation in what he is learning and how it is challenging his thinking. So God has been gracious to hear your prayers for the Mongolian people. I sometimes think of what would happen in both the nations of Canada and Mongolia if pastors took the LIVING WORD to the people and preached the text and the truth without compromise and with great compassion. Do we believe God could move a nation? As we ended our class today, we once again said: We just have to say it – our God, He is a good God! He is able to take His Word and transform nations.

Jean Claude Vs Hermeneutics

2007-10-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

The elevator broke down today and as I have been in and out of the apartment 3-4 times, I figure I have climbed a total of 36 floors. I am hoping it will be fixed by at least Saturday so I don’t have to drag my big suitcase down the steps. Not that I am complaining because Mongolian food sits heavy in the stomach so walking a few extra flights is definitely what is needed!

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, driving in UB is absolutely horrendous and to continue this theme, I will give you what might be labeled as a “serious example of road rage”. I was taking my walk along a main street and I turned around and saw a white car parked in the third lane closest to the middle of the road with a bus stopped only about a foot behind. The man, who was probably in his 50’s, got out of his car and went up to the bus and broke the driver’s side mirror. This not only upset the driver but the guy who collects the money for the driver as they both got out and just started thumping the man from the white car. Actually they started to kick the car and then they went after the man. A short elderly man appeared from the white car and got out to try to stop the fighting but he was unsuccessful. These two young men continued to lay a sound beating on the man, kicking and punching. The older driver landed a number of good punches as well and would not give up even when the driver walked away. All of this took around 5-7 minutes so the traffic was being held up behind them. It was quite a sight to see and I hope a good lesson for me. When I get back to Canada and somebody honks because I cut in front of them, I will be able to say, “Is that all you can give me? Just don’t touch the mirror” and let it all go. Amazing the things you learn in Mongolia!

Today I began to teach Hermeneutics to the students. I have titled this day: Hermeneutics vs Jean Claude Van Dam (or however you spell his name) and if you were to score the bout, it would be Jean 1 – Herme 0. I’ll explain: at lunch I was talking with some of the men and I told them that some appeared tired. He explained that he stayed up until 2:00 a.m. and watched Jean Claude punch other guys out (actually in telling this story, I am seeing a theme in my rather violent day). Well, I thought to myself, can Hermeneutics even stand a chance against Jean Claude and his moves? Apparently not! I had a few extra breaks in the afternoon as I knew this would probably be one of the heaviest days of class. We looked at what Hermeneutics means, how God communicated to His people throughout history and the importance and qualities of the Word of God. So tomorrow when we meet again, we will begin with the practice of Hermeneutics. I just hope Jean Claude has a night off of defending the universe and mangling faces.

I may not be able to blog for the next two days. Andrew has to go out to a conference until Thursday and that means I will be in a hotel for the next two nights. The hotel costs a whopping $22.00 a night so I am thinking that high speed internet is not an option.

Please pray for these men. One of the men came up to me after and thanked me for teaching because the material is very helpful to him. As I was talking with Andrew and Liz tonight at supper, they mentioned how many of these pastors may be very young in the faith and called to lead churches. That is why a course like Hermeneutics is so important to them as they are learning God’s Word. So please pray for the pastors as they learn the principles of interpretation over the next few days.

Thanks for your Comments

2007-10-01T09:24:00.001-04:00

Thank you for your comments. I am sorry I cannot respond as I am on a dial up network and have limited time - but they are encouraging!

Ecyc

2007-09-30T07:39:00.000-04:00

It was very loud as we walked in the movie theatre. I was picked up by the pastor, his wife and 16 year old daughter and we drove across the other side of UB to their place of worship. This morning the youth led the service and I will say that I enjoyed worshiping with them despite not understanding very much. They had their words up on power point and I understood one word they sang and repeated often: Ecyc (Yaa-sus or Jesus). At one point I was able to sing with them Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Blessed be His Name, Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Blessed be His holy Name – He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away – Blessed be the Name of the Lord …

It was so exciting to be able to sing together in English. At one point while they were singing a rather joyful song I did not recognize, I turned around and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this older man, probably in his 60’s or 70’s, standing, a bit bent over clapping his hands and singing. I just rejoiced at the goodness of God of being part of their celebration of praise, watching them as they rejoiced in the goodness of our Saviour. The striking thing about the older man is he was one of the few older generations in the building. Mongolia became open to Christianity around 1991 and so these are first generation Christians. I was talking to the lady who helped out with the elderly ministry and she mentioned it is a very difficult ministry because many consider themselves to old to change so they stay with their superstitions. That made it all the more amazing to see this elderly man standing before His God and worshiping Him.

I was able to speak from 2 Chronicles 20 when Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord because he was going to be attacked and slaughtered by the Moabites and Ammonites. It is an interesting passage as Jehoshaphat prays: We do not know what to do but our eyes are on you. And so I mentioned how we can trust God with our problems and God will hear our prayers. Finally, when Jehoshaphat and his people go to war, they go out singing: Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever. They were praising God before the victory. Amazing to stand before God’s people and be able to say that whatever our circumstances, we can praise God as His love endures forever. After I spoke there was some more singing and then one of their men got up and spoke for about ten minutes. I did not know what he said but as the people around me opened their Bibles I noticed they turned to Genesis. I pray that the book of Genesis will become a very special book to the people of God in Mongolia!

It was a privilege to be able to be able to worship at this church in Mongolia. There is such an evident passion for the Lord. However, while I was worshiping here it also made me very thankful for Grace Bible Church. Whether in Mongolia or Canada I worship with a people who love God, desire to serve Him and long to bring Him all the glory and honour. So while I was worshiping today, I remembered God’s kindness to me that when I come back home, I come home to a church zealous for the ways of God and I can stand alongside of them to worship and serve. I look forward when I can be with them once again.

After the service, I was taken out to a Korean Restaurant with Chinese food (I know, the food situation gets a little confusing to follow but it seems to all make sense when you are here). It was very good but at one point I bit into a seriously hot pepper and my mouth exploded in complete agony and misery and my nose responded accordingly (OK, so I am a little melodramatic but it was hot!!) Thankfully I learned to recognize the little red enemy and swallowed them whole from that point on in the meal. Following the meal I went with the pastor and his wife to an Irish Coffee place named after one of the Khaans. I wondered if that particular Khaan would be impressed that he was associated with the Irish (that one was for you Nick D.!!) Anyway, this Irish descendent of Khaan made a mean cup of coffee and it was good to be able to talk with the pastor and his wife.

Tonight I hope to look over my Hermeneutics course and prepare myself for the week ahead. If I had to choose which course is more difficult for me to teach, it would be Hermeneutics. I have begun to understand that some of these pastors have had very little training and need some of the basic foundations.

I am also thinking tonight that this time next Sunday I will be in Seoul, Lord willing. That will mean that I am very close to seeing my family who I miss very much. But God has been good to all of us so I thank you for your prayers and practical support for them while I am away.

"Gers" and Pedicures

2007-09-29T09:06:00.000-04:00

It is Saturday today and I had the opportunity to spend the day seeing some more of Mongolia. After marking some of the tests from yesterday, I set out at around 9:00 this morning to walk around the city. It is a very “Russian” city with large imposing buildings and it is also a very dry place so there is very little grass or for that matter, anything green. I walked around the city for about three and a half hours, actually hoping I would find a Starbucks or a Tim Hortons but to no avail. I now know a place on earth where there is not a Tims or Starbucks on every corner.

After I came back, I went with Andrew, Liz and their family for a drive into the country. Mongolian tourism promotes itself as the “Land without Fences” and when you leave the busy city, you understand their slogan. There are massive rolling yet rugged “mountains” jutting in and out or just gentling sloping into one another. We saw cattle, sheep, goats and horses with “gers” dotting the hillside. After about an hour (I think), we found a place to stop and have a campfire so we could boil some water for coffee and tea. We hopped out of the van and settled between two mountains, seeing first hand what a jagged and harsh existence it is to live out on the hills.

On our way back to the main road Andrew and Liz wanted to buy some hay from one of the “gers” and so we stopped at one as an older lady came out. She invited us in and I was able to take some pictures of what the inside of a “ger” looks like. This particular “ger” was a smaller version and it was explained to me that one side is for the man and the other for the woman (I don’t think they were fighting, I think that is just the way it is in this area). The older man was in his bed sleeping and did not wake up as 7 of us entered his small dwelling. There were single beds on either side with cooking and storage spaces surrounding the stove in the middle. The only place for light to enter is through the roof and Liz mentioned that during the winter there can be a lot of depression as they would see very little light in their “gers”. All in all, it was a very interesting experience.

(I wish I could include pictures on my blog but I forgot the cord that connects my camera to my computer. Also, Andrew and Liz have dial-up and it would take forever to download.)

