The Timeout

Okay, so I usually talk about lessons that God is currently teaching me and not a political or current events commentary but there are two things that I cannot let go right now and I need to vent; for my own sanity. Here it goes:



Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst system of government...besides all the rest." Well, I'm not usually one to disagree with Winston on most things, recent events have made me far more skeptical.



Let's start with politics in Canada. On this past Monday night I went to sleep in a democracy and when I woke up in some messed up place where people used words like "Prime Minister Dion." Over night the liberals had grabbed power despite the fact that they had suffered one of their worst losses in Liberal history and given the Conservatives the largest mandate for a minority government in Canadian history. If things couldn't get worse, we hear that 6 NDP MPs are going to be ministers in Dion's government with crazy Jack Layton taking Minister of Labour. Are you kidding me? A socialist becoming our minister of Labour? Have people just forgotten how the NDP royally screwed Ontario? How could this happen in a democracy? How could Canada have gone to the polls only a 6 weeks ago and elected a Conservative government and we get the unholy alliance of Liberals/NDP/Bloc? Come the end of January, Canada might have a Prime Minister that the Liberals did not even think qualified to lead their own party and which Canadians resoundly told Ottawa we didn't want.



Okay, point number two: the BCS fiasco which has somehow destroyed the Longhorn's chances of reaching the National Championship. Now, I've followed Texas all year (slight disclaimer, I am a Texas fan and I am biased towards the Longhorns so take this all with a grain of salt) and I don't think I've seen such a dominate College team. They dominated every all season except their last second loss to Texas Tech after dropping a game winning interception on the second last play. Yet, their on the outside looking in barring a miracle as Oklahoma gets the nod. Here's the kicker: TEXAS BEAT OKLAHOMA. Get that? Both teams have the exact same record, very similar schedules (Although both ESPN and SI say that Texas had the slightly harder season), and their stats are virtually identical. Yet, Texas (on a neutral field) beat Oklahoma 35-25 on a neutral field (Texas lost, on the road, and by a last second hail mary throw) yet the BCS polled writers and somehow these writers, lacking the wisdom of Solomon, have given the nod to Oklahoma. Are you kidding me? Why are we even voting? Does the NFL vote on who makes it into the playoffs? No, they pick the best record and then head to head and then record within the division.



Canadian politics and the BCS... what is one to do?

The Strong

Something about guys that has become abundantly clear as I've gotten older is that we always think were pretty strong. While it might take different forms: physical strength, mental endurance, pain tolerance, etc; the main point is that all guys are constantly thinking about our strength. Often times, that mentality can get us into some problems because more often then not, we find out that we are not as strong as we first thought. I love the old Monty Python sketch where the weightlifter sees some kids trying to lift up his wieghts but they can't do it. He laughs, pushes them out of the way and bends down to pick it up himself only to find out that he can't lift it. Rather than admit that his strength has failed him, he tries and tries only to be rebuffed by the old man who walks in, picks up the weight and hoists it over his shoulders.

Case in point, my older brother Matt. Now if you don't know my brother then you wouldn't know that he has always been quite a bit bigger than me and, therefore, has somewhat of an advantage when it comes to strength. While I might acknowledge his advantage today, there was a time when such an admission would not have been easily forthcoming. So being my brother he often said things to me growing up that I took exception to and I would gladly call him on it and struggle would quickly ensue which usually (far to common for my taste) landed me on my back.

It seems common for guys that when we get face to face with a situation that is not to our liking that we immediately fall back to strength. Whether its a situation that just looks hopeless or a job that's seems to be excessively challenging our response is always "I've got this! This can't beat me! I'll just grit my teeth, put my head down and work hard." While outwardly we complain about all of the work we have to do, inwardly we are excited to prove just how strong we are.

I am constantly astonished at how often this plays out in the lives of the great men of the bible. Again and again these so called "heros" of the bible get trapped in a situation that's tough and what do they do? Once again its like, "Step back! I got this, I'm going to get this done." And what happens? Naaman gets leprosy and tries to buy his healing with all of the wealth and influence that he can afford and, if not for his servant, would have been sent home emptyhanded. Elijah tries to single handedly take back Israel for God and winds up in a cave pouting while God starts to raise up others to do his work. While Job starts off pretty good on his own strength is ultimately lets out and then he has to match his strength against God's (one guess as to who wins). Even David, the "Man after God's own heart," sleeps with Bethsheba and then, on his own strength, spends years covering it up only to dig himself into the grand canyon of holes.

