Advent Conspiracy - (Canadian Version)

What if?

The Secret Santa Knew the Real Secret of Joy

Truth can be so annoying. If annoying truth was a Jeopardy category it might look like this…
“I’ll take Annoying Truths for $100, Alex.”This famous preacher said, “Give me five minutes with a person’s checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.”“Who is Billy Graham? I’ll take Annoying Truths for $200, Alex.”This missionary to India said, “You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.” “Who was Amy Carmichael, Alex. I am getting very uncomfortable with this topic so let’s take “Sins that make you worse than me for $100.”

Money is an uncomfortable topic for followers of Jesus. One anonymous writer noted that a lot of people are willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give Him the cash. Twenty-nine years ago a man in Kansas City made a choice to give away the cash. It was a choice that changed his life and the lives of thousands more. For the next 27 years until his death, a man known only as Secret Santa roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In later years, Secret Santa handed out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. He anonymously gave out about $1.3 million. It was a long-held holiday mystery: Who is the Secret Santa? Before Christmas in 2006, weakened from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa decided it was time to reveal his identity.

“Santa” turned out to be Larry Stewart, a 58-year-old businessman from the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit, Mo., who made his millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service. While Stewart also gave money to other community causes in Kansas City and his home town of Bruce, Miss., he offered the simple gifts of cash because it's something people didn’t have to "beg for, get in line for, or apply for."

His story may be even more timely this Christmas season. Stewart’s epiphany happened just before Christmas in 1979. His circumstances were dire. For the second year in a row he had been fired just days before Christmas. He admits that he was wallowing in self-pity when he learned that giving returned an inexplicable joy. That simple discovery changed him, the entire city of Kansas City, and beyond. Let’s pick up the story as Stewart was nursing his wounds at a drive-in restaurant after getting fired once again. He describes that December day in his own words.

"It was cold and this car hop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,"' he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change. "And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, `Sir, you have no idea what this means to me."'

Larry Stewart was deeply touched. He decided to go to the bank that day and took out $200, then drove around looking for people who could use a lift. That was his "Christmas present to himself." He hit the streets each December every year after that Christmas. In January of 2007 Larry Stewart died died from complications caused by esophageal cancer. He was only fifty-eight years old.

Even after his passing his mission lives on. Stewart spoke often to community groups about his devotion to kindness and to inspire others to donate their time and money. "That's what we're here for," Stewart says, "to help other people out."

Larry Stewart learned the reality of money and possessions that was eloquently expressed by author Thomas Fuller. “Riches enlarge rather than satisfy appetites.”
As a follower of Christ I think Stewart has it half right when he notes that we are here to help other people out. The religious scholars asked Jesus what a purpose driven life should look like.

"Teacher, which command in God's Law is the most important?" Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." (Matthew 22, The Message)

The truth is that when I love and trust God with all of my passion and intelligence I have the freedom to allow God to love others through me. During this Christmas season I am challenging you to join me in trying Larry Stewart’s experiment. Go buy yourself a gadget or outfit or bauble. Note the reading on your personal joy meter. Then go give money to a desperate Mom trying to make ends meet. Or give some cash to an elderly couple who can’t pay the heating bill. Deliver a Christmas gift to children who would not receive gifts any other way. Check your personal joy meter again. Then note which action has given you real joy. Was it acquiring more stuff or meeting real needs in the lives of others? Larry Stewart learned that lesson. And the world is a better place because of the revelation he experienced on a cold December day twenty-nine years ago.

Pray about what you can give this Christmas. Remember that Larry Stewart started small. I pray that you will receive the kind of joy that drove the Kansas City “Secret Santa”. I pray that you will experience the chance to witness the surprised joy of a person receiving an unexpected and much needed gift. That is kind of like salvation given by grace, isn’t it? A gift of grace received only by faith. I unwrapped that gift almost forty years ago and it is still changing me today. That is the gift that Jesus brought to Bethlehem two millenia ago. And that is another gift we should be eager to share this Christmas season.

October Baptism ~ Long Lake Camp

I'll be the first to admit I am not very good at praying.  I don't mean that I can't get the words or thoughts put together to pray, I just don't do it often enough.

Most of us pray when we need help from God.  "God please do this or God please help me with that".  You know how it goes.  What do you do when life is good?  It is far too easy to take credit yourself for the good times and blame God for the bad ones.  

Take a moment now if you can and thank the Lord for your life, your family your friends and Christ.  It only takes 2 seconds to say thank you but those two words go a long way.  Think of all the times you did something for someone and they didn't thank you.  I bet you remembered that didn't you?  By the same token you probably remembered if they did and that made you feel pretty good.  Why is God any different?