Tomorrow I am going to preach at a church in the city. A pastor who attended this past week invited me to speak and I am thankful for the opportunity. The service is at 12:00 noon on the other side of the city so he will come and pick me up at 11:35-40. The Mongolian time context is a little different from ours as I imagine we will arrive at the church precisely at 12:00 or maybe even a little later. I am also thankful to be speaking at his church as this particular pastor speaks English. One of the very frustrating parts of being here is not being able to communicate to the other pastors who speak Mongul without an interpreter present.

One quick story before I pack it in for the evening. We went out to a typical Mongolian restaurant tonight for supper. A plate of eggs, noodles, mutton (sheep meat – fat included) and salt (with a bit more salt added to the salt) is about $1.50 Cndn. While I am eating, I look up at the TV in the corner and I see a lady giving a pedicure with close up detail of nails being filed and the sole of the foot being scraped (or whatever you call it). You could even see the skin falling off the bottom of the foot onto the ladies sweater. Learning how to give a pedicure with such detail and precision just seemed to make the meal go down that much easier.

The Christian Struggle to Know God's Great Love

2007-09-28T10:51:00.001-04:00

Well, this was the final day of Genesis for the class. We finished at around 3:00 noticing that the last verses of the book were words of life in a world filled with sin and death. The curse may have come but God in His mercy provided a means of life. We then went to the book of Revelation and saw how the final chapter ends for us: Behold, I am coming soon. Just like for Joseph and the Israelites, God leaves us with words of hope.

I try to begin each day with a short meditation and this morning we looked at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. I mentioned that it will be a struggle in the Christian’s life to understand just how much God loves them – the height, depth and width. In Ephesians 1-2 we looked at how we are loved from eternity past and we are loved in Christ. I was so thankful to tell these men of God’s abundant love for them and how they must “struggle” to know of how great this love is and ever will be.

The Mongolians have had the New Testament from about 1993 and the Old Testament for only 3 years. 3 years! And the OT translation is very weak as they rushed through to translate it. So it was an amazing experience to be able to work through the first book of their OT with them this past week. It felt like there was so much more to teach as we did not even look at the life of Isaac or Jacob. But that is with most of life and ministry opportunities – the task is always bigger than our time or strength. So I am also thankful for a sovereign God who, like Ephesians 3 reminds us, loves the Mongolian church with an everlasting love.

We have two breaks during the day and I have taken to drink their “coffee”, a mixture of coffee, powdered milk and sugar poured into boiling water. Believe it or not it is called Mac Coffee. The drink of choice for lunch is a mixture of water, milk and salt and this I have not been able to get used to yet. The man sitting across from me at lunch poured a huge portion into his bowl and began to drink it like soup. Needless to say, I was duly impressed and now consider him my lunch hero for being able to handle that much WMS mixture at one time.

This afternoon after the test I went for a walk again and nearly got run over. Mongolian driving is absolutely bonkers! There was a slight accident on a three lane road and the two cars could not move until a traffic police came and figured out who was in the wrong. So I saw a traffic police come towards the cars and the traffic was just building behind them. And then all this honking started. No one was going to move because everyone was blocked but they honked anyway. It’s as if the power of the honk will get traffic moving in front of them. Before this accident, I was walking across a laneway for a supermarket and a truck came behind me and nearly cracked me. I moved aside and he pulled up and stopped, only to start going in reverse. I think he started to go in reverse because he did not hit me the first time. So with a certain amount of agility (I say this with all humility), I sidestepped him and just missed hitting the front of the truck. That really annoyed me as it was a rather large truck and if I got hit, I would have been a little disturbed. So I turned around to look at the man and he was yelling at me – me! Thankfully Christian grace kicked in and I left the scene of the (almost) accident.

This One is for my Boys

2007-09-27T08:28:00.000-04:00

Do you know how some things strike you as funny when they probably shouldn’t? Or there are maybe certain subjects that would be better left unsaid? Well, instead of following my gut on this one, I am going to write about it anyway. At the church, there are outhouses which as about 75 feet away from the building. The other day I went to visit and noticed that they were only a hole in the wood – no seat, just a large hole. There were spaces between the boards so if any broke, you would be in trouble. So why do I tell the story? Because this morning when I went to visit, I noticed that there was reading material. It just really struck me as funny.

Anyway … (I thought my boys would like the above paragraph so if it grosses you out, just skip it) … the day went well. Actually, I have to go back to the previous paragraph. I mentioned to Andrew and Liz the bathroom situation at the church the other day and they told a story of a foreigner (I forget what nationality but I am thankful to report it was not Canadian) who used similar outhouses. The Mongolians looked over and instead of seeing a closed door they saw feet sticking out the door. He had sat down on the floor. The Mongolians could not stop laughing as they saw his feet sticking out the door, knowing what he was doing.

OK, I promise I will move on.

The day did go well for the most part. The time after lunch can be a real struggle and I have noticed that as the week has gone on, the men seem to be getting more and more tired. From 2:40-4:00 we looked at Genesis 21 and we worked through how to put a sermon together from an historical book. We talked about finding joy in the Lord as Abraham and Sarah rejoiced in the birth of their son. It was all a good reminder that your joy does not depend on our circumstances but on God’s grace and promises. I try and end each day by saying: Our God is a good God – He is good. And He is good.

Wednesday

2007-09-26T10:09:00.000-04:00

There is one man who sits in the classes who I talked to on the first day. He speaks no English and when I tried to pronounce his name, I failed miserably. And I really tried – a number of times. So I told him my name was David, hoping he would also have trouble, but he got it the first time. In fairness to me (I really feel the need to defend myself), Mongolian names are extremely difficult to pronounce because they are long and the ones I have met demand the exact pronunciation with no room for err. They usually shorten them but this particular man did not give me a break.

Anyway, I think he is a more simple man. He just sits and does not participate and I do not see him talking much with the other men. But after the class today, he was the last to leave and he came and give me a big hug (he is a bigger man). And then I met him again in the parking lot and he said one word: Go. And I said “Go” and we walked part way home, not saying a word. As I walked, I just wished I knew the language and could hear his story but his story remains silent to me. At the same time I was thankful just to walk part way home with this man. He would take the time to walk with me and in that short time of silence, there was an unspeakable “enjoyment” of just walking.

I had to wait at the church a little later on and I met a boy whose name is “Tuksa”. He walks with one straight leg and is a little slow mentally. I pointed at myself and said “David” and then pointed at him. “Tuksa”, he said. Tuksa. David. David. Tuksa. And then he would play games with me, standing straight in my face until I looked at him and then he would step back as if nothing happened. It was good just to see him laugh and I was extremely proud that someone accepted my pronunciation of their name. It was a win - win all around.

Today we covered Genesis 3-9 and in so doing, we covered all sorts of topics. Someone asked about 2 Timothy 2.15 (women being saved in childbirth) and someone else asked about whom Cain married. Many questions posed where questions that went beyond the Bible and so at one point I simply said: if the Bible is silent, then we should be silent on the matter. So it will be interesting to hear what questions are asked tomorrow and if I’ll have the opportunity to say that again.

After teaching, Andrew invited me to go along with the team from Canada to a cultural play put on in the city. So we fought traffic and arrived at around 6:30 to pay an equivalent to $6.00 Cndn to see Mongolian culture on the stage. After starting off with a Buddhist ritual with masks filled with skulls, there were various dances, singers and musicians. Probably the two most interesting features were the throat singer and the contortionists. The throat singer sings, yes, from the throat and makes various noises that sound, this is hard to describe, like a noise coming from the throat. He played an instrument and at times it sounded exactly like the note he was playing on his Mongolian “guitar”. The contortionists were younger girls who bend their bodies in unnatural (and even unreasonable) positions. The three girls would bend and fold and twist and fold into many different postures.

Afterwards we went to a … Chinese restaurant. Part of the reason for the choices of restaurants is the cleanliness and knowing that one will probably not get food poisoning or something else.

I continue to be thankful for the opportunity to teach these men. They are starting to call me their “teacher” when I walk past them and some are coming up and asking more detailed questions during the break and at lunch. Here’s one: a man asked what to do when he gave someone money (quite a large sum) to fix his churches’ “ger” and the man never finished the work. This man who did not finish the work is in another church and when he spoke to the pastor about it, nothing happened. What should he do? And part of the difficulty is not only knowing how to properly respond as a Christian but as a Mongolian Christian.

During the afternoon I answered questions during our ten minute break so I taught for three hours straight. If you would remember to pray that God would give physical, mental and spiritual strength during this time. These men (and some women) are eager to hear God’s Word so I am eager to speak. I just pray that God would strengthen me so I can teach with enthusiasm and the energy required.

One final “brain picture” I have from the day. I had to wait for the Canadian team to finish their meeting, so I walked into the church and I saw a young girl sitting near the front. I walked to the back to spend some time praying and as I was sitting, the young girl began to hum. It was beautiful. She was in a “church” building, alone, just spending time with God. The Lord placed that young girl to teach me again of the importance of being with God and being silent in his presence. It is a picture that will linger for a while on my brain … and my conscience.