I think the ultimate example of this is the rich young man that comes to Jesus in Mark 10: 17-29. The guy comes up to Jesus after searching for eternal life his entire life and asks him the same question he's asked countless others: "What must I do to be saved." Look at the laundry list that Jesus gives to him; "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Now that's not an easy list to accomplish but the Young Man claims that he has done it all saying "all these things I've done since I was a boy." Let me just say, this guy was strong. He might not have been jacked like we equate strength but to have stated empathetically that he was able to accomplish those things in his life, to have not given in to temptation, that he had lasted; this guy was strong. And watch, he's like "done... what's next?"

Strength is a funny thing... I think that it can give us a false sense of confidence, it can make us feel invincible, like we have no weaknesses. It didn't take Jesus long to find the weak spot. Look at what Mark says next "Jesus looked at him and loved him." I can just imagine Jesus looking at this guy, past the outward acts of strength which lifted up his confidences to the very heart of the matter, "One thing you lack, go sell all you have to the poor...follow me." I don't believe for a second that this passage is really hitting on money, that those that don't sell all that they own will be incapible of attain eternal life. While money is a major concern, and with the Young Man it is obviously his biggest concern, I believe that its not the primary point of what Jesus is saying. Once again, it says "Jesus looked at him." Jesus, awesome God that he is, look at the heart of the matter and saw what was true hinderance. While this Young Man had faced temptations and won that we might find impossible in our own lives he found himself lacking something. He strength had allowed him to acheive great things yet where did he lack? His problem was his strength. All of the things that Jesus had listed off were things that the man had accomplished; loving people, honouring people, not sinning, etc. yet there was not one act of dependancy among them all. Finally Jesus says to sell it all, all that he had amassed in his strength and follow, not lead, follow Christ.

Dependancy... its kind of like the antithesis to strength, isn't it? Here's why: with strength you have accomplished something, you did it, without you there could have been no victory while dependancy removes you from the equation. Dependancy requires humility and patience while you rely on others, strength demands action and accomplishment. On the face value I think I'd pick strength over dependancy 10 times out of 10. Who wouldn't want to be strong, to accomplish, to win? The biggest problem with our strength? Its the fact that it's our strength and, by our own nature, its not enough. Take a look at these verses:

Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

1 Corinthians 1:25 "For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Isaiah 48:31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

I love that last one in Isaiah because it hits the point again and again that we all will fail. That even the strongest amongst us are going to stumble and fall and their strength will not help. Yet were told that in God is found true strength, everlasting strength, powerful strength which is not held back but given freely to those that hope in God. And were not dealing with an amateur here, God gives strength and God is stronger. Hebrews 1:3 says that God "upholds the universe by the word of his power." I'll give you a second to think about that for a second... Here I am, trying to open a jar of rasberry jam while God's holding the molecules in place. Well, it was close for a second...

So true strength comes from dependence, a complete reliance upon God to provide. While we might think that we have some form of strength on our own power, we all (like me growing up with Matt) find ourselves on our back in a hurry and questioning how strong we actually are. We always come face to face eventually with a situation, or a person, who is stronger than we are. And once again the point can be repeated "God is stronger" always. done. complete. end of discussion. So, when I come face to face with the next situation and I'm rolling up the sleeves, be with a tough situation or a difficult challenge I've found myself in, the real test is am I going to be strong enough to admit that I am weak.

The Everlasting

One of my absolute favourite movies is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Not that piffy new one but the amazing one with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. They did so much more in the first one, they went through that crazy bubble machine, it was golden eggs not possessed squirrels checking nuts, and the grampa joe was so much better that a comparison is not even necessary.