With that I say Thank you God for everything, good and bad.  It is Christ who shaped me, saved me and reserved a space for me in Heaven.  Thank you.

It's Been Too Long

I must apologize for the time between my contributions to the Blog.  Between new jobs, studies and prepping for Municipal Elections I have neglected to post.  Not to mention the issue with my parents that had all but consumed our summer but more on that another time.

The Lord will Provide.  We've all heard that one before right?

"Sure He will", most people would say sarcastically.  I am here to tell you brothers and sisters that He indeed will.  Without writing a 5000 word essay on "How the Lord has provided this summer" I will try to explain.

There have been a number of occasions since I turned my life over to Christ where our family has wondered how we would weather certain "financial storms", especially the last  few months during career changes for us both.

When Trina was ending most days at work crying from the stress, the Lord put a dear friend on my path who presented our family with a chance for me to work full-time and my wife to leave her job and stay at home with the kids (I was a stay-at-home Dad for 8 years).

When we were just about to make the switch, cutting our income almost in half, the Lord saw our need and let's just say, money arrived out of nowhere.

When we needed to re-think our "vehicle situation", He guided us to a solution that just couldn't have happened any other way.  

To some, most maybe, it's coincidence.  To me, to people who truly believe that the Lord is around us, watching us and helping us, there is no doubt His hand was there every step of the way.  

Maybe for you it will be time that He gives you.  Maybe it will be money, a friend, healing or simply love.  Whatever it is that you need pray, ask for help.  He knows what you need but wants to hear you call Him.  

Remember A Field of Dreams?  "If you build it, they will come"

To you I say, "If you need Him, He will come".

When the Praises go Up, The Blessings come down...

Always.

Fearless Living

“God wants you to have a blessed life. He wants you to reach farther than you have ever reached and to bless so many others” (Edward John).
by Edward John

It’s important to know that God wants you to succeed so you can live a rewarding and fulfilling life. On the other hand, you also need to be aware that the enemy wants you to fail. He does this by pulling you down and holding you back with fear.1) Here are some of the greatest fear factors that he uses to hinder you from reaching your destiny:


Fear of man
Fear of loneliness
Fear of failure
Fear of God

No one said it would be easy and no one promised us a ride on angel wings, but you and I can have the assurance that the power of the Holy Spirit is available to help us.2) According to the Bible, anyone who believes and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord has access to His resurrection power.3) Because the Holy Spirit resides within us, we can experience the energizing power of God to live life more abundantly.4)

Fear of Man

As soon as we think we’ve got to measure up to what others think, the fear of man kicks in. To overcome this snare, we need to be more concerned about what God thinks instead. For it’s His opinion that really counts. No matter what others think or say, we can place our trust in Him by standing upon His Word, upon His promises, and upon all the things that He has said. Of course, we should love and respect people, but we must honour God first.5) He should always be number one in our lives. When you place your trust in Him – rather than in another human being – the fear of man will be broken.

Fear of Loneliness

What a beautiful thing loneliness can be if you understand what God does in the midst of these times of solitude. Moses was out in the desert, all alone, when God appeared to him in a burning bush, announcing that he had been chosen to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.6) It was while confined in prison that God prepared Joseph to become one of the greatest rulers in history.7) David was out by himself in the pasture field caring for sheep when he was appointed by God – eventually becoming one of the most famous kings of the world.8) This leads us to Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords.”9) Often surrounded by people, Jesus would withdraw purposely and go to a quiet, solitary place.10) The “King of kings” knew that unless He spent these special moments alone with His Heavenly Father, He would never become all that He was destined to be.

So don’t be afraid of loneliness and definitely don’t start complaining. Murmuring and complaining will just take you away from the presence of God. Rather, take time to enjoy being alone in His presence. Make this decision so you can move up to the next level and become all that He desires you to be. Remember, it’s important training ground.