Headed to Mongolian Grill or This One Is For You Dad

2007-09-25T06:08:00.000-04:00

We seem to split the day up into four parts of teaching: 9-10:30; 10:40-12; 1-2:30; 2:40-4:00. A little bell rings at the end of the session and the first day when I went a little past, the bell rang again – 10:30 means 10:30. And so I have learned that when the bell tolls, I stop. Anyway, in our last session, I finished with Genesis 3 when God came to Adam and Eve. And we talked about how God comes to us when we have sinned against him. God came to Abraham, God came to Moses, God came to Israel, God came to us – and this is an act of grace on the part of God. The Lord was able to take the truth and give us an opportunity to respond with singing. I told the men and women that our knowledge is not to be just head knowledge but heart knowledge and an expression of thanksgiving to God. There is this one particular lady who does an excellent job leading songs and I asked if she would come up and if we could sing a song of response to God – I asked her if we could sing You Are My All In All. I wanted to sing that because it is the only song I can sing along with in English.

In the context, the chorus is powerful: Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is YOUR NAME. I rejoiced with a hand full of believers in Mongolia that God came to us and brought us salvation through Jesus Christ. It was a real moment of rejoicing in God’s mercy, grace, and kindness.

I need to mention lunch for a moment. If you were to sit down around our family table and we were to have meat and there was a bit of fat on it, you would notice that sometimes subtly and not so subtly my dad would cut away the fat. He would cut his meat well away from the fat so that no part of his body, fingers or mouth, would ever touch a piece of fat. So, this mention of lunch is for my dad. The main meal in Mongolia is lunch so they first brought out a bowl of soup with noodles, meat and yes – fat. Clumps of fat mixed in with the broth, sitting in all their white glory. (How are you feeling dad?) That was the first course. The second course was rice with a stir fry of what they called black mushrooms (Eva would be proud that I did not even make a facial grimace at the sound of black mushroom). As I began eating, I noticed once again mixed into the stir fry is – yes, none other than serious globs of fat. I found it all rather tasty and enjoyed the meal. I am so thankful that it is not extremely spicy because they give you lots of food. So dad, this “fat” paragraph is for you!! I hope you enjoyed.

The men and women today asked more questions throughout the teaching time. I was so thankful for this because it gives me an indication of where they are at and what they are thinking. We were able to talk about the coming glory, the new creation, sovereignty of God, what sin looks like and how we can battle against sin and many times they had questions. So the teaching seemed to go well and I believe it is an answer to prayer. So please continue to pray because the Mongolian leaders need to hear God’s Word so they can bring it to their people.

Well, I am off to BD’s with Andrew and Liz, their family and a group of Canadians Chartwell Baptist Church in Toronto. BD’s is apparently an American chain that calls itself Mongolian BBQ. When Chinggis and his troops would go off to fight, they would fry their food on their shields. It is like our Mongolian Grill. Some of you joked if I went to Mongolia, would I go to the Mongolian Grill and the answer apparently is YES – tonight I am going to an American Chain like our Mongolian Grill in Mongolia. It is a strange world, is it not?

Moday In Mongolia

2007-09-24T08:41:00.000-04:00

Monday morning we met at the church after a 10 minute walk from the apartment. It was a little chilly and windy so the sand and dirt would swirl around causing your eyes to fill up with sand every once and a while. We passed the infectious disease hospital on one side and empty construction lots on the other. We then turned the corner were numerous “gers” or tent houses were which led to the church.

The day began at 9:00 with singing. There is one song that I recognized – You Are My All In All. So while they stood and sang in Mongul, I stood and sang in English. 2 languages, one God, one faith. It was, I think, a glimpse of glory when people from all tribes, nations and languages (Rev 5) will gather before the throne of God and praise him together. I sometimes wonder if we will all be singing in our own languages but somehow be able to understand one another. Then we can look around and say – he is from Mongolia and she is from Canada – and we would be reminded that God saved His people from all tribes and languages.

After the singing, they introduced me and I only know this because I heard “David Robinson” and “Grace Bible Church”. I was then invited up but sat there because I did not understand that part at all. Someone then motioned for me to come up and I took that as the universal invitation to get off my seat and start.

I prayed for the men and women who came – there are around 20-24 – and I began teaching from the book of Genesis. One of the things I wanted to show is that you can preach through the Bible and a book like Genesis and it is not only truth but it is relevant, Biblical truth. So we talked a lot about context and how to take a message from the context of the Bible, the book and then the passage. I had one young man talk to me at lunch and he mentioned that there are different philosophies of doing ministry and preaching is not always necessary or relevant. I appreciated his honesty as he talked more about building relationships, etc. As I listened to him, while agreeing that “church” can be done a variety of ways in a variety of cultures, there is the absolute importance of preaching the Word of God faithfully and relevantly.

We finished at 4:00 and I walked back the apartment with Andrew. I had been inside all day so I mentioned to them that I would go for a walk and set out for about hour and a half to explore part of the city. One of the things about Mongolia is the traffic and the driving, In Canada there is a walk sign at the lights and the pedestrian has the right of way. In Mongolia, the walk sign really means nothing at all. Actually, I think it means: Good luck as you try to dodge the cars that are coming at you full speed. I successfully avoided traffic and at times found a crowd of people and followed them. The other interesting thing is how much people honk there horns. There is wall to wall traffic and nobody can move but people are honking their horns as if someone could move. All very interesting.

Now it is 8:15 and I have finished a stir fry meal – my second big meal of the day. Mongolians have their big meal at lunch and I was served a delicious bowl of soup (would compete with the proud Dutch tradition of soup making) and then a plate of rice and I called them hamburger balls but that is probably not what the Mongolians call them. I am tired and plan to head to bed after I email my family and see how they are doing.

Thanks for your prayers and also for looking after my family yesterday. It still takes a while to get used to the thought that I will be going to bed and you will be beginning your day – a day I have already completed! Anyway – have a good sleep – I mean a good day.

First Full Day in Mongolia

2007-09-23T09:08:00.000-04:00

The trip from Seoul to Ulaan Baatar went very well. The flight took about 3 hours (a sprint compared to the first trip) and I landed comfortably around 10:30 at night. I am staying with a very nice New Zealand couple (Andrew and Liz – with three children) and Andrew was waiting to pick me up. After going through customs and picking up my luggage, I walked out and within 25 feet I was asked twice if I would be taking a taxi. Apparently they like foreigners.

I was in bed about 1:00 a.m. and slept until 7:30. This morning I went to a Mongolian church in the heart of the city – the political district. We arrived 20 minutes late and walked into very enthusiastic singing. They have a passion for celebrating the goodness of the Lord. After this, the pastor invited the S.S. children up and the congregation stretched forward their hands in prayer for the “next generation” of believers in Mongolia. There were a few testimonies of men who lived in the sewers who had been saved. One man’s kidneys were almost destroyed and the congregation prayed for healing.

A lady from Korea preached – the whole service was in Mongolian and Liz translated a bit for me. It is amazing to travel half way around the world and watch as people bring glory to God in their language.

Following the service, I walked back the two Kilo’s with Liz and we stopped at the Ghinggis Khaan Mausoleum - facing a big square (public place). We traveled through some markets to pick up lunch. Following lunch we went up one of the surrounding mountains and looked out over the city.

I just finished meeting with two ladies who are setting up the conference. There will be 24 pastors and the leaders will be coming from various parts of Mongolia. I will start to teach Genesis tomorrow morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. I did not know this but they have only had the entire Bible since 2000. Also, the OT translation is not the greatest and the Bible Society is seeking to complete it with a more accurate translation. They seem very enthusiastic to take the two courses and are looking forward to learning more from Scripture. There is and enthusiasm to learn the deeper truths of God’s Word.

Please pray as we begin the classes tomorrow – that God would be honoured and His Name would shine in all glory.

First Night In Seoul

2007-09-22T00:13:00.000-04:00

I am just glad I was able to remember how to get to this part of my blog as the computer I am using is all Korean. Needless to say, I am a little rusty with the language!

Anyway, I flew out of Toronto at around 12:15 a.m. Friday morning and arrived in Seoul at 2:09 a.m. - yes exactly 2:09 a.m. because on a 13 hour flight you seem to remember details. The flight was really uneventful. As we took off over Toronto, I could see the massive city - and then darkness. Around 4-5 in the morning I opened my window (I had to do this discreetly because they asked you to shut them - but I just needed to know we were still in the air!!) and I could see the red sky in the horizon. At one point I could see we were flying over the clouds - a beautiful sight! But for most of the 13 hours, we just followed the darkness around the world.

Two things preoccupied my mind. One was every few hours I would think - how is it possible for this huge machine to stay in the air for so long? Amazing - and thankful!. The second- I talked to my dad before I left and he told me to remember Psalm 121 - the Lord does not slumber or sleep. That was a great comfort as I left my family knowing God will watch over my wife and children and ... the plane. What a comfort to know God ... and find our rest in Him.

