Towards Becoming Together

Why did God Allow Satan to Hurt Job?

2011-04-07T16:43:00.003-07:00

A question was put to me in response to a sermon I delivered a couple weeks ago (March 27, 2011). I alluded to the story in Job where Satan asked God for permission to test job by making his life miserable. God for some reason granted his request. In the sermon, my point was that God is sovereign. He is Supreme Ruler of the universe. He asks no one for permission. The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan rules the world. He, however, is limited by what God will allow. So, the question, which is a very reasonable one, is why would God allow Satan to do so much damage to someone God loves. That messes with our sense of justice. Something in us cries out, "That's not fair. If God is all-powerful, and could choose to say 'no' to Satan, why wouldn't He?

To answer that question we have to go back to the beginning of time when God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve with the fruit in the Garden of Eden. We should probably ask the same question here. Why would God allow Satan to tempt them? All the worlds problems, injustices, and tragedies that have happened since the beginning of time can be traced back to this moment when Adam and Eve decided to listen to Satan instead of believe that God could satisfy the desires of their hearts. The answer to this question is the same as the one for the Job scenario.

I think we need to start with God's motive for creating humankind in the first place because God, being fully satisfied in the God-head, did not need us. He was self-sufficient, self-existent, and very happy with His own company. He didn't need anyone to "complete" Him. He enjoyed perfect community within the godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). So, His motive for creating people was love, which translates into relationship.

With love there is always a risk. You cannot force someone to love you. If you tried, it would not be love. Love is free choice. Therefore, in order for us to have a love relationship with God, He had to give us free choice, risking the chance that we might choose to not love Him back. That's what happened in the garden. If God wanted us just for utilitarian purposes He could have made robots without any emotions, without any risk of disobedience, but relationship with a machine is not possible.

So, enter Satan, the great tempter, the father of all lies, lurking around for someone to devour. He tempts Adam and Eve with knowledge and the ability to be god-like. They bought it hook, line, and sinker. All hell broke loose, literally.

Satan is on the loose and has limited power to destroy. As Christ-followers who are covered with Christ's righteousness, and who have His Spirit indwelling us, we have the power to resist Satan, the Bible says in James 4:7.

God wants us to learn that listening to Satan's cunning, tempting, pleasant sounding schemes of power, fame, comfort etc. will only lead to destruction, but listening, and following Jesus leads to life.

One day Satan will be bound. All evil will cease. Until that time, he is on the loose. He deals in half truths, and mostly lies, tempting us to believe that there is satisfaction outside of God.

I know that this is not a complete answer about why God allowed Satan to make Job's life miserable, but if you read Job, you can see that He did not at all blame God. His faith, in fact, grew through the experience. I've seen that many times, most recently in the life of Susan and Mel. Susan has cancer. Things do not look good for her, and yet they both continue to say, "God is so good." He is meeting them in a very real way in the middle of their pain. He is becoming more real to them.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you need more clarification.

Pastor Jeff

At the Safadi's

2011-03-07T16:41:00.005-08:00

I left the Freimans’, near Nazareth at about 8:00am on Saturday (Shabbat). On the way to the Safadis’ home in the Golan I drove by Rosh Pinna, where Eitan and his family live. Eitan wanted me to meet Shikma, his wife, and his little 9 month old boy, Arbel. They invited me for breakfast, which we ate on their new deck overlooking the Sea of Galilee. I had a great time with them. Again, the Israeli hospitality is second to none. They also invited Shikma’s parents over so that I could meet them.

I left there before noon, and headed North to the Masade in Golan Heights where the Safadi’s live. There are four towns in the Golan. I believe the population is about 20,000 combined, all of them are Druze with the exception of one family. The Druze are of Syrian descent, left over from the 6 Day War when Israel took that part of the Land from Syria. Hence, they now have no nationality. They aren’t Syrian, nor are they Israeli. They have no passport, and no identity. That is the big lament of Mahmod, the man of the house where I stayed. They long for a nationality, but have none.

I was thankful for the GPS that I rented. It set me in the right direction. Once I got going I recognized most of the places I passed, Caesarea Philippi being one of them. I drove into Masade and to the prearranged meeting place that Mahmod and I set up. It was the place where we first met over a year ago. We happily greeted each other with a hug and I drove him to his home. The house was a typical house from that area, all made of concrete.