Fear of Failure

We are all so afraid of failing, aren’t we? Yet, as humans, we’ve all made our share of mistakes.11) But it’s the attitude of our hearts that’s going to determine whether we’ve failed in the eyes of Almighty God.12) If your heart is geared toward pleasing Him, He is going to make sure every mistake you have ever made works together for good.13) He also promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”14) No matter what you do – as long as you abide by the Word of God – you will always succeed.15) So friend, don’t be afraid of failure. Rise up, become like a lion on the inside and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”16)

Fear of God

Many people think that we need to be terribly afraid of God. Although the Bible does state that we are to have a reverential fear of Him,17) it is not to be confused with being frightfully scared. Rather it’s referring to our need to honour and respect Him as our Heavenly Father.18) The healthy boundaries He has set for us in His Word are not meant to make our lives boring or difficult, nor are they designed to make us fail. To the contrary, He lovingly gave them to us so we could avoid all the things that will sidetrack us from reaching our maximum potential.19) By walking according to His healthy boundaries, we’ll be able to abide in His love and peace.20) “God is love” – perfect love – and “perfect love casts out fear.”21)

Endnotes

1) 2 Timothy 1:7
2) John 14:26; 15:26
3) John 10:10
4) Acts 1:8
5) Matthew 22:37-39
6) Exodus 3
7) Genesis 39
8) 1 Samuel 16
9) Revelation 19:16
10) Matthew 14:23
11) Romans 3:23
12) 1 Samuel 16:7
13) Romans 8:28
14) Hebrews 13:5
15) Joshua 1:8
16) Philippians 4:13
17) Psalm 11:10
18) Malachi 1:6
19) Deuteronomy 5:33
20) Romans 2:10
21) 1 John 4:8,18

Born in Oslo, Norway, Edward John always excelled in sports as a youth, becoming one of the country’s top junior ski-jumpers and a promising professional soccer player. One day, while on the field, he heard a voice saying, “Are you going to run after Me like you run after that ball?” Edward knew it was a clear call from God, and decided to dedicate his life to Him. He has since become an exceptional artist, musician, author, TV host and speaker – touching audiences around the world with the Gospel.

Your Life is a Story: You Choose the Ending

Dim Capacity For Wings emailed this and I found it helpful and timely as it ties in with our recently completed EPIC study...

When prayer is our lifeline then we partner with God and come into a greater fullness of fulfilling God’s plans and purposes for our lives.

by Margaret Gibbs

In his book, Know Your Story, Shape Your Future, Dan Allender, writes: "You are a story. You are not merely the possessor and teller of a number of stories; you are a well-written, intentional story that is authored by the greatest Writer of all time, and even before time and after time.”

Prayer is one of the primary themes in our story. We are impoverished if we regard prayer as a religious activity. When prayer is our lifeline - our spiritual breathing - then we partner with God and come into a greater fullness of fulfilling God’s plans and purposes for our lives.

The power of prayer is best seen in our daily lives. Prayer changes and transforms us. Prayer is far more than asking and receiving, it is becoming. When we pray, we create our own prayer atmosphere by our thinking and attitudes. Our attitudes are shaped by our thoughts. Our thoughts form our prayers.

John Ortberg in his book, God Is Closer Than You Think, writes: “Being with God is something that takes place primarily in our thoughts, our mind. To experience the closeness of God, it means a revolution of the mind.” Back in my teen years, when I fought insecurity, acute shyness and a limited purpose, my praying came out of my own insecurity. I approached prayer with trepidation. I battled questions such as: “Does God care for me? What do I have to prove to God to be accepted? Would God just drop me if I didn’t reach a level of personal goodness?” In those days, I felt I wasn’t being embraced by God. I failed to understand what was recorded in His Word. He loved me with an everlasting love and would never leave me nor forsake me. He was embracing me and lovingly calling me into His presence but my own thinking created a disconnect between God and myself. I was in a self-inflicted prison and only Word-based prayer could set me free.

How we view ourselves is the most revealing commentary on our theology and can be the greatest hindrance in prayer development. In later years I kept an extremely busy schedule and battled the Spirit’s gentle call to prayer. I resisted because my mind and heart were elsewhere. At one mid-week church prayer meeting, I had a wake-up call when, surrounded by incredible intercessors, I found myself writing out my "to do" list.

Multi-tasking and my demanding schedule pulled me farther from my heavenly Father. He seemed removed, unreachable. Only Word-based praying could transform my thinking and bring me into a place of spiritual hunger.

A personal crisis was the catalyst God used to call me to intercession. Emotionally drained, I turned to God’s Word. The book of Ephesians became like a stream of fresh water to my parched and weary soul. I studied and prayed Paul’s prison prayers – word by word and phrase by phrase – assimilating God’s truth into my spirit. My prayer time steadily increased until an hour in prayer seemed like mere minutes.