So after two movies, three meals, 2 hours sleep, approx 5 glasses of orange juice, 5-7 trips to teh bathroom (it is more for the exercise really), and dozens of nodding off moments we landed safely in South Korea. I went to a hotel room (you can get them for 12 hours) and slept for a few hours. It is now 1.24 in the afternoon and I have my ticket ready to fly to Mongolia at 7:30 tonight - at least that is when I board the plane (there is a 12 hour time difference between Mongolia and Ontario). After I am done here, I hope to take a short nap and then I will have to leave my room.

Thank you for your prayers - God has provided abundantly. The only tragedy that has struck is that I had to surrender my MASSIVE (according to them) tube of Crest toothpaste - apparently that offends them and I had to put it in the no allowed items in TO. Sacrifices!!!

Please pray for the Mongolian men. As I walk around the airport, I wonder how many know the Lord Jesus Christ? It is quite a striking feeling to be the minority and to not understand the language and signs posted around the airport. And so as I head to Mongolia, my heart becomes burdened once again for the people of God and the need for the gospel to be proclaimed and spread. My prayer for the mission to Mongolia is 1 Thessalonians 3.10: Night and day we pray most eaarnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. But if I have learned anything in the years the Lord has been working in my life, I imagine the brothers and sisters will bring an ample supply and show me what is lacking in my life and walk with the Lord. God seems to humble us in the most amazing ways so we may experience an abundance of grace.

Now I have to guess if it is the orange or blue button below that will post this update ...

Teaching Trip to Mongolia

2007-09-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

Purpose
As a church, we have the opportunity to teach the church leaders of Mongolia. Mongolia has recently been opened to the gospel and has a great number of new Christians but with very little theological training. Pastor David will take two weeks to train church leaders so they can go back to their churches and instruct their people.

Description
September 24-28, Pastor David will be teaching a course in Hermeneutics (Interpretation of Scripture) and October 1-5 he will be teaching Genesis. This will be for about 8 hours a day. There will also be opportunity to preach in the churches of Mongolia.

Place of Residence
Pastor David will be staying with a New Zealand couple who are missionaries in Mongolia

Flight Plans
September 20 Depart from Toronto 11.50 PM
September 22 Arrive at Seoul 2.50 AM
Depart Seoul 8.50 PM
Arrive Ulan Bator 10.35 PM

October 7 Depart Ulan Bator 12.20 AM
Arrive at Seoul 4.15 AM
Depart Seoul 9.05 PM
Arrive at Toronto 9.05 PM

Prayer
· Pray for the spread of the gospel in Mongolia. Teaching theology is simply telling people more about the God they love and what He has done. Pray that the people of Mongolia would understand how great God’s love is as they learn His Word.
· Pray for those who will minister at GBC. Roger Fellows will preach September 23; Noel Musket and Haniel Davy will preach September 30th; and Paul Martin will preach October 7th
· Pray for Pastor David’s family as he is away
· Pray for Pastor David as he teaches and preaches. Pray that he may effectively communicate the Word of God with passion and clarity.
· Pray for one another that we may all have opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 88 and Depression III

2007-07-05T17:56:00.000-04:00

Imagine ending a conversation with a friend the way the Psalmist ends his conversation with the Lord: You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend. Would you let it happen? Or would you hang on until they at least paid lip service to some sort of hope?

A few thoughts about Christians going through dark times

1. Christian living is not like sitcoms - life is not wrapped up nice and neat. The psalmist ends with a messed up life that still hurts. The loneliness is palatable. The darkness is thick. The big questions of life have not been answered, the mysteries of life have not been settled. Yes, Christianity is messy. And that is OK because as you read throughout the Psalm because the psalmist is having a dialogue with God. Life may be messy and will be messy. That is part of living by faith in the sovereign ways of God.
2. We do not need to defend God. It is OK for people to walk away disillusioned with God without us trying to defend God until our throats are parched. We can let people walk away disappointed with God. God is able to defend Himself and provide for those who are disillusioned. We simply seek to speak - God will act.
3. There is a place for sullen times in the Christian life. If not, God would have solved the problem right there and then. He chose not to and in so doing, he affirmed that part of the path of a believer at times will be the shadow of the valley of death. In other words, do not always try to cheer people up or get them to praise God. Walk with them through the valley - weep with those who weep.
4. Balance, balance, balance. The majority of the psalms which deal with a trial or dark moments end with praise. The one walking through darkness must plead for faith so that as they walk out of the darkness, they do so with increased faith and praise on their lips and in their hearts.
5. I am sure Psalm 88 is not the last word as God cares intimately for His people. Genesis to Revelation tells the story of God's abundant grace overflowing into the life of the believer through Jesus. Psalm 88 is part of the story but not the complete story. That is the hope for all believers. We still have Psalms 89-150 to read and we know how it ends

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(Psa 150:1-6)

That is the place God faithfully brings His people because of His abounding love and mercy.

Depression and Psalm 88 - II

2007-06-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

We are going to look at the psalmist's description of his darkness but before we do, we mention two matters briefly.

First, in darkness or with depression, the forgotten element is often Psalm 88.1: O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. It is often forgotten because at least in North America, we are so secularized and psychologized. I do not mean that secular counseling or psychology is all bad - in fact, on the balance it has done much good. But in the search for help, especially in the church, the cry to the God who saves is often left out of the picture. However, for the psalmist, it is the beginning point. This does not exclude the usefulness of medicine or other helpful techniques but it does say that the greatest help is missing if the cry to the God who saves is not in the heart or on the lips of the person in darkness.

Second, the psalmist describes his trouble. He articulates his darkness. This is why I think it is often helpful for a person who is depressed to journal - to write down his or her thoughts concerning their darkness. In fact, it almost seems to be a natural occurrence for someone in depression because it can be that they do not even understand the darkness and they just need to see if they can explain it to themselves. If you are with someone who is in darkness, ask them to describe to you their darkness. Don't interrupt. Just listen. And if they have left out verse 1, ask them if you can just pray for them to the God who saves.

How does the the psalmist describe his darkness?

His soul is full of trouble: interesting that when he sees his inner self, he sees only trouble - it is full.
Life draws close to the grave - hopelessness.
Counted among those who go down to the pit - again, if we were to use today's language, we would put the psalmist on suicide watch.
I am a man without strength - you will find with those in darkness, they are often tired - physically, emotionally, spiritually. The battle is overwhelming, their thoughts are unsettled and tiresome. They are often without strength so some will just sleep - not so much because they are tired but because they are too tired to deal with reality.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave - you notice this a lot in the psalm - his fixation on death. Darkness is like death - something has died and they need life. A good description for some on depression - a part of me has died and I see no life.
Whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care - this is interesting as depressed people can often feel like no one cares for them. Someone may be intimately involved in their life, but still, no one cares

And that is only the beginning, the first 5 verses. There are 12 more to go. When dealing with someone who is in darkness, we may say - well, are you just exaggerating? Isn't there anything good in your life? Are you a half-empty glass kind-of person or what!! That becomes the importance of listening as mentioned above. When we read this psalm, do we say - just get over it? No, we listen to the psalmist and seek to enter their world taking their words as the reality in which they live.

If you suffer with depression, pick up a pen and begin to freely write about the darkness. If someone comes to you with depression, listen. Let them talk and express freely their thoughts and emotions.

Dealing With Depression: Psalm 88

2007-06-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

Psalm 88 is a dark psalm. In many other psalms, the writer is going through troubles as he is surrounded by enemies or as he is dealing with his rebellion or sin. As the psalmist finishes, he usually ends with his eyes refocused on God and a word of trust and praise. Psalm 88 ends with the words You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.

There is no further word of trust, no glance heavenward. The psalmist stares headlong into the life given him and his conclusion - darkness is my closest friend.

The first thing we notice about the Psalm is that it is a song. The inscription reads: A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leanoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. Imagine standing up Sunday morning and singing this psalm with one another. But that is what this psalm is - a song set to music to be lead by the director of music.

What is the response of the church to be for those who suffer with depression? While depression often remains hidden in the church, as if the depression person must be either rebuked or pitied, Psalm 88 teaches us to sing to one another about darkness. While we love to praise God with songs of thanksgiving and salvation, there is a place to talk about the darkness of the soul. Depression/darkness is to be out in the open. The people of God are to address the issue.

That means two things:

First, those who struggle with depression must learn to talk about depression and second, the rest are to learn to listen to those who struggle with depression.

Sounds simple? Well, no because if someone struggles with depression, one of the hardest moments of their life is to talk about their darkness. Sure, they may talk but listen to receive words of hope? Or they may not even be at the point of talking. At times it may be like no one will understand or at other times it is like laying on the weight bench with too much weight on the bar - they just cannot lift this to a conversation. Darkness is a lonely place.

On the other hand, those who listen must learn to listen and not give out cliche, religious, empty answers. Or they must be able to patiently draw out a persons darkness, which takes time and trust. It is usually not time to be looking for sin or casting out demons - it is a time to listen, love and patiently suffer alongside of the one in darkness.