So you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I was watching TV and came across the classic version. As I watching it again I couldn't help but thinking about those everlasting gob stoppers. They sound like the coolest thing ever, never minding the fact that they look like miniature koosh balls (a huge plus in my books). Maybe it was time of night (late...) or was because I was chewing a now flavourless piece of gum but those gob stoppers looked crazy tempting. I could really understand why the bad guy (Slugworth?) was trying to get a hold of one. Gum that never goes bad? Never stops work? Never loses its appeal? Who wouldn't buy it?

Why? Because it's everlasting. I mean, all it takes is one and the problem is solved. Imagine if you slapped the "Everlasting" title and any number of products today. Everlasting jeans: jeans that never fade or rip, everlasting batteries: one change and then never again, everlasting ice cream: enjoy...

What about slapping on the everlasting to the concept of father? Everlasting father? I was reading Isaiah 9 recently and was really struck again with the title of Christ "Everlasting Father". I think sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle of all of the other absolutely ridiculously cool titles Jesus gets in the verse. Why is it so important? Of course God is everlasting, I mean, you don't run out of God, right? By the very nature of God, it means that he doesn't grow old and die, that he lasts forever. So why the need to place everlasting father in there?

I actually love this the most, this concept of God's everlasting fatherhood. It is probably the most real picture of God for us today. Lets take it in reverse:

Father: Often times people are so hostile to the gospel, to Christ, to this believed impersonal God standing on high proscribing does and don'ts. Yet the picture presented here is of an incredibly personal God. Its a tradition in my house at University to write our favorite verses on our living room wall. My new housemate this year chose Psalm 68:5 "God is the father to the fatherless and protector of the widow, is God in his holy living." I could not remember having heard this before and was struck by the personalness of the verse. That God's very dwelling is in his identity as a father. The dangerous thing about this comparison is that to large segments of the population, the father does not reflect a positive image. While the father is meant to guide, protect, comfort, and sacrifice for his child, the image we most often see is the broken and failed system of fatherhood all to common in today's world. Sadly, at best fathers are still not perfect and fail either by direct pain or the indirect inability to retain a constant vigil while at worst fathers have become the ultimate villain in our world. So why invoke a picture of the father?

Everlasting: So have you caught my all to evident illustration in the beginning as to the importance of everlasting? To everlast means to never fail, to never stop, to never go bad. This is the part that is absolutely awesome about this illustration. Everlasting and Father fit together perfectly. The very deficiencies of fatherhood are solved. God is the everlasting father in that he is the personal protector, comforter, and guardian of his child and he never fails, stops, or stands in ignorance to our needs.

So what does this mean? Why even write? Every year I can't help but notice the students around me desperatly searching for the everlasting and the personal. The manner and the means of which they fill this void only deepens my sorrow. At best they fill it with friendship, school work, and community service. The Christian community is not suddenly immune from this either; so eager to fill the void with empty religious ministry while standing on the verge of actually knowing God. So often we trade in an actual relational, vibrant, passionate following of Christ with ministry; an esstential need in the church but, as Christ told Martha in Luke 10:41, are not neccary when compared with the primacy of Christ. We flee from one solution to the other hoping to find the everlasting and when it, as all things do, ends we crash. Yet here, in Isaiah 9, we are told that God is the Everlasting Father. That when we turn to him we discover that we not only find something that finally last but actually encouter the one who will never end.

The Abundance

Abundance is such a great word, eh? When people say abundance I always think of an enormous harvest where it seems like the workers toil for days and there is no end in sight of piles of grain. So I did a quick look, abundance draws its roots from the same meaning as 'plentiful' or 'exuberance' and really describe a total fullness, a lacking for nothing, or complete satisfaction to the point of excess. It denotes plenty at the highest degree, to the point where the containment devices are bursting at the seem to hold it in. How great of a picture is that? The word cannot even describe how plentiful the situation is. To say someone has an abundance is saying a lot then, still even more to say that a Christian/Church has abundance.


