Quotes from Max Lucado - "God Came Near"

"Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see his Majesty and to imitate him, that is the sum of Christianity."

"'Love your neighbor' was spoken by a man whose neighbors tried to kill him... The challenge to leave family for the gospel was issued by one who kissed his mother goodbye in the doorway... 'Pray for those who persecute you' came from the lips that soon would be begging God to forgive his murderers."

"Something about death makes us accuse God of betrayal...

     You see, if God is God anywhere, he has to be God in the face of death. Pop psychology can deal with depression. Pep talks can deal with pessimism. Prosperity can handle hunger. But only God can deal with our ultimate dilemma - death. And only the God of the Bible has dared to stand on the canyon's edge and offer an answer. He has to be God in the face of death. If not, he is not God anywhere."

"Jesus' death was not the result of a panicking cosmological engineer. The cross wasn't a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn't a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. the death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.

     No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. 'It was the Lord's will to crush him.' the cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the writs of God, a master plan was fulfilled.

     What does that mean? It means Jesus planned his own sacrifice.

     It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.

     It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.

     It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman.

     It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.

     And it also means he didn't have to do it - but he did."

"You have to wonder if God's most merciful act is his refusal to answer some of our prayers."

"Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as it is that we don't know the right thing for which to hope."

A Word of Encouragement

We live in a world that can be pretty inhospitable at times. One of Jesus' least popular promises was that "in this world you will have trouble." Isn't that the truth? Some days can really wear on you.

I have been feeling tired and a little run down lately, as the pace has been hectic. This is, of course, largely self-inflicted as I tend to take on more than I can chew. Add to the physical wear and tear the emotional baggage we pick up along the way, the inevitable people problems and the occasional speeding ticket and we can start to feel like things are in a bit of a tailspin. What can we do when it begins to feel like the wheels are coming off?

One of the best pieces of advice I can give is this, when things aren't looking good to you, change your perspective. When life is dragging you down, look up. I have found this to be one of the most helpful things that I can do.

The Psalmist David, no stranger to difficult times, wrote in Psalm 121: "I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Have you ever stopped and thought about the God who is revealed in Scripture? As David states, God is the maker of heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1 simply begins with the four words "In the beginning, God..." It's a simple statement of fact, a declaration, if you like.

Before anything was, there was God, eternal, the uncreated Creator of all that we see.  David Coppedge writes that "astronomers estimate that there are as many galaxies outside the Milky Way as there are stars in it. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, taken in 2004, imaged 10,000 galaxies in a cone of space so slim you could cover it with a grain of sand held at arm's length. Integrated over the entire sky, that would mean there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe, many with more than 100 billion stars each. According to Psalm 147:4, God calls them all by name."

Yet this God, the God who also formulated the intricacies of human DNA, is concerned with you. He sees every sparrow that falls, and he sees everything we are going through as well. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." 

I find that it always helps, in the middle of whatever mess I have created or have had dropped in my life, to ask the very important question, where is God in all of this? If you don't see him in your picture, you need to invite him in. Jesus said in John 10:10 that "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

This doesn't necessarily mean that all of your problems may be solved - it may actually be quite the opposite. But what it will mean is that your main and foremost issue will be resolved - that of your relationship with the God who loves you. His answer to the pain and the suffering on this planet was to enter into our experience and suffer with us. He triumphed over death and the grave, defeating the adversary we couldn't handle on our own. He said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." 

What has God done for you? He has given you Himself. He has given you his presence. For those who trust in him, he has guaranteed their future. God loves you, yes you! Warts and all. He loves you in spite of your failings and even in spite of your outright disobedience. Some of you just need to sit back and let that soak in for a while. GOD LOVES YOU! Love him back. As Michael Green said, "Jesus did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead men live."

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Rumors of Hope

It's not only the events this week in Newtown, Connecticut that should affect us. The world is full of tragedy and suffering. Children die every day of hunger and malnourishment. If you've traveled to the third world or witnessed tragedy you've likely seen the pain on the faces of helpless parents or orphaned children and asked "why?"

Yet in the midst of all of this, we are called to care; called to love; called to serve. We're called to make a difference. That may seem like a daunting task - after all, how can we fix problems on such a grand scale? But, as Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." I admired her so much for her attitude and her dedication. She also said, "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."

We who call ourselves by Christ's name cannot allow ourselves to sink into despair, which is the surrender of hope. Every day we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people around us. In fact, in Matthew 25, Jesus taught us this lesson in The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. He said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ "The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

There is a light in the darkness; there is a peace in the midst of the storm. As theologian Carl F. Henry wrote about Jesus: "He planted the only durable rumor of hope amid the widespread despair of a hopeless world." Go and do likewise. 

I end with a prayer written by Max Lucado.

Dear Jesus,
It's a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.

These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.

The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?

Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.

Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.

This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

Hopefully,
Your Children

 

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Thoughts on Suffering and Hope

Today I had the chance to listen to some great teachers talk on the subject of hope, and more specifically, hope in tough times. I wanted to try to share some of those thoughts with you.