How does the church deal with those who struggle with depression? Psalm 88 tells us to speak about it, sing out loud the struggles with darkness. God's Word is profound here. What happens when we sing about it? First, God is found in the pciture. Second, the person living in darkness understands this will not be swept under the rug and the church is not filled with Christians who have it all together. And third, those who sing for the depressed person are reminded to love them, to have mercy on them and to above all remember them.

Choices Have Consequences

2007-05-31T11:00:00.000-04:00

Deuteronomy 4.7-8: What other nations is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nations is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today.

Two people come immediately to mind as I read these verses in Deuteronomy. The first is a young man who was very confident in his Christian belief but when interesting, friendly and persuasive Mormons came calling, he rejected Scripture and was baptized a Mormon. He would come to visit and try to persuade me "really, Mormonism is like Christianity in so many ways." Ah, no. The other is a young woman who wanted to talk about her walk with Christ but then admitted that while her walk was not what it once was, she is doing fine. I left it up to her to call me and pray that she will.

Choices have consequences. That is one lesson God is teaching the people of Israel as they are about to enter the promised land under the direction of Joshua. What other god answers like the God of the Bible? Moses would go on to write that they are not to worship other gods which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. God point Moses - not a wise decision to follow stone gods. What will happen when this young woman calls to the world when she is 70 years old? Will the world answer with kindness?

The other lesson is in verse 8: God's ways are righteous and kind - even though the go contrary to the world. Again, Moses will go on to write that this lawgiver is merciful and he will not abandon or destroy you. Choices have consequences. Following God in the promised land brings blessing and life.

Choices have consequences. What happens when a young person leaves God's ways and embraces god-less life patterns? What happens when families begin to neglect spiritual disciplines and priorities? Choices lead to certain consequences. Who will you call on when life takes a turn? Do the gods of the age have answers that last beyond this life? Look at the gods you are serving and then watch others who serve the same gods - do they hear or answer or provide life as the years pass? What happens when beauty fades or when wealth decreases? Will your doctor provide ageless beauty or will your bank or boss call you up and grant you money?

I look at certain choices which bring immediate pleasure but long term pain. Our text tells us God not only brings blessing but it is long term blessing. Consider your choices - they have consequences.

The Path to Peace

2007-04-24T15:01:00.000-04:00

Psalm 34.12-14: Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Peaceful relationships do not just happen. In other words, peace is not an easy process but must instead be pursued. David tells us in Psalm 34 how to seek peace in relationships.

First, it comes when we fear God (Psalm 34.11). The foundation of peace is the fear of God, that is the standing in awe and living in reverent fear of our holy God. The fear of God is to live within the bounds God has set and seek to love Him and glorify Him above all.

Second, peace happens in the realm of controlling your tongue, fleeing from evil and doing good. Peace in a marriage will not happen when there are loose and angry tongues. Do you want to know the pathway to peace? Turn from evil and commit yourself to doing good. Simple, profound and highly practical.

Third, peace takes place when pursued. You can see God bending to speak into the human ear as He says, Do not give up. Do not give up - seek peace and pursue it. Too often in relationships we take the easy way out and give up on peace. We run from our problems and we do not humble ourselves before God. In a society where every problem is solved within a half hour sitcom, we can not seem to grasp that peace sought in the fear of God is attainable.

This is all brought together when we look at how Christ pursued peace. He came from heaven to sinners and he glorfied God as he died for His own. Amazing how God loved the unlovable and brought peace between them and God. As you see Jesus living his life and then dying on the cross, you see Jesus as he pursued peace. He did not give up, rather he said in the garden Not my will but yours be done.

Seek peace. Pusue peace. And remember how Jesus reconciled you with God your Father.

Boundary Blessings

2007-04-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

Proverbs 29.18: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraints; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs goes contrary to worldly wisdom. We are told today that the fewer restraints and the greater freedom we have, the happier we will be. "No one can tell me what to do" is the mantra of our society and the reason is people have rejected revelation, ultimately God's Word.

The opposite is found when we keep God's Word we find blessing. In other words, living within the boundaries of God's Word, one will find happiness and true life.

2 thoughts as I look at this passage.

First, a task and privilege of a Christian is not just to tell this to the next generation or the world around us but to live this truth. When we speak to our children about Christianity or when we live in front of our neighbours, are they able to see that the boundaries of God's Word are pleasant? It is no use saying we love God but complain about all the fun the world is having. Casting off restraints leads to confusion and hurt, ultimately death; living in the presence of God's boundaries brings blessings. Does this show in your life?

Second we need to thank God for boundaries. My wife and I were talking to a nurse the other day and she told us how many 12, 13, 14 year old girls are coming into the hospital with multiple STD's. There are no restraints and therefore, really, no blessing. The greatest blessing to happen in these young girl's lives would be for someone to come and show them boundaries. And this can happen in so many areas of life. So thank God for boundaries because they not only protect us but they enhance our standard of living.

How Do We Battle Sin?

2007-04-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

Genesis 2.16-17: 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 of it you will surely die."

Genesis 3.1: [The serpent - Satan] said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

We can learn about the subtlety of sin as we look at the first temptation. Notice God's word to Adam contain 3 parts: 1. The blessing or the goodness of God - you are free to eat from any tree in the garden. 2. The command - you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 3. The warning of judgment - for when you eat of it you will surely die.

When Satan tempts Eve, he leaves out the blessing and the judgment. Instead, he simply asks Eve, did God really say? In leaving out the goodness of God, Satan's temptation causes Eve to question the love of God and in leaving out the judgment of God, Satan causes Eve to downplay the punishment of God.

We know that Eve was duped because we read her answer: The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die." Notice what is missing are words like every and surely. In other words, Eve begins to doubt the goodness of God - yes, God will let us eat from the trees but not every tree and the judgment of God - we will die but will we surely die?

When we are tempted today, the same process happens:
1. We begin to doubt the love of God. We begin to look at sin as something good that God withholds or as something which will satisfy - even though God has told us it will not.
2. We lower the fear of judgment. God is holy but surely die? He will show mercy or accept me, after all I'm basically a good person.

How do we battle sin? Ask Am I beginning to doubt the love of God within His boundaries? and Am I beginning to downplay the judgment of God? Sin is subtle and will attack God's love and wrath/punishment of sin. Knowing with confidence that God is both love and holy will help us in our battle against sin.

A Sad Phone Call

2007-04-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

I came into my study this morning and collected my calls. I had one message from a lady who said:

Yeah I was just wondering if I could speak to Mr. Christ. Mr. Jesus Christ. But aahh, I guess he's not hear right now - I guess, I guess Mr. Christ doesn't love me enough to talk to me - cause I've been praying for like 10 years and he hasn't made my wishes come true at all. So God is a bad man.

Click. No name. No number.

As I reflect on this call, sadness is probably my first reaction: sad as the lies of Satan have not made her life a happy one; sad as Jesus freely offers life to all who come to him - eternal life; sad that her conclusion is God is a bad man when her very breath is a gift from the one she calls "bad".

However, the call does give insight into the hearts of people today - Jesus or God exists to make them happy. When Jesus does not listen and when life does not add up, then God is a "bad guy."

As you are reading this blog, pray for "Jane Doe". Pray that she would be struck with the gospel, the love of God and the power of the cross. Pray that those around you would know Christ and His promises of life.

Psalm 62 - Dealing with Worry

2007-04-09T11:03:00.000-04:00

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62.1-2)

The Bible puts words in our mouths that seem to describe exactly what we are experiencing. Today we may use words like worried or anxious, troubled or restless. When we minister to others or when we are going through such times ourselves, speaking as the Bible speaks helps us understand what is going on inside of us and how to deal with those moments of "unrest". David describes his worry as "not finding rest in God alone" and as being "shaken".

What is important is that these words include God in the process of dealing with worry and unrest. Anxiety and worry are never just an inner problem - the Psalmist David brings his soul before God. This is a good lesson as we live in a godless society and try to deal with issues through day-timers and stress suppressing measures. David first starts with an acknowledgement of his soul in the presence of God. If there is worry or anxiety, if his fortress is about to be shaken, then he will bring the matter into the presence of God.

Then, as you read Psalm 62, David spends time bringing his "unrest" before God. He brings his unrest before God and then finally leaves it in the presence of God.

How do we leave our worry in the presence of God? David shows us. The final two verses of Psalm 62 read: One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you O God are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

Do you see what David did? He left it before God not in some mysterious manner. He simply confessed who God is in relation to him. In the midst of unrest and a shaken fortress, David humbles himself before God and confesses God's power and love - the twin towers of peace and rest. David is then ready to leave his worries, his unrest in God's power and love - his fortress will not be shaken.

Dealing with worry is best dealt with in the presence of God and it is best dealt with when we bring Biblical truths to mind. We need to know God is strong, stronger than our issues or our worries and we need to know God's love is overwhelming and intimate.

Those times when our fortress is shaken the most, are probably times when God's character is far from our thoughts and souls. Bringing God's strength and love into our souls brings worries into perspective and the tough issues of life into God's care.