We walked up the long flight of stairs and were greeted by his very beautiful family. Each of them, in turn, said, “My name is…” They had rehearsed this for days, I’m sure. Sandi, is the oldest. She is 14 ( I think). Noor, is 10, and Rami is 5. Rima’s age (Mahmod’s wife) I won’t reveal. They had been waiting for this visit for over a year. I didn’t think I was such a big deal, but apparently, it is a rarity to have a foreigner stay over in the home of a Druze. One of the days, Mahmod and I went to pick the kids up at school. Sandi came to me in the hall and gave me a hug and introduced me to her friend, Rama. Rama stared with big eyes as if she was seeing a rock star.

After we had picked up all the kids and Rima we went out for lunch and Sandi recounted how she had told Rama that her family had a friend from Canada staying over. Rama didn’t believe her. Hence the rock star eyes when she met me. It was very funny to hear Sandi tell the story.

Most of the time spent at the Safadi home was sitting on the floor on mats in the kitchen around a wood stove. That’s where they visited, and where they ate. The TV was on most of the time because they mostly watched English news and shows. They all have dreams of one day living in Canada. Mahmod showed me the file he had been keeping for the last several years with all the documents and correspondence with Canada Customs.

All of the kids tried very hard to communicate with me in English. “I love you animals. Do you love you animals?” “Yes, I love animals. What’s your favorite animal?” “Horse, dog, cat, monkey, owl, ….” That was Noor. She is so cute. She went on to list all the species in the animal kingdom. “That’s great”, I said, “But, what is your fa-vor-ite animal?” She looked to her dad who rescued her.

On Sunday, while the kids were at school (yes, they have school on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are their days off), Mahmod and Rima and I sat around and chatted. I asked them about the Druze beliefs, and after listening and drawing them out I asked if they knew what the Christians believed about Jesus. Mahmod said that he had no idea. I asked if he wanted me to tell him. He said, “Yes, please.” I shared the Gospel from Genesis to Christ. After listening, Mahmod said, “I respect all religions: Judaism, Islam, Druze, and all others, but from what you said, Christianity seems to be the most reasonable.” We left it at that, but I am praying for them all that there would be more opportunity to share the love of Christ with the family. There is only one Christian family in the whole Golan Heights, according to Mahmod. I have no idea what their faith is like. But, I am praying that the peace of Christ would visit their family and that he would use me, and put others in their path to water the seed that has been planted and till the soil of their hearts.

I felt so very at home with the Safadis, as I did with the Freimans. It was hard leaving. As we were sitting around on the floor again sharing some tea and a snack, I thanked the family for their hospitality and for making me feel so at home. Mahmod, responded with a very heartfelt, “Thank you for sitting with us.” Then it all made sense. Sitting together on the floor around a meal and good conversation was more meaningful to them than I had imagined. It was intimate. It was the place where they enjoyed each other. They had true fellowship. Please pray with me for both the families that I visited. God loves them so much and so desperately wants a relationship with them.

God’s peace,

Pastor Jeff

At the Freiman's

2011-03-04T11:11:00.007-08:00

I have been at the Freiman's home for only a day and a half and I already feel like I'm family. For those of you who don't know, I "met" Willie online at a photo site where we both keep our photos. I commented on one of his shots, and he in turn looked at my gallery and noticed my shots of Israel and suggested that I had captured Israel quite well. I told him that I was going to be in Israel again in just a couple weeks. Much to my surprise, he invited me to stay with his family for a few days while I was here. I declined his invitation thinking that he probably wasn't serious. I thought about it for a couple days and realized that it might be a once in a life-time chance to see Israel from the other side of the tour bus. I sent Willie another message telling him that I would like to take him up on his offer. So, here I am.

I left the hotel on Thursday and walked to Avis Car Rentals, picked up the car, drove back to the hotel to get packed up, and then returned to Avis because I had forgotten to bring my passport with me the first time. I had ordered GPS when I did the online reservation, but the Avis agent told me that they don't actually rent GPS, but they could get it rented from another agency, which they did. I felt quite secure knowing that I had a fail safe GPS system telling me to turn at just the right place. The nice young lady showed me how to use the system and even plugged the addresses in for me.