I would argue that Abundance has a two fold impact on the life of Christians (I'm sure there are more but for the sake of this blog I shall proceed with only two). The first is the Christian's pursuit of abundance. Now that's a packed statement and many questions leap forward immediately: A Christian should seek abundance? Aren't we supposed to live moderatly? Shouldn't we avoid amassing possessions? let me define what "abundance" means for Christians. In John 10, Jesus tells us that he came so that we might live life and "live it abundantly." In the context of John 10, Christ is referring to not only life on earth but eternal life, the gift of salvation. Jesus is saying here that the Christian life is not only of passive participation or of a bare megerance existence. No matter what form abundance might take (there are numerous examples of financial abundance blessings (ref. Gen. 24:35 for an example), abundance of comfort (2 Cor. 1:5), joy (2 Cor. 8:2), love (2 Cor. 2:4), faith (2 Thess. 1:3), etc.), God desires that we are not passive in our pursuit of the blessings that he gives. (There is a very large difference between financial abundance and spiritual abundance but given the scope of this blog, I shall bypass that discussion. For ref. read Randy Alcorn's 'The Treasure Principle'.)

Now one question continually keeps coming up in my mind: why? Why does God 'abundantly' bless us? He doesn't have to, he could simply give us 'enough' joy, or 'enough' peace, or 'enough' resources; why does he have to give us so much that it exceeds plenty? The simple go to answer is that it illustrates the generous nature of God, that God does not simply what us to be convinced of his goodness but to be overwhelmed by it. I love the passage in Ephesians where Paul states: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask." In fact, Ephesians itself is abounding with illustrations of the depth of God's blessings and how he desires to pour them out. Furthermore, Romans 11:22 says "Oh the depths of the riches and wisdome and knowledge of God" which literally means that Paul could not see the bottom of the vast canyon that containted them. But I think that the answer doesn't end there but has practical implications to the life of a believer.


God gives to us out of his abundance so that we can give to others out of ours. Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:13-14 says "For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness." In the context, the Corinthians did not lack for material possessions. Their financial and physical needs had been met and Paul was encouraging to give generously because of the great abundance that God had blessed them with. What could the the Corinthians have been blessed out of the abundance of others if they were already materially blessed? Reading through Corinthians it becomes quickly apparent of the blarring needs of the ministry: comfort, joy, victory over sin, encouragement, assurance, etc. Paul himself provides an excellent example that drew joy and strength out of the abundance that other churches had in any number of areas. Almost all of his epistles being with him stating the joy and thanksgiving that fills his heart at the thought of their spiritual abundance (ref. Phil 1:2-11 as an example). The answer to the question must be that God abundantly bless us so that we in turn might illustrate God's great love to others by then pouring out that same blessing on them. So what does this mean for us as Christians? It means that we cannot live in isolation from other fellowships of believers. We cannot hord the abundance that God has given to us, in whatever form, under the guise of the autonomy of the local church or because of petty, inconsequential denominational differences. How contrary to God's plan for us that some continue living in abundance and blessing of spiritual fruit and are reserved in their willingness to pour that same abundance out. It's becoming increasingly easy to write a cheque for some churches, God desires more. How can we as a Christian body bless each other through our abundance?

The New!

Hey, so I have a question. Why is it that we are so attracted to new things? We like new possessions like new clothes, cars, books, and movies. We like new ideas and music, new trends and fads, new cultures and languages. It seems that we all love things that are new. Sometimes even the most ordinary items can have an extra glissen when their new. Last year I had to write a report on book for my American history class and I ordered it on Amazon. When it got to the house I opened up the package and it was the brand spankin new book (that's it to the right, sweet eh?). I was actually excited to hold this new textbook, that was at least until the realization that this book meant that I could start my fifteen page paper. The point is vaild however, we LOVE the new. I think that this love is God given. Why?

Because, when we direct this desire towards God, it leads to better worship. Some people might be "but I like the old stuff" and their right. Hymns and even older contemporary worship has its place. A connection with a worship song that God has used to speak into your life is, at times, almost as powerful as a memorized scripture that God has used to convict, encourage, or guide you in times of need. At the same time, however, God only gives two statments about the type of worship that he wants from us: loud and new. Psalm 33:3 says "Sing to him a new song" and Psalm 40:3 says "he put a new song into my mouth, a song of praise to our God" and finally Psalm 96:1 says "Oh sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth". So the reason that this desire for the new is God given? God himself says to bring the new stuff.