God Cannot Win

2007-04-04T16:07:00.000-04:00

An issue people have with God is that He does not prevent death. How could God be good and let all of these things happen - a friend died in a car accident, a mom is dying of cancer, thousands are being slaughtered by civil war, earthquakes and the list continues. And God just stands by and let's it all happen.

Here is the quandary and how God cannot win. Another issue people have with God is His sovereignty. People refuse to believe God is sovereign over all areas of life - they cry out "human freedom". Free will demands that there are pockets where God is not allowed to touch - God cannot touch salvation or day to day activity. After all, it makes us robots, right?

So on one hand people complain that God is not involved and on the other hand they complain when He is involved. God cannot win in the sinful human heart because the bottom line issue is that man wants to rule. Man sits on the throne demanding God to stop all evil or sin but have nothing to do with their lives - they are free, after all.

Sin is confusing. The sinful heart demands action from God one moment and the next demands freedom. And so in their confusion, sinful man rebels against God in his sad and pitiful manner.

Paul Wept as Jesus Wept

2007-03-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

Philippians 3.17-18: Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

As Paul looked at the world - tears welled up in his eyes. He urged the believers to live according to the pattern of his example. The very first thing he talks about are his tears as he observes the lostness of the world.

Those who are lost are not spoken of in neutral terms - they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Their life stands opposed to God - as nice as they may be - they are enemies. And so Paul weeps.

Jesus wept. Jesus wept as the crowds gathered and he knew their hearts of rebellion.

Does the church weep today? Are we to busy compromising the gospel? Pastors and people in churches today try to downplay the "enemy", welcoming as many people in as Christians as is possible - even though they deny all sorts of essential, fundamental doctrines. Are we busy pursuing the world so there is no time for tears? What real difference is there between an evangelical Christian today and the world? One hour on a Sunday morning?

We ask - where do we begin? How do I follow the example of Paul and Christ? Tears. Weeping. This allows us to understand grace (we have been saved by Christ alone) and evangelism (we must be praying and seeking for souls to be saved). Why? In the following verses, Paul talks about the second coming of Jesus. Jesus will come again and judge all His enemies.

Jesus is coming and there is an eternity to follow either in heaven or hell. For those who are headed to hell without Christ - they need our tears which leads to prayer, leading to action and love and grace and mercy.

Willingness of Jesus

2007-03-28T15:12:00.000-04:00

In John 18 we read of the arrest of Jesus. One of the striking features of the soldiers coming into the garden to arrest Jesus is the willingness of Jesus to go to the cross.

First, it is very clear that Jesus knew he was going to die for sinners and the pain and suffering that would be involved. John 12.27 we read: Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!

When Jesus was arrested, we read that he did not run or hide - he went out to meet Judas and his gang of thugs. Jesus knew Judas would betray him and we read that after Jesus had finished praying, he went to the exact spot Judas knew he and his disciples could be found. We read in verse 4: Jesus, knowing what was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, Who is it that you want? When Jesus reveals himself, they all fell to the ground (so much for the torches, lanterns and weapons they were carrying). And still, Jesus did not run - he did not hide.

Simon Peter brings out his sword and cuts off an ear, when Jesus commands Peter: Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me. Jesus' statement is striking. In the midst of the sword incident, it is almost as if Peter is offering Jesus a way out - we can fight them Jesus and you can go free. But Jesus' response is clear - I will go and bear my Father's cup - I will suffer your wrath.

What a joy for the believer - Jesus, willingly going to the cross for his people. His love so great, His grace so overflowing, and His forgiveness so complete - he went to face human humiliation and torture and God's wrath - so we may have life.

The message: the willingness of Jesus cries out to His people you are loved with an everlasting love. Rest in Him - and you will find peace and stillness in His presence.

Christian Forbes

2007-03-23T11:08:00.000-04:00

A recent article reported that there are now 946 billionaires, worth a total of 3.5 trillion - up from 793 last year. The top billionaire is Bill Gates with $56 bn followed by Warren Buffet at $52 bn. Of particular interest to where some of my money has gone, Ingvar Kamprad, the owner of Ikea, sits in his comfortable chair with $33bn.

Now, I cannot imagine having even 1 billion dollars, let alone 56 of them. What is interesting, however, is that it is searchable - we can know the dollar value and say - this person has this many billion and this person has this many billion. We can search their riches.

When Paul is explaining God's amazing work through Jesus and his ministry in the book of Ephesians, he writes: Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (3.8)

The gift of Christ - his life, sacrifice, death and life - and his free offer of life for all who come to him, repent of their sin and believe in him - this gift is unsearchable. We cannot begin to even put a figure on how valuable Christ and his gift of life is for those who have come to him.

I conclude two things: 1. to know Christ and have his eternal gift of life is the greatest gift of all because the riches are unsearchable. 2. to preach Christ is the greatest message - though preachers may be the least of all God's people. Whether you know Christ or you know Christ and preach Christ, we have so much to be thankful for in this great gift.

Your name may never make it in Forbes but if it is written int he book of life, we have now and evermore the unsearchable riches of Christ to enjoy.

Gaining Wisdom - Crying Need for the Church

2007-03-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding. Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. (Proverbs 8.4-6)

It is striking how freely godly wisdom is offered to all God's people in the Bible. In Proverbs 8 the simple and foolish are taken aside and spoken to with opportunities like gain wisdom or gain understanding.

But in order to gain wisdom and understanding, we must listen to and study God's Word. How desperately needed this ministry of wisdom is among God's people! Would that God's people saturate themselves with God's Word and then, with humility, love and gentleness, patiently instruct one another. Sadly, however, we live in a culture of quick fixes, pithy sayings and "do as I say not as I do" teachers. We also live in a day of professionalism where when it comes time to help the people of God, we send them to less than Christian counselors.

What did the early church do when a brother or sister was in need of counsel? The older would counsel the younger. Or the wise would be sought out in the church. I am not saying there is not a place for professionals; however, I am saying while professionals have their place, the people of God need to fill themselves with Scripture and be ready to help one another.

Let's take the example of a depressed housewife. What is today's solution? Professional counseling! But what about a godly woman coming into the house - listening, loving and then quietly ministering and mentoring the struggling woman. This godly woman has spent years placing herself and her life under Scripture so that when she steps into this ladies life, she is ready to speak discerning words.

Do you want to be a counselor? Do you want worthy things to say? Study Scripture and then pray for the presence of the Spirit to open doors to quietly come alongside and speak to those who are hurting or need direction. A church with Bible-filled people expressing godly truths in quiet love would be a ministry where God's people find life.

Election and Human Responsiblity

2007-03-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

John 6.37: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Jesus does not try to make sense or explain two very different teachings. Election and human responsibility in salvation sit comfortably side by side in the world of Jesus.

One truth is that God chooses all who come to Him - all that the Father gives me will come to me. What else could Jesus be saying other than the Father chooses those who come to Him and in response, they will come? John says something similar in 1 John 4.10: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins.

The second truth is we are to come to Jesus - whoever comes to me I will never drive away. Jesus never says - wait until you know if you have been called. Instead he invites all to come to him (earlier he has explained this is done through faith - John 6.12) and he will not send any away. What a great welcome and promise to come to him!

Election and human responsibility stand side by side is the words of Jesus. God sending (election) is incomplete without man coming (human responsibility) and man coming (human responsibility) will never take place without God sending (election). Jesus does not explain but simply allows us to embrace these two Biblical truths.

Now we may say, I want nothing to do with election. Salvation, in its final form, is my "sovereign" choice. But if we move further down in the passage, we once again see divine work and human responsibility standing side by side.

Divine work is shown in John 12.39: And it is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up on that last day. Who would deny this great truth of God's sovereign protection? Imagine the comfort ripped out of the hearts of believers if we say - well, you know, God doesn't have the right to be that "sovereign" in my life - it is my choice. No - God will keep his people.

But following this verse is human responsibility: For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Amazing. In order to be kept, we must believe. We must look to Jesus so we may have everlasting life.

God's sovereign grace and keeping stand alongside human responsibility - they are neither separated nor explained by Jesus. Rather, they are simply stated so God may receive all the glory and we may rejoice in the promises of everlasting life and protection offered by Jesus.

Job's Other Comforters

2007-03-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

An aspect of the story of Job we often call to mind is Job's three friends. It can be said if those are friends, who needs enemies. Throughout the book, as Job has suffered loss after loss, his three friends gather and tell Job that there must be some wickedness lurching below the surface to have God's wrath out poured with such venom. God of course rebukes the three friends at the end of the book and Job must pray for them.

What is interesting, however, is that after Job had offered sacrifices for his three friends, others came to comfort him. We read in Job 42.11: All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

Yes, Job did go through tremendous suffering but after a while, God sent comfort through friends and family. What a blessing that must have been for Job, especially after what he had gone through with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.

This does tell us something about what to expect. Yes, you will have the "three friends" who come and offer little comfort but it is also true that God provides overwhelming comfort for his people as others come along and minister comfort and consolation.