I only had a few people yell at me for turning in places where I wasn't supposed to turn. All of the others were quite gracious. the ungracious guy pulled up beside me shaking his fist while I looked at him mouthing, "I'm sooorrrry!" And then I realized that he likely couldn't lip read in English, so he probably thought I was swearing at him. After several wrong turns I finally got on the right road out of Jerusalem. Willie called me when I was about 20 minutes from his place and told me that he would be waiting for me at the end of his driveway. Twenty minutes later there he was.

I was wondering on the way how I would greet him. This is a different culture than the reserved hand shaking Canada where I hail from. I decided that it would be best to do half of each. Reach out the hand and pull him in for the hug. He gave me the Middle Eastern kiss on the cheek. The ice was broken.

Willie took me in and introduced me to his son, who as at the computer playing a game. "Noam...", (and then he said something in Hebrew which I assumed was 'this is Jeff. Say 'hi' to him.') No response. Willie looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I smiled back. Willie's wife, Dganit, and other kids weren't home.

We had already prearranged that we would go out and do a bit of a photo shoot so he took me to a beautiful little ancient town called Akko. The weather was perfect -- not a cloud in the sky. We walked around town shooting things and people and conversed comfortably as though we had known each other for years. We went to the port and there were some teenage boys jumping off a wall that was probably about 50 feet high. They tried to coerce me into jumping, but I suggested that I would be better as the designated photographer.

After our walk around Akko we went home. We drove up to their place. Dganit was on the steps chatting with the contractor who was tearing up the plumbing in their place. She saw me and said, "Hi Jeff", as if she knew me. I responded, similarly. I had already rehearsed the pronunciation of her name in the car with Willie.

She was holding Noga, the very cute little girl in the photos above. And Shalev, the eldest, was home as well. There was also a teenage neighbor girl there. Her name was...(I forget). Anyway, she was a very nice girl who was eager to practice her English.

She joined the family and me for dinner. We had a very good, healthy soup that was made by the kids' nanny.

I hit the hay at about 10:30pm and had the best sleep since coming to Israel. I woke up at about 6:00 and had a very relaxing breakfast. We then went to a kindergarten picnic for Noga and her classmates and families. They did some crafts, sang songs to prepare the kids for Shabbat.

After that we drove home and had a very hardy lunch of soup, chicken, peas, and three kinds of rice. Dganit thanked me for being there because, she said, they don't always eat that good. It was my pleasure.

We had a wonderful conversation about some pretty deep things: God, suffering, evil, the Holocaust, etc. Dganit says that she doesn't believe in God, but acknowledges that there is a tremendous amount of mystery in life. Both Willie and Dganit are deep thinkers so the conversation is never dull.

After Willie showed me some Photo Shop tricks we went out and had a very rousing game of soccer with the boys. They are very hilarious, and competitive as most brothers are.

I'm leaving in the morning. I feel like I've known the Freimans all my life. They are such a great family. I pray for God's blessing and peace on their home and that they would experience His presence and blessing in every way, expressed most deeply in His love for them. I hope that I can see the Freimans again. I think that we will be friends forever.

Tomorrow morning I will leave at 8:00ish and visit Eitan and his wife and son, Arbel. They invited me for breakfast. After that it's off to the Golan Heights to visit with the Safadi family for a couple says. More about that later.

I feel so blessed by God to be able to get to know these beautiful people. I feel like God set up these divine appointments, not just so that I could bless them, but so that He could bless me through them as well.

God is truly amazing!

God's peace,

Pastor Jeff

Masada, Dead Sea, Qumran & Day Off in Jerusalem

2011-03-03T10:10:00.005-08:00

Today (Actually, yesterday now. I didn’t have time to upload this) was our day off – first day of the tour that we’ve had a day free. Some of the group went and did some more sightseeing of Jerusalem archeological sites. I wanted to just hang around the Old City and take it easy. Old Jerusalem is my favorite part of Israel. It’s the epicenter of the three religions who share the same father. The city is actually broken into four major quadrants: Muslim; Jewish; Christian; and Armenian.