Why though? Why does God want new? I mean, Amazing Grace is good and so is Blessed Be Your Name. Why can't we continue with the best rather than the new. Because, by asking for the new, God destroys our stagnation. All worship, not just hymns, is in danger of falling into ritual rather than authentic, outward rather than inward. New worship pushes us out of our comfort zones, the songs that we know and that we have memorized and into a place where reliance is once again placed upon God. I believe that God asks for new worship because new worship reminds the worshipper that that its about God, rather than about their own needs and wants (and that's why my gratitude goes out to the worship leader that, although skillful, points the worshipers to God rather than their own skill). Don't get me wrong, I have my favorites, but how many times have I let that hinder my worship by not appreciating the songs being brought by the worship leader.

So following along with John 4:24, where Jesus says "God is spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth", we need return to God centered worship where we worship God for who he is not because of the song that appears on the screen. New worship is our chance to do that with humility, authenticity, and obedience.

The Let Down

Probably the most disheartening aspects of the human life is the let down. That is, when you have expectations that are not met by any number of people, places, or things. It could be your first trip to Disney Land (that met my expectations: crazy fun), your friend that was late (unfortinatly, I'm usually "that" friend), or possibly the Toronto Maple Leafs (...sigh...).

Example: my first experience of bubble tea. On the walk over to the restaurant, the group I was with went on and on about how bubble tea was the greatest drink since vanilla coke (I love vanilla coke...). We ordered our drinks and the expectation continued to mount until I finally held the drink in my hand. For those of you who don't know bubble tea, its very unusual unless you have been properly prepared for it. Sure it was good but it was bascially a more expensive milk shake with disgusting globs in it. I left the store with my wallet lighter and my crest fallen, what had happened? It was good, but not good enough.

My life decided to hit me with another one of those experiences recently and it got me thinking about not meeting expectations and how it can permenantly turn us off from something. I might have been satisfied had it not been that my expectations had set a standard that it couldn't meet. Doesn't that apply to God though? I mean, I was reading in Amos the past couple of nights and it continually discusses God's purity and the Israelites failure. Paul says in Romans 3 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God wanted us to be holy as he was holy (1 Peter) so that he could be in a relationship with him but, we let him down. How does "The Let Down" affect God? I mean, when I get let down, it can affect me for a long time and if its a person who has seriously let me down, it can have lasting impact on both ends of the relationship.

The awesome part of it? God completely stands this expectation on its head. Ephesians 2 says that "while we were still sinner Christ died for us". Did you catch it? the "still"? God responded kind to us, even when were the ones that had failed to meet the expectation. Once again, near the end of Romans 3, Paul talks about the free gift of grace that is offered to us and the redemption of sins by Christ. God's expectations of us were fair, yet he reached out after our own failure and despite of our sin and reversed our own expectations. God doesn't let expectations get in the way of what he's really after: us. God radical display of grace places the decision back to us and how we are going to respond to the gift.

I guess this means that in order to live a life that is seeking to follow Christ in all that I do, I need to stop with the expectations or when people fail remember God's reaction to the times that I don't measure up.

The Purpose

...so...blogging...

This past week has been the most difficult in my academic career. The strange aspect of this? I have had no assignments, mid-terms, or anything at all due. I have been simply trying to write an essay and having very little return for my effort. For my efforts, probably a combined twenty-five hours over the past four days I have produced a grand total of 436 words. Amazing eh? So I'm stuck here trying desperatly to figure out how to stretch my total into 3,000. So whats the problem?

Well, the problem is that there is more than one problem. Have you ever been faced with decision upon decision, fear upong fear, idea upon idea, until your unable to stop thinking about the same things in succession? It becomes like those stations that only play Friends: sure its great at the beginning but common, how many times can a person take those six people before their head explodes. It has gotten to the point that I can't even sleep at night, lying awake until 2,3,4 in the morning. As soon as you push one thought out, the next one comes in and your wide awake, counting how many times my computer light flashes (I've made it to 200; great considering the number, horrible considering the task). So the goal of these blogs, and there is a goal, believe it or not, is to simply voice the ideas, thoughts, etc. I guess that's what blogging is anyway, right?

Ok, so.... blogging...we'll see.