What do you do if a Bildad comes along? Or an Eliphaz? Well, where did God bring Job? He brought Job to the dust. Job had to commit himself into God's hands. When the "comfortless" friends come to visit, thank God that they at least drive you to the powerful and comforting arms of God.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

2007-03-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

There is a rather strange story Jesus tells in Luke 17. A servant has spent the whole day working - plowing the ground and looking after the sheep - and now it is time to go home. He is tired and exhausted but is not invited to sit down and eat with the master. It is not yet time. Rather the master says to the servant, "Prepare my meal; get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink." No comfortable armchair for this servant!

Jesus is still not done with the story. We might expect a bonus in our pay or at least a word of thanks. But as Jesus tells the story, he asks the question - would he thank the servant because he did what he was told? No - he has done what is expected. In fact as Jesus often does, he digs deeper into our hearts: So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'

Jesus is explaining that Christian service will be hard, overwhelming, exhausting and draining. And all of this is not to be congratulated - rather it is the norm for the believer. Are you overwhelmed with Christian living? Yes? Jesus prepares us for those many days of serving God in the home or at work - and he says - this is what it will be like - when you want to sit down and be served, God will call you to stand up and continue to serve. That is Christian discipleship in the Word of God. Simply put, a true disciple is overwhelmed in service to God and will be stretched and exhausted.

The story also tells us we cannot serve God by feelings only. We may not feel like serving - OK - but it is not by feeling. It is our call - a call of obedience. We must continue to selflessly, sacrificially, and relentlessly serve the King.

And finally, praise God that one day you will be invited to sit down at the banquet table of the Lamb of God - the Master: Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. (Revelation 19.7)

There will be a time to sit and banquet but for now, we will be overwhelmed and exhausted in our service of the King as we give Him glory and carry out His work. This may seem difficult but what a joy it will be on that final day to hear the Lord say: Well done my good and faithful servant - here is your everlasting rest - here is a banquet - come and sit!!

Knowing God's Will - Guidance

2007-03-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

Usually when people ask about knowing God's will for their lives, a subtle temptation can enter that period of discovery. The temptation is that we look only at the circumstances that need to be "revealed" but forget the One who will reveal them to us. That is we become so focused on knowing God's will that we forget about knowing God.

What do I mean? If we travel through the Bible, we read about God's guidance. God always led His people - and it was not always easy but it was always wise and good. So we read that God led Abraham in Genesis 12.1: The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." And at each stage, God would continue to guide Abraham.

Moses and the Israelites were led out of Egypt, through the desert, across the Red Sea and finally into the Promised Land - albeit without Moses and his generation. In fact, we read that just after Israel left Egypt in Exodus 13.17ff, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Israel was armed but they were not ready to fight and God knew they would want to return to Egypt. It may have seemed like a confusing, unnecessary journey to the people but it was an act of love by God.

Another example is the famous Psalm 23.1-3: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Twice the Shepherd is said to lead and guide the sheep. And if you are a sheep, that is really, really good news - quiet waters and paths of righteous for God's glory!! If you are a sheep, you are licking your lips for a drink and you ready to travel down this path!

We could go to many other places in Scripture. All of this is to say that when you begin to ask: What is God's will for my life? In marriage? A job? A family decision? A church decision? our first reaction as believers ought not to be to look at the situation but instead, look to God and confess that throughout all of history, He has led and guided His people for His glory and ultimately for His good.

In knowing God's will, don't forget to know God.

JAKSDLKU IHADHK OHDFS OUSHD ODSHjk

2007-03-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

The above words are not swear words - they are the "under the breathe mutterings" of an unsatisfied person. They are complaining words - words that no one else hears but resound loudly in the speaker's ear. They come from the heart and as we mutter to ourselves, often rambling and disconnected, we convince ourselves how unfair life is and how bad we have it. JAKSDLKU is look it at how good others have it and how rough I have it; IHADHK is where is God and why has his love left me; UHDFS is I had a lot better life before and now look at this mess; OUSHD is why does everyone hate me; and finally ODSSHjk is give me what we need or I will doubt your love.

Others do not understand these words but we do - and so does God.

Grumbling is ultimately a challenge to God - a test. God, if you really loved me, you would do this and since you don't do this - you don't love me. And therefore I have a right to tell You how nasty You are!!

Thank God He is God and not man and He does not play our petty games.

What does He do with our grumblings? Well, what do we do when we hear others grumble? We either agree - yes look at how bad God is or how bad that person is or how bad our circumstances are and we really deserve better - or we get frustrated and come down hard - don't you know there are people starving all over the world and you complain about ... .

God doesn't do that. Why? Because He is God. Israel has just been led out of Egypt, the Egyptian army has been defeated as Israel walked on the dry land through the Sea and Miriam has sung her song of praise. How quickly praise turns into grumbling as Israel travels through the desert only finding bitter water - water they could not drink. And they begin to grumble - what are we to drink?

What does God do? He shows Himself as God - abundant , amazing God of mercy! In Exodus 15.25-27 he does two things. He gives Moses a piece of wood that changes the bitter water into drinkable water. And then he leads them to Elim where there were 12 springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped near the water (verse 27). The amazing goodness of God. In the midst of their grumbling, he provides in abundance.

How does God deal with our grumblings. At times He provides in abundant abundance (springs, palm trees, water) and reveals our hearts - how can we grumble against such a gracious and amazing and powerful and loving God? How shameful our grumbling is in the face of this gracious God.

Seeing Lostness For What Lostness Really Is

2007-03-05T21:09:00.000-05:00

Saturday members from the Sovereign Grace Churches of Canada gathered for prayer for 4-5 hours. We spent time praying for churches, our country, seminary education, missions, church planting, fellowship and the lost. One of the prayer requests was from a missionary from Mozambique, Roland Seiler. He asked for prayer that we might see lostness for what lostness really is.

That is a profound and much-needed prayer request for our day and age. Sadly we can be so consumed with self and not see all around us who are "dying" and not hearing the gospel of Jesus. Have we lost the heart to pray for the lost because we are so filled with self?

Prayer times are heart searching times. God searched my heart as I prayed alongside my brothers and sisters - do I look at the world and all its fleeting treasures with passion, neglecting to weep and pray for the lost and dying?

In a biography on Abraham Lincoln, the author writes of him during the time of the Civil War: On the night of Bull Run, noted his secretaries, Lincoln did not go to bed, stayed on the lounge in the Cabinet room all night. The next night, having heard more accounts of the lost battle, he lay on the sofa in his office and penciled an outline of what must be done, a program for immediate action.

As I read that quote, I thought - when do I stay up and pray for the perishing? When am I consumed with a sense of the sinfulness of this life and the fleeting nature of my existence - and all around me? If Lincoln was so concerned about the dying in the battle of Bull Run, what about souls around me - dying - eternal death?

And so I pray - Lord, grant that I may see lostness for what lostness really is - break my heart to weep and pray once again -and then to faithfully share God's amazing and powerful grace.

But Why Lord?

2007-03-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

Ever ask the question why? In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul is speaking about his sufferings in the province of Asia which were far beyond his ability to endure, so that he and the others despaired even of life.

Instead of asking why, Paul states a Biblical truth. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 3 quick comments.

1. Paul is satisfied with this answer. He did not need to know the details, he simply needed to know God was present. As you ask why in your circumstances, would you be satisfied with this answer?

2. Paul knows his heart - he can easily begin to rely on himself - and so can we in our circumstances. Our God is so amazing He knows when we are becoming to self reliant and we need to focus our lives and trust on Him. And so Paul's statement of Biblical truth is really and submissive prayer of thanksgiving for God's Fatherly care.

3. Paul confesses a powerful God. We do not rely on a weak and powerless God but a God who raises the dead. Paul felt the sentence of death (verse 9a) but guess what - God is able to raise the dead. You may feel the sentence of death, as if God has abandoned you or left you to die. But God, in His power, raises the dead and displays His glory through your life.

With this confession, Paul concludes His unfailing trust in God that He will continue to deliver them and all God's people. That is what Biblical truth does - gives hope to go on as we daily die to self. Are you "under the sentence of death"? Maybe God is taking your eyes of you and placing them on His power and promises. That, believer, is a far better place to be.

How Shallow Can We Get? Let's See - Oscar Awards Is A Good Place To Start

2007-03-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

I did not watch them but only saw clips of the Oscar awards. The first question that came to my mind was is this really how shallow we have become as a society? Really? We highlight people who have done what? Lived exemplary lives which lead the next generation to great acts of kindness, love and sacrifice? Done heroic acts like saving people's lives or fighting for a country? Gone through intense suffering only to come out the other end better?

No. No, we highlight people filled with silicone who know how to act. We celebrate people who drive in stretched limos, wear expensive jewellery and dress in the latest fashion - and we ask them every shallow question. Are their lives really that interesting? Really?