I have seen a few things in my lifetime. I have witnessed suffering and had a little of my own. Nothing I have seen compares to what I have heard about today. There are some very sad stories in our sometimes ugly world. But even amongst the suffering, there are incredible stories of hope.

I heard today from two young women whose life experiences have allowed them to see and hear first-hand what I have only read about in newspapers. The first was Amy Orr-Ewing, Director of Programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and Training Director for RZIM Europe. Amy has had opportunity to minister around the world, even smuggling Bibles into Taliban territory, her group placing one in the hands of a leading Taliban Imam.

The story that she shared that struck me today, however, was of an Anglican archbishop in Africa by the name of Benjamin Kwashi. He has the unenviable task of ministering in a particularly volatile region in Nigeria. You may have seen him in the news as Christians in the City of Jos were attacked and killed by Islamic militants on numerous occasions in recent years.

It is a dangerous place to be a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A few years ago, militants came to his house to find and kill the archbishop. Not finding him home, they instead brutalized his wife, Gloria, in unimaginable ways. He came home to find his wife in this state. She spent a number of months in the United States in recovery, including surgery to restore her eyesight. After her physical recovery, he asked her what she would like to do, was she willing to return to this dangerous place? Her answer was yes, there was work still to do. She returned to the scene of this brutality to continue to share the Gospel.

Some time later her husband was alone when, once again, the militants came to try to finally silence this leader of the church. They brought him into the yard to take his life. He asked if he could be allowed a few moments to pray to his God - his attackers agreed. In African style he raised his hands and began to pray loudly. He prayed for several moments and waited with his eyes closed for several more, expecting death. When he finally opened his eyes he found that he was all alone. His son came home just at that time and asked his father what had happened. He had just crossed paths with thirty armed militants who were running away in terror. What they had seen God knows, but the archbishop continues his ministry - there is hope in the darkness, and the church grows. Among other things, the Kwashis accommodate 50 orphaned children in their home whom they feed and educate. A further 150 children, housed nearby, are also educated in the compound.

Naomi Zacharias has worked for Coca-Cola as well as interning in the Executive Office of President George W. Bush. Her interest in global issues regarding children and women lead her to become the director of RZIM Wellspring International, an organization helping to equip organizations aiding women and children at risk around the world.

Naomi spoke of the plight of women caught up in the web of human trafficking, and the challenges of trying to help them. She has gone to places where 40-50% of the children are sold into the sex trade. She articulately speaks of the humanity of each of these people. They are not simply statistics, they are individuals, each with their own story, each worth redemption, and that we are all called to try to make a difference, even if it doesn't seem like we are making progress.

As C.S. Lewis said, “Sorrow turns out to be not a state, but a process." There are times when all that we can do is to be with someone in their pain; to hear their story - to help to restore their dignity. As Christians we must remember that, even when it seems dark, this is not the end, and there is still more of the story yet to be lived out. Our role is to love and to care and to share. As Naomi said today, "Heaven is the happily ever after but until then, we live in some very hard realities."

So, why persevere? Why keep fighting when it seems as though the odds are overwhelming? She gives two reasons for us as believers:

1. We persevere because it's right.
2. We persevere because people matter.

This is true regardless of the issue. Here's the question of the day: what can you do - today - to make a positive difference in someone's world?

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What's Wrong With the Church?

Today I sat in on a number of sessions with some of the leading thinkers in the church today, men like Os Guinness and Stuart McAllister. The sheer volume of information is hard to digest, but I'd like to share some of what I picked up today.

It's no secret that in many places across North America the church is in trouble. In many circles, churches are experiencing declining attendance and offerings. In the U.S., the religious right has lost much of its credibility and effectiveness and, many say, its way. In Canada, many Christian leaders have become cynical, wringing their hands over what to do to turn the tide.

In a round-table discussion tonight, some of the issues discussed that are facing the church are these: cynicism, pessimism, selfish entitlement and short-sightedness. Many leaders are looking at the move away from the Christian morality which once defined our culture and are at a loss as to how to reverse the trend. They have a very short-term view of things.The selfish entitlement is partially the result of the prosperity Gospel and its kin. A generation of Christians have come to faith believing that it's all about them; they have an incomplete Gospel.

So, what are the answers? How do we change the perspective of those Christians who have lost a sense of hope?

Travel
I'm not talking about vacation here. I'm talking about moving away from our view of the world that sees everything through the eyes of Canada or the U.S. There's a great big world out there. The time for ignorance is long past, particularly for Christians. We need to take a look at what the issues are in the world around us; not just in our own back yard. If you can't afford to travel, at least read news stories from other parts of the world. Find out what's happening in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, etc... Subscribe to the news feeds for some Missions organizations. Understand what is happening and why the church is growing in many parts of the world. Broaden your vision.

Look at History
This is particularly true for church leaders. We must understand the past. What has the church experienced throughout history from which we can learn? Are there any parallels to our time? How can the church best influence culture? History bears witness to a church that has often faced obstacles which seemed insurmountable. As G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Five times the church has gone to the dogs, but each time it was the dog that died.”