The narrow streets are lined on both sides with vendors selling their wares. They try to entice you into their stores by telling you that it’s free to look, knowing that once in the store they are closer to setting the hook and selling you something. I was bound and determined that this would not happen to me. I wasn’t going to buy anything – nothing – not even a bookmark. My strategy was to look straight ahead and not acknowledge any of the shop keepers that said “hello” to me, because I knew that if I responded we could get into a conversation and I would be under their spell.

Part way through the morning I ran into three of the ladies from the group, Merriam, Amy, and Lisa. They had their hands filled with shopping bags and wanted to catch a cab home. I led them to the Jaffa Gate and helped them to hail a cab. After sending them off I turned around and was caught off guard by a very friendly shopkeeper who said, “Hello my friend, come into my store and see what we have.” “No”, I said, “I’m not shopping. I’m only taking pictures.” “Listen, it doesn’t cost anything to look. Come on in.” “Ok”, I said, “But I’m not buying anything.” “Yes, yes, of course. Just look.” I came out with four scarves, and two glass Jerusalem chalices. I have no idea how it happened.

On the way back into the Old City I stopped by The Palestinian Bible Society and chatted with the nice lady who was running the store. She is a Christian, and her husband works for Campus Crusade for Christ. I am always so moved when I meet Arab or Jewish Christians. They have to sacrifice for their faith. There is a very definite line of demarcation between them and the rest of Israel. They are the minority, as are Christians in Canada, but not at the same price as those in Israel.

Leaving the store. I said, “Shalom.” She said, “We don’t say that.” “Oh, sorry”, I said. “What do you say?” “We say, ‘Salem’.” “Oh, yes”, I said, “Salem Ala eiakoom” (I have no idea how to spell that). She said, “No, we don’t say that either.” “Oh, sorry again. Bye.” That was one of my many cultural linguistic pho pas whilst here. I won’t go in to the others. I’m feeling stupid enough as it is.

After my little excursion into the Old City, we went to the Garden tomb, one of the places where Jesus is said to have been buried. After a little tour we had a communion service and some sharing. It was so good to hear how some of the group had moved from a sort of uncommitted faith to a real trust and love for Jesus. That made the whole trip worthwhile. The prayer that many of them had was that they wouldn’t lose the passion that they gained here. Would you pray with us that that would be true?

The previous day was spent in the Dead Sea area on the Israeli side. We visited Masada, the Fortress and palace get-away that Herod built, and where in 73 AD, three years after the destruction of the Temple, almost 1,000 Jewish Zealots committed suicide rather than give in to Rome and the possibility of slavery or worse.

We also went to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 by a shepherd boy who was looking for a lost sheep.

We then went to En Gedi where David cut a piece of Saul’s robe off while Saul was relieving himself in a cave. It’s true. Check it out in your Bible (1 Samuel 24:1).

Today I rented a car and drove to a village near Nazareth to meet the Jewish family that I am staying with. I’ll write more about this in subsequent blogs. It’s time for bed.

God’s peace,

Pastor Jeff

Day 8 and a Half - I think

2011-02-28T11:14:00.004-08:00

I'm sitting in a hotel lobby across from our hotel using their wi-fi because ours charges $8/hour for internet and this hotel offers it free. There are two young Israeli soldiers sitting across from me both carrying M16 machine guns. I hope it's not a crime to use the internet here if I'm not a guest.

We've seen a lot since my last entry two days ago. I can't nearly cover it all, so I'll just give you a few details of our day today.

We started out on a very somber note by taking in the Holocaust Museum. I'm not going to say much about it except to say that every human being on earth should go through this museum to see what we are capable of doing to each other. The atrocities that Hitler perpetrated against the Jews is unthinkable.

After that, on our way to Bethlehem, we went to the Herodium, another outpost fortress/palace that Herod built. It is a phenomenal archeological site. From the top of the man made mountain you can see for miles in all directions. Herod's tomb has also been found there in recent years.

After that it was off to Bethlehem, in the West Bank, to the Church of the Holy Nativity, the location where Jesus was said to be born (before the church was there, of course :) ).

That's really about all there was to see there, except for the Stars and Bucks Cafe. I saw this last year, and wanted to get a photo of it, but the bus was moving too fast at the time. This time we walked right by. On our way out we stopped at a souvenir shop. Last year I met a couple of young men that I wanted to say 'hi' to. The one I saw walking in the street, and I called to him, "Mahmod". He looked at me and called back, "Pastor, good to see you again." He took me to find the other fella, Eliezar. We chatted for a few minutes and then I went back to check on the shoppers.