Prayer became an incubator for change. God’s Word came alive in my heart – my thinking was transformed! I finally saw God as able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine or think according to His power that is at work within us. I saw myself as chosen, called in partnership with God to fulfill His plans and purpose for my life. The plot of our stories could forever change if we prayed the Scriptures, allowing His truth to change our thoughts and attitudes, transforming our prayers by becoming a divine partnership – one page at a time.

Hope this helps...

Power of Prayer

Just a short post today.

I just found out I passed my Canadian Securities Exam and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  The failure rate for this course is 70%.

The day before I wrote the exam I asked a number of men (the large Sons of Thunder) if they would pray for me during my exam.  Now I'll be honest, I didn't pass with flying colours.  In fact, it was close but it was a pass, which is a high enough mark (it's not 50%).  I'm telling you this to make a very important point though.  I left the exam feeling like there was little doubt I wouldn't pass.  Some of that was because of the fact I studied of course but a lot of that was because I knew God would take care of me.  I knew if there were people also asking God to help me, I would be taken care of.  There was that confidence I have mentioned before.  My guys have got my back and so does the Lord.  The path I am now on is the path God wants me on and because of that, because I know that, I am in good hands and He will help me the whole way through.  

If you need anything, any help, we are all here to pray for you and that is powerful.

David

Tombstone Story

How do you want to be remembered? In our EPIC study, we've been talking about the "Story of the Bible" and our place in the story. Here's an interesting article by author/ comedian Phil Callaway, on a brief summary of your life - your tombstone story! Have a quick read.


TOMBSTONE EVANGELISM, by Phil Callaway

On the night of my 35th birthday, I tucked my ten-year-old into bed. He squinted at me. "How old are you?" he said. "Thirty-five, Son," I replied. "Wow!" yelled Stephen, "You're half dead!" I tucked him in calmly, went across the hall and removed him from the will. Actually, I got thinking about how fast these years have gone. And we pick up speed the closer we get to Home. So I decided to pick out a tombstone. There are some real winners out there.

One says, "He should have ducked." Another headstone reads, "Here lies an atheist. All dressed up and no place to go." A woman in Key West, Florida, married to a man who was known as a womanizer, ordered a tombstone that read: "Frank, at least I know where you're sleeping tonight." Such a horrible epitaph should cause us to ask ourselves: What are we leaving behind? What will be our legacy?

I asked some of the best-known Christians of our time those questions. I think you'll enjoy their answers.

Josh McDowell, the internationally-renowned apologist said, "When God called me into the ministry He never called me to be successful. He called me to be obedient. And I'd like to be remembered as a man who was obedient and faithful right up to the end. I want to take as many people as I can with me to Heaven, and enjoy life along the way."

Author Elizabeth Elliot had a simple answer: "I want to be remembered as a servant of God. Nothing else."

Popular singer Steven Curtis Chapman said: "I hope my children will say I was a committed father. And it would be nice if people remembered a song here and there, but that's pretty insignificant compared to my desire to know Christ and to make Him known."

And popular songwriter Gloria Gaither, whose song "Because He Lives" has been translated into almost every known language on earth, summed it up this way: "If I had to write my epitaph, it would probably say, 'She gave herself away for the things that last forever.'"

And what would I like on my tombstone? Simply this: "He found God's grace too amazing to keep to himself."

How about you? What would you like to be remembered for? Even when you're half dead, you still live your life on purpose!

Phil Callaway is an award-winning writer and popular speaker.
Visit him online at philcallaway.com

Cardboard Testimonies

Here's proof that testimonies can be brief.

Testimonies

David started this ball rolling. He was the first to add his testimony here and challenged the rest of us to do the same. The idea being that we take turns each month. The one who offers the thoughts benefits from the exercise of ‘writing it out’ and the reader gets the opportunity to hear how God has transformed a man’s life. It’s a great idea.

When we lived in BC, I was asked to share my story at a Christian Businessmen’s Banquet. The organizers asked me to fill 45 minutes. 45 minutes! I can write and I can speak…but 45 minutes to say what’s on my mind is way too long.

I somehow managed to pull it off but left the meeting feeling like it must have been dreadfully dry and dull. When I think back on that event…and consider what to say here I am struck by the fact that most men are never invited to tell their story. Nobody asks to hear it. When has someone asked to hear your testimony?

What bugs me is that men are generally perceived to be not the ‘sharing’ kind. Consensus is that men do not want to share much of anything…maybe the odd power tool but heaven forbid a serious spiritual thought, question or response. I think that most guys are happy to be perceived in this light…wrong as it may be. Why is it easier and strangely more acceptable for a man to be a goof than a genius? Get too serious about life and you run the risk of being pegged a freak or a sap.