It caused me to think about some of the people I know - some who are the real "heroes" by God's grace. They are the ones struggling through a difficult marriage saying they are not going to give up - they are going to sacrifice for the sake of their spouse, their children and God. They are the ones who come alongside the hurting and those filled with tears, bringing a meal and a word of encouragement. They are the ones who serve God - when it hurts - in the trenches, seeking to be faithful.

I wonder what God's red carpet looks like? Who will be on it? I imagine it would be far different than the one in the shallow world we live in. How do we get out of the shallowness? How do we celebrate what is important and eternal? There is no easy answer but I think it begins with Christ and holding onto what is eternal. What will happen to the little "Oscar" statues? They will rust, they will gather dust and ultimately - believe it or not - be destroyed. Peter tells us of a treasure kept in heaven for us that does not perish, spoil, or fade - that is because of the resurrection of Jesus.

Living for Jesus is never shallow - not when you are called to die daily to self. That is life - real life that lasts.

God Does Care

2007-02-28T13:20:00.000-05:00

By the time we reach day 6 of creation, everything was made ready for God to put living creatures on the earth he has just created. Day one we saw that he earth was formless, void, deep waters and so God created the light and separated it from the darkness. Days two and three he then separated the waters and created the atmosphere, and then he separated the water on the earth. Day four God created vegetation, followed by the creation of the sun, moon, galaxies.

In all of this, we see that the earth was the focus of God’s creation. For example, Genesis 1.1 tells us God created the heavens and the earth and then in Genesis 1.2, God speaks about what is happening on the earth. Day six tells us of the creation of animals and then Adam - the pinnacle of creation.

The importance of this is not the exaltation of humans – God is exalted. But it does speak about God's unique relationship with man and one of the main messages from Genesis 1 is God's care and provision for his creatures.

This is what makes evolution so revolting. Not only do they deny God but they deny God's care. The very one who gives them food and clothing (and many other blessings) is the very one they deny. They do not live a life of thankfulness, bowing down in worship to the God who cares for them.

The great crime of evolution is not only the denial of God as Creator but is also the unthankful nature of humans to the One who supplies the very air they breath. God has given us so many blessings, all graciously given for our enjoyment, and we are raising a generation to deny God - but even more so - God's intimate care.

No wonder Satan works overtime with evolution. He ultimately sends out the message that there is no God who cares - what a lie! God in His goodness supplied all that men and women would need – he did not leave anything in creation that would leave man wanting and he created it for their enjoyment.

Let's ... Go To A Funeral ... It's Friday

2007-02-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

I remember being at one funeral and during the reception after the service, a bunch of friends gathered in the church parking lot with the tailgate down, drinking. Inside the reception, a brochure was handed out detailing an upcoming gathering at the local pub in rembrance of the young man who passed away.

I was reading this morning Ecclesiastes 7.2-4: It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. We live in a generation who can not stand being in the house of mourning - they lived now - in the house of pleasure.

I recently attended another funeral which was not a house of mourning for the loss of a loved one but the house of celebration of a life lived. Now, that is true - but there were also many tears. Why can we not bring ourselves to think upon death today and enter the reality of sorrow?

And that is the point of the preacher in Ecclesiastes - death is common to all and it is good to be found in the house of mourning once and a while as it brings us back to reality - life lived in the presence of God.

How is a sad face good for the heart? Do you ever hear that from the world - or even the church? If you are sad something is wrong and you must get rid of it quickly and superficially. The preacher, however, tells us it is good for the heart. And it is precisely because we then come face to face with God - and that is a good place to be. In suffering, God brings his children into his tender and caring presence and ministers to them, giving them a longing for more of Him. He is a jealous God who loves us too much to allow us to love the world too much.

A house of mourning ... a sad face ... take it to heart and you will find a wise and all powerful God who draws us to Him.

3 Warnings From Jesus

2007-02-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

The Bible is extremely practical in how we may live out our faith. There are many warnings from the lips of Jesus as he walked on earth - here are three.

Matthew 16.6: Be careful, Jesus said to them, Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. There is false teaching that needs to be avoided otherwise, like yeast, it will penetrate the entire body. If we are to live faithful lives for Christ, if we are to be his faithful followers, we must be careful, be on our guard against false teachings.

Matthew 26.40-41: Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Could you men not watch with me for one hour? he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. Thank God that he knows our weaknesses, but that does not take away from watching and praying. I think there is a special warning here when our bodies are weak - tired, depressed, suffering in some way. We need to watch that we do not fall into temptation like Peter would later on and deny that he ever knew Jesus. Sin is a denial of our relationship with God and we need to guard against tempation.

Luke 12.15: Then he said to them: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. How necessary to hear this warning from Jesus. We need to watch out and be on guard against taking the good things in creation and making them gods we worship. Yes, in our society we call them misplaced priorities but the Bible calls it greed - a sin.

This is a sampling to show that part of our walk will be to stand guard against sin - watch out, be careful, stand firm, be immovable - that is part of the calling of a believer.

Final Prayer of the Bible Answered

2007-01-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

What is the final prayer of the Bible? Well, we read in Revelation 22:20 Jesus has just said: Yes, I am coming soon. The final prayer of the Bible then prays for the final words of Jesus to be answered: Amen. Come Lord Jesus (22.20b). That is the last prayer we read of in Scripture: Come Lord Jesus.

Before we look at how the prayer is answered, notice something that is often lacking in prayers today. Today we say Amen (so be it, it is truth) at the end of our prayers but the people of God must also learn to say Amen at the beginning of their prayers. In other words, they must take the words and promises of God, agree with them, believe in them, and then pray them back to God. That is why Amen in verse 20 is at the beginning of the prayer. Our prayers would then go something like this: Amen. Give me strength to stand in the midst of difficulty - and may I love you and give you glory. We start with God's Word and then believe in faith God will be found faithful and gracious.

If verse 20 is the final prayer of God's people, what happens in verse 21? Verse 21 is God's answer to the prayer of His people. The book of Revelation has been about the challenges and opposition God's people will face, all the while having the picture of the throne of the Lamb in the background. God reigns and rules. So, the final prayer is for Jesus to come and take them to glory and God's answer is: the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

Absolutely amazing! What is God saying? My grace, my undeserved kindness will carry you all the days of your life and when I come, you will be with me. Why will you continue to serve God despite opposition? God's grace. Why will you not deny Jesus if you are truly saved? God's grace. Why will you love God more than the world? God's grace. Why will the beast of the sea and the earth and the dragon not have the final victory? God's grace. Why will God's Word and the gospel go throughout the nations? God's grace. Why will you banquet at the table of God? God's grace.

The final verse in the Bible is an answer to prayer. In this answer God reminds His people why they stand - all because of God's grace.

Dry Eyes

2007-01-09T09:47:00.000-05:00

Revelation 21.4: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Contrary to much of the teaching of North American churches, Jesus did not die to make us happy. Jesus died to glorify His Father through the salvation of God's chosen people. Jesus and the apostles are unmistakably clear that those who follow Jesus will suffer - their lives will be filled with tears.

That is why Revelation 21.4 is so instructive and encouraging to the believer. A believer's earthly life will be filled with tears - we ought to expect death and mourning and crying and pain - that is the inevitable result of the Fall. Our lives, especially Christians, will be filled with a unique pain as we watch rebellion all around us - and experience it within us.

If there are tears in your life, that is part of the life God has called you to live. He promises to sustain you, comfort and help you but not take away the tears. Not yet.

When we pass from this life the first act of God we read in the new heaven and earth will be He will wipe every tear from their eyes. It is comforting that God's knows our tears here on earth and when we enter glory, he stoops, wipes and ushers you into unimaginable glory and pleasure and delight - into the very dwelling of God.

In this life, we will find our eyes moist - as we suffer personally and as we weep with those who weep. But praise God one day all results of sin will be done away with and God will give us dry eyes for all eternity.

Where To Begin Asking for Help?

2007-01-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

Psalm 121:1-2: I lift my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Going through difficult times almost always causes us to look for answers - why is this taking place? And we think that once we have the answer, we will gain perspective and be able to live through our trial or difficulty.

Psalm 121 teaches us that before we look for answers, we need to ask a question. In other words, when you are suffering, begin with asking a question, not looking for an answer.

So what question should we ask? The psalmist is so simple and profound: where does my help come from? There it is - the question. How does that help?

First, when you ask that question, your eyes are lifted from your issues and troubles, which can be overwhelming. The psalmist lifted his eyes up to the hills - something bigger than his problems. God - the Maker of heaven and earth - is able to help. This puts our issues in proper perspective.

Second, the answer was found in an unexpected place: where instead of why. When we are grieving, we often begin with why - we want to know God's ways. The psalmist begins with where - he wants to know the person of God. That is a big difference. If you are to read through the Psalm, you will find his comfort in the person and promises of God: he who watches over you will not slumber or sleep, he will be your shade at your right hand, he will keep you from all harm.

We need to train our hearts and minds to ask the right questions when we are in need of help and we do so by asking where instead of why. And our hearts will find the Maker of heaven and earth, a person whose promises and strength we may find our rest.