We went back to the hotel after this and I had my first dinner since being in Israel. I must be feeling better.

I am enjoying this group very much. Everyone is enjoying themselves so much. They are drinking in the teaching by Eitan and the devotionals by the pastors. There have been no squabbles. They are all a pleasure to be with. And Ben is fitting in so well, and a delight to room with.

I've got nothing overly deep to say this time. I'm just so happy to be here, but also missing home at the same time.

Shalom,

Pastor Jeff

Day 7 and a Half

2011-02-26T11:47:00.004-08:00

We have no free internet at the hotel again so I went wandering through the streets of old Jerusalem to find an internet cafe. It's not free, but it's cheap. It's almost 10:30 and there are several, what look like, 10 year old boys playing an interactive war computer game together all talking aggressively simultaneously. There are soldiers that walk by every so often carrying M16s. I guess that's why parents feel comfortable letting their kids out at night.

It's late so this is going to be quick.

Today was a considerably easier day. We went to the Dead Sea Spa after a long day yesterday and we were told by our guide that we would rest all morning and enjoy the Dead Sea. I rested while the others enjoyed the Sea. Actually, I enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves. I am still sick so I didn't want to risk getting sicker by going in.

At 11:30 we went to the border and breezed through in record time, I'm sure. We said goodbye to Hamzeh and were greeted by Eitan at the other side. We decided that we would go and see Jericho on the way to Jerusalem, which meant that Eitan could not enter since it is in the West Bank. It took us about an hour to see it all: the old walls; the sycamore tree that Zack was supposed to have climbed :); the wilderness that Jesus was tempted by Satan in. It was a wee bit anti-climactic after coming from the Dead Sea and Petra, but at least we saw it.

Then we stopped at a view point in a valley called the Wadi-celt valley (I think that's what it's called). And then up to Jerusalem. On the way up the hill we went through a tunnel and Eitan play the song, "Jerusalm". The city came into view in spectacular form and I literally wept. I'm not sure why -- maybe I'm tired, maybe I'm sick, or weird, or perhaps I was moved the Holy Spirit. Either way, it was very moving. Gotta go to bed.

Pastor Jeff

Day 6 and a Half

2011-02-25T08:42:00.004-08:00

We finally get a hotel with free wi-fi, so I can take my time and not have to run around the country looking for a connection. We're at the Dead Sea Spa on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River. We had several very full days, and either got back to the hotel too late to blog, or we didn't have wi-fi. I'm still very sick. It's reminiscent of my Philippine adventure. I haven't eat much of anything for a couple days and have been tempted to get myself a pair of depends for our long bus rides. Not really.

Today we went to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the supposed baptismal site of our Lord by John. I had to find a toilet quick. Hemse, our Jordanian guide told me where to find it. I went scurrying over to a bunch of those plastic porto-pottis. I opened each door to find each one progressively dirtier (that's a very mild word). I looked at Hemse as if he must be mistaken to think that a human being would venture willingly into a place like that. He motioned that I had found the right place. I broke into a cold sweat. They were so disgusting that I almost decided to chance waiting, but my fellow passengers talked me into giving it a try. Probably for their sake. :)

These photos aren't in an particular order. We entered Jordan yesterday, I think. Everything is a blur right now. Eitan, our Israeli guide dropped us off at the border and we changed buses, drivers and guides. It took us a couple of hours to get through all the security. O yes, and we also have a policeman on the bus with us. We haven't figured out if he is for our protection or if he is keeping an eye on us. Perhaps a little of both.

We had a drive of about an hour and a half to Jaresh, which is an ancient Greco-Roman city with a big theatre, hippodrome, and temple. We were only there for about 45 minutes because we had a long road trip ahead of us to Petra where we stayed last night. On the way there we went to Mount Nebo and looked at the same Promise Land that Moses looked at in Deuteronomy 34 and God told him that he would not be crossing over, but Joshua would take the Israelites over in his place.