Too many of our young people have become disillusioned with the church failures of the recent past. While those are not to be minimized, they do not negate the truth of the Gospel. A larger view of history reveals that the church has been responsible for much that is good in our world - hospitals, public schools, universities, a myriad of charitable organizations that have enhanced the lives of millions, and so much more. Christian leaders like William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King, Jr., motivated by their faith, have brought about changes that have shaped society for the better.

Keep Eternity in Mind
The Bible tells us that we are made for eternity, yet many Christians act as though this is all that there is. Jesus came to redeem and restore. He came to establish a Kingdom of righteousness that will endure forever. Part of the fulfillment of that awaits His return, but part of it is to be accomplished as we live out His teachings in this day and age in the real world conditions that surround us.

What does His Gospel have to say about human trafficking? or the AIDs epidemic in Africa? In light of eternity, what ought our response be to poverty? How ought we to live our lives as Christians in a world that is in desperate need of hope?

We need to understand what the Church has actually been called to do. When Jesus said to "Come," He didn't say to come to a party, He said "Take up your cross and follow me."  It was a call to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. The early church changed the world because they walked in obedience to the teachings of Jesus, even when it cost them dearly. When the Romans would abandon unwanted children by the open sewers to die, it was the Christians who took them home and raised them as their own. When disease spread and families abandoned their own, it was Christians who stayed behind and nursed them until they recovered or died. Why? Christ commanded us to love our neighbour.

For the church to find itself again, (and not everyone is lost) it needs to return to the simple truths of the Gospel. Hope lies in Christ - not politics. I didn't come to Christianity to make me happy, I came because it's true. The message of Christ conforms to reality and He and He alone provides the hope that every soul longs for. I, for one, believe that the best days of the church are ahead.

Which of these do you feel is the most pressing need in the church today?

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A New Look At Justice

The following is a great article I just read about a different approach to criminal justice. This subject has long been debated and I know there are entrenched opinions on both extremes of the political spectrum. However, as Christians we need to look for Biblical principles in regards to justice, including restorative justice.

This article details some of the changes made in the State of Hawaii, which could provide some helpful lessons in other places, including Canada. All of North America is experiencing overcrowding in our prisons and a backlog in our courts. There's got to be a better way. Hopefully this article will get you thinking. By the way, Prison Fellowship now has a uniquely Canadian branch. Check out their web-site here. I've added links throughout the article for those of you who would like to look further.

Friends of HOPE
Win-Win Justice
- by Jim Liske
Prison Fellowship CEO

Just about everyone who has spent time around the American criminal justice system will tell you that it is broken. Political scientist James Q. Wilson, whom no one would ever call “soft on crime,” described the heart of the problem this way: “This country imprisons too many people on drug charges with little observable effect.”

Yet, despite the obvious problems, the status quo persists in most places. Fortunately, one place is doing things differently.

That place is Hawaii. For years, Judge Steve Alm watched as the system failed time and again. Drug offenders on probation would consistently flunk drug tests, and after 13 or 14 violations would be sent to prison for a long time. Judge Alm, a former federal prosecutor, wondered, “Why do we let them continue to break the rules? Why not impose consequences immediately — on the first violation — but not sentence them for years, but just days, to get their attention and let them know we’re serious about them staying clean?”

He hit upon the problem with the old way of handling violations: the lag between violations and other consequence was so long that most offenders believed they could act with impunity.

Out of Judge Alm’s frustration grew Project HOPE, which stands for “Hawaii Opportunity Probation with Enforcement.” One of HOPE’s guiding principles is that what matters with drug and other non-violent offenders is the certainty, not the severity, of punishment. That’s why under the HOPE program, the sanctions are certain, swift, and fair.


Offenders are required to call a hotline to learn whether they are going to be tested that day. Failing the drug test leads to immediate arrest. They sit in jail until a hearing, usually within 48 hours. This is all it takes for most of them to “get with the program.”

The results are striking: HOPE participants are “55 percent less likely to be arrested for a new crime, 72 percent less likely to test positive for drugs and 61 percent less likely to skip appointments with their probation officer.”

In a clear example of “win-win;” for every dollar Hawaii spends on HOPE, it saves three dollars. And communities are safer. This is the kind of smart approach that Justice Fellowship has been advocating for years. It begins with a biblical, clear-eyed view of human nature. It holds offenders accountable without adding to prison overcrowding. HOPE’s success has caused other jurisdictions to be willing to embrace this alternative to incarceration.

That’s why Virginia legislators were willing to work with Justice Fellowship to establish similar pilot programs in that state. In fact, one of these programs is located near Prison Fellowship’s national office in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Programs like HOPE hold offenders accountable and save money. They are also the right thing to do. The Hope program allows non-dangerous offenders to maintain their ties with their communities and learn how to obey the law even when they are not being constrained. That’s why the HOPE program is so aptly named.

For more information on biblically based solutions for our nation’s (U.S.) criminal justice system, visit JusticeFellowship.org

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