Regardless, I think that every man wants to tell his unique story in context. He needs to share his heart, he needs to be understood and he needs to know that he is accepted as-is. It may not pour out all at once but over the course of weeks or years. So long as it happens. With trust comes a confidence and openness to share. So, let’s start asking for more of the story.

“Father, thank you for the men this community of faith. Help us to share earnest support for each other by our actions; may we care enough to ask for more of the story, to listen intently and respond with the love of Christ. Amen.”

See a Need, Fill a Need

If any of you have seen the movie Robots then you'll recognize the title of this post.  It's very simple yet something we don't always do.  As summer approaches and we bring everything down a notch to try and relax a bit, let's keep that statement in mind.  

Things in our Church, home and community still go on.  A brother may need some help, an ear to listen or a verse to inspire.  We not only need to keep moving forward, but to keep our eyes open and if we see a need........

Behind closed doors

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them" - Henry David Thoreau

One of my all-time favourite quotes. It’s a quote that can be interpreted several different ways, but if you research Thoreau, it appears his meaning applied to the masses who toil day after day at a job they despise, but do not have the means - or perhaps the courage - to walk away and do what it is they really want to do.

There could be nothing worse than living a life of quiet desperation. Yet it seems so many people do. To me, it relates not only to what you do in life, but who you are. Not that long ago, I remember waking up one day and thinking, “This is not my life. This cannot be my life. This is NOT what the rest of my life is supposed to be.”

So I changed it. But it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t simple. It was kind of like standing on the edge of a precipice and preparing to jump, not knowing how far down the bottom was, or if you’d even land safely, or if there’d be anyone to catch you.

But I jumped anyway. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing ignoble or desperate about working 9-5 to pay the bills, feed the family, maintain a roof over your head - all the things society and obligation and responsibility demands of us. But even if that is so, even if your livelihood is not your passion, then it behooves you to find passion somewhere else – be it in a hobby, a cause, your spouse, your kids, your friendships, whatever.

Do not settle, do not let your one shot at life be filled with moments of doubt and despair and regret over what might have been. Find your song, and then…sing.

To those not living lives of quiet desperation, I salute you, I admire you. To those who believe they have no choice but to go to the grave with the song still in them, I feel your pain. I urge you to reconsider.

It was missionary Jim Elliot who said, "Until you find something worth dying for, you're not really living."

Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life, lived to the full." (John 10:10) In one respect, as followers of the Master, we are called to live life in the extreme - this is so far from 'quiet desperation', behind closed doors, isolated and alone.

Let me leave you with another piece of classic Thoreau for your reflection: “When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.”

CP

The Power of Man

Last Sunday the men of Bridgewater Baptist stood up to publicly show that we are united as men in Christ.

This was a very powerful statement because, well let's face it, we're not always together as a group.  We are all in different places in our life due to age, health, family situation, you name it there are differences.  What is the same and is a constant is Christ.  We may not be at the same place on our 'walk' with the Lord but the path ends at the same location.  There is no reason why we cannot take this journey together.  Last Sunday we told our Church, by taking our stand together, that is what we are going to do.  

This is going to be an amazing time for us all and I would invite anyone reading this to join with us.  You may not go to our Church or even live in Nova Scotia but there is no reason why we cannot pray, support and basically be there for each other.  Women have been doing it forever, we're just catching up.

Sons Of Thunder Study Beginning Soon!

Many of you signed up to be included in a Men’s Study at the church. With nearly 40 guys on the list there will not be an ideal hour during the week that will work for everyone. And, having said that – there may be opportunity for a 2nd or 3rd group study…breakfast, mid-week…whenever. For the moment, I will get us underway on Sunday, June 1st at 7pm at the church. I hope you can make it.

I’ve picked out “EPIC” – Discover the story that God is telling. It is designed to help reveal every man’s crucial role in the God’s Larger Story! I believe you will appreciate John Eldredge’s perspective. This is a short study – only 6 weeks, and that could be good as we head into summer. Format will be simple: Watch a 20 minute thought provoking, dramatic presentation on DVD and follow with some more thoughts, questions and reaction. It will be casual.

Please know that by committing to this you will not be put on the spot in any way. I do not presume to know your personal story and you may be questioning, for the first time, what faith in Christ really means. At the same time if you’ve been a Christian for many years there is definitely a place for you too. Trust me, every man will benefit! So please come, feel welcome and comfortable!

Oh, best part…you won’t need to buy anything – no materials required. Come as you are.