The sun was on its way down by the time we left. I was able to catch a few minutes of sleep on the bus and was awakened by the man in front asking me to request that the bus stop because his wife was having a seizure. We ended up having to get an ambulance to take her to the hospital. We all prayed for her. She joined us for breakfast this morning, thankfully, and is doing quite well, but needs to pace herself a little more. I'm very thankful for her sake, and for all of us that tomorrow is going to be a little easier.

We arrived at the hotel last night at about 10:00pm. I tried to work on my blog, but I was too tired and sick, so went and plopped into bed, hoping to have a more decent sleep than the previous ones since before we left Canada. It was much better, still fitful, but I think I clocked about 6 and a half hours, which is double what I've been getting for the last week and a half.

I tried having breakfast in the morning, but couldn't stomach much. Dawne and Rae gave me some Imodium, and several others offered my some. I'm being well taken care of.

We left the hotel at about 8:30 this morning and stopped a viewpoint of Petra where I have a devotional based on Deuteronomy 34.

We then proceeded to one of the most fantastic archeological sites i have seen in my life. It is one of the seven wonders of the world -- Petra. We spent about three hours there and could have stayed for a week. We walked around and were blown away by what the ancients were able to do without modern tools.

After Petra we went to what is said to be the baptismal site of Jesus. I didn't take in much of that at all because of my toilet adventures. We took a 25 minute drive to our hotel right on the Dead Sea. Unfortunately, I probably won't float in it myself unless I'm feeling much better by morning.

Tomorrow morning we are supposed to be at the border and change buses, drivers, and guides again. We are going to stay in Jerusalem for the last few days here. Hopefully, we'll have free internet there as well, so I keep this blog going.

Everyone is being so blessed. I am so thankful that we went to the trouble of putting it together. Actually, Lynda Steblin was the one who put most of the time into the planning, and she wasn't even able to step into The Land because of health reasons. We continue to pray for you, Lynda.

God's peace everyone.

Pastor Jeff

Day Three and a Half

2011-02-23T10:49:00.005-08:00

I felt a little better at the start of the day and got progressively worse as time went on. I think part of the problem is that I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in over a week. I started the trip with only about 3 hours and then only slept a little over an hour on the flight. And then each night here has been fitful sleeps for some reason. That’s all my complaining out right at the start.

In spite of feeling under the weather, we had a wonderful day. We began by going to the Arbel Pass where Jesus would have walked many times on his way to Capernaum, or the Mount of Beatitudes, or to the Sea of Galilee. Pastor Wayne led us in a short devotional after Eitan’s teaching. We then went to the Sea of Galilee to the Jesus Boat Museum where there is a restored first century fishing boat like the disciples would have used.

Following this we and had a ride in a boat. The crew raised a Canadian flag on their mast for us while playing O Canada over the sound system. Then Daniel, the captain, demonstrated how to throw a net to catch fish, much like the disciples would have done two thousand years ago. After that, he led us in worship. It was the most moving part of the trip so far. I almost wept. Daniel is a Jewish Christian. He was saved eleven years ago. It’s always so amazing to me when I hear of Jews or Arab’s coming to Christ.

We then drove a very short distance to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus would have taught the crowds from what we now call the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. Eitan took us on a walk down the hill through the mustard fields toward the Sea of Galilee. He taught in various places along the way, much like Jesus would have done with his disciples.

After reaching the bottom we walked to the church of the Primacy of St. Peter, the location where it is thought that Jesus would have fed his disciples on the beach after his resurrection.

Capernaum was our next stop. It was only about a one minute drive. Capernaum was Jesus’ ministry centre. Sixteen times Capernaum is mentioned in the Gospels. The remains of Peter’s house is there as well. Actually, it was his Mother in-law’s house where Peter lived. Eitan said that in Hebrew someone who lived with their mother in-law would be called a schlep. Ruth and I once lived with my mother in-law. J

Our last stop was Bethsaida, Philip’s hometown, and the place where Jesus healed the blind man (Mark 8).

By this time, we were exhausted. I have been taking loads of photos and Ben has been using my D5 Mark 2 for videoing. We are both sick, so we tire easily. We went back to our hotel and immediately went out shopping for more compact flash cards for the cameras because we have been running out of memory before we are done each day.

Let me just sum of the day for you like this. Jesus becomes more real to me at each stop we make. Eitan has been amazing and the way he teaches about Jesus brings Him to life, which is a good thing, because He is alive. The other’s on the tour keep asking me about Eitan. They want to know how he can teach so passionately about Jesus and not believe that He is Savior and Lord. They are understandably confused about that because I think his teaching is changing their lives too. None of us will go home the same. I am praying that each one of us will move a step closer to Jesus and see Him for who He really is, the Creator God, who became like us, walked on the earth, in the very places that we have been walking, and died so that we could have life. I am praying too that it won’t stop with just a proclamation that Jesus is Savior, but that we would truly be obedient to His Words, that we would become intimately acquainted with Him and not just be hearers of the Word, but doers also.

Ben in snoring in the bed beside me as I write this. I need to go out and find a wireless connection so I can upload this blog. Please continue to pray for safety for us and for health. Tomorrow we venture into Jordan. I’m excited.

Day Two and a half

2011-02-22T10:40:00.009-08:00

I'm sicker than a dog. There are a few others that are getting sick too. It started a couple days ago with a wee bit of a sore throat. Today it hit me like a 2 x 4 across the head and throat. Please pray for our health. I may have to skip tomorrow if it gets any worse.

Other than being sick, today was a very good and very full day. Again, I'm not going to give a full account of the day because I'm wasted and my battery is almost dead.

We started our at Tel Hazor. The Old Testament mentions this city as one of the cities that Joshua burned, actually, I believe it was the only city that he burned. In one of the photos below you can see Eitan bending down and pointing to the dirt. He is actually showing the remnants of the burn. This is an amazing archeological site as it gives credence to the veracity of the Old Testament.

After that we went to Tel Dan. This is the site of the old city of Dan where one of the high places that Jeraboam built so that the Israelites wouldn't have to go all the way to Jerusalem to worship. God did not think that was such a good idea.

We stopped for a bite to eat and had our usual falafel for lunch, and then off to Caesarea Philippi. This is that place where Peter rightly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matt. 16:13-20).

Then we went to Mount Bental that overlooks Syria and Lebanon. Then to an olive factory, and a diamond manufacturing place.

My huge apologies for this very short and boring blog.

I gotta get to bed.

Shalom,

Pastor Jeff

Day One and a Half

2011-02-21T10:27:00.009-08:00

I'm sitting outside with Ben writing my blog. I'm exhausted. I only slept about an hour and a half on the flight over. We arrived at about noon and hit the ground running.

First stop was Jaffa, which is biblical Joppa. Here Peter had his vision on the sheet being let down from heaven with the unclean animals on it. through the vision God told him that He doesn't show partiality and that Gentiles are a part of his great plan.

Also at Joppa was where Jonah caught his ship in his attempt to run away from God.
I can't remember what else we did before driving to our hotel on the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Netanya. We settled into our rooms at about 3:30. I laid down on the couch for a short nap, setting my alarm clock to get up in time for dinner. I was so dead to the world that when the alarm sounded I jolted up and had no idea where I was and what that annoying sound was. I must have stared at it for a full minute.

Dinner was had and then I went for a walk with Wayne and Rita Snider. Wayne is the pastor at Cranbrook Baptist and Ruth and I have been good friends with them for about 25 years.

I got back to the room and hit the sack. I fell asleep at about 10:30 and my alarm again woke me up -- at 1:30am. I couldn't believe it. It was the alarm on my iPhone which was still synced to BC time. I thought I had calculated the time change, but I obviously did something mixed up in my weariness. I managed to fall asleep again by about 2:30 and woke up wide awake at 4:30. I decided to stay up pray and study. It was a good time with the Lord.

Today was a busy day. Caesarea was our first stop: the theatre, palace, and Hippodrome, and Herod's Architecture. It was so good to be back and especially to see the joy on the faces of those who are with us on the tour.

Eitan is doing such a fabulous job of guiding. He really is a gift from God. Like I said last year, even though he doesn't profess to be a Christian, he brings the Bible alive, and again, I'm falling more in love with Jesus.

Other stops for the day: Megido, where 20 different civilizations are built on top of each other. Quite fascinating.

Mount Carmel: where Elijah had his show down with the priests of Baal.

Nazareth: where Jesus grew up.

I wish I had the energy to write something profound, but I'm tire. I need to sleep. It's almost 10 and we get up in about 8 hours and I still need to try to find my hotel. I hope I can remember what it's called.

O ya, we are staying in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee. Tomorrow we have a very full day planned. I will try to do a better blog.

Peace everyone. Thanks for praying for us.

Israel 2011

2011-02-18T17:55:00.003-08:00

I'm off to Israel again. I feel very blessed. Last year I went with a pastor's promotional tour with Christian Journeys. This year I am traveling with about 40 other people, from RBC, Ladner Baptist, and Cranbrook Baptist. Pastor Wayne Snider, Pastor Joe Deguzman, and myself are co-leading the group, which basically means herding them to various sites, because it is the Israeli tour guide, Eitan who will teach at each of the sites. I'm looking forward to seeing him again again. He is an extremely good Bible teacher.

I think I'm ready to go. I packed ahead of time this time. That's very unusual for me. My typical modus operandi is to pack the night before I leave or the day of my departure. I was quite proud of myself because I was mostly packed by last night already. My suitcase is within the allowable 50 lbs (barely), and my carry on is a bit over the allowable 25lbs, mostly because of my camera equipment. They normally forgive me. I pray they do this time.

We leave at 8:00am tomorrow morning. I will meet Ben, my traveling buddy at the church at 5:15am. We will go and pick Justin up and he will drive us to the airport and take my car so that I have it when we return. Thanks Justin.

This year, as I said in church last Sunday, I have extended my visit so that I can stay with a couple of Israeli families. One is Jewish, and the other Arab. It will be interesting to get their opinion on what is happening in the Middle East right now.

The Arab man I met last year when our tour stopped for coffee at a little sweets shop in Golan Heights. I walked across the street and struck up a conversation with a local and we exchanged email address. He very graciously invited me to stay with him and his family for a couple days while I was there. They have three kids; two girls and one boy.

The Jewish family lives near Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Willie, the husband and father, saw my Israel photos online http://www.pbase.com/jeffgermo and commented that I had captured the ethos of Israel quite well, so he too extended an invitation to stay with his family. They have three kids as well; two boys and one girl.

I was blown away by the hospitality of both of these families to welcome a stranger into their home. That's very biblical. God, through Moses, told the Israelites: 33 “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. 34 Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

And then the writer of Hebrews wrote: 1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:1-2).

I ain't no angel, but I am a foreigner and these two families have extended biblical hospitality to me. I am very thankful for that and I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to teach me while I'm there. Please pray for us for safety and open hearts to hear the voice of God as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Pastor Jeff

Farewell for the Deguzmans

2010-10-04T19:20:00.008-07:00

We went to a farewell party for Pastor Joe and Lourdes last night. There were about forty people there who they have journied with closely in the last few years while they have been ministering in Palawan. God has used Joe and Lourdes to help plant three churches, City Community Church being one of them. They have a very dedicate pastor placed. Pastor Remil is a humble servant of God who loves God and His people.

He's also the most amazing guitarist I have ever heard. God has gifted, not only him, but many in his congregation with musical talents. I believe that God is going to use those gifts to reach out to their community.

Brian and I, against our better judgment, indulged in the pleasures of culinary delights at an all you can eat buffet. Maybe not the best idea, but it looked so good, and our amoebas were getting hungry. We must be good stewards of what God has given us. So, we fed them indiscriminately. This morning we paid for it. Such is life.

I think leaving, for Joe and Lourdes, is bitter sweet. They know that in order for the churches to mature they need to let go, but they have nurtured so many friendships in the seven years they have been here. As they both said in their speeches, "It's not goodbye, we will certainly see you again."

The pastors would like us to come again next year to do some follow-up and more training to help them stay on track with the mission of Christ. That's a humbling thought since there is so much that they can teach us.

Their worship ministry is certainly an area that we could learn from them. They love the Lord so much that it comes out in how they corporately worship. They sing like they believe that God is good, loving, and holy.

Another way that we can learn from them is in how they love to laugh and have fun. They are so uninhibited. So unlike Canadians. Several people came to the mic to sing. Others danced. They enjoy a good healthy fun. I need to learn that.

Today we are being taken out for lunch with the Laus. They are a family that owns a chain of Pharmacies. I'm a little unsure about eating again, but I think we will have to graciously accept their hospitality.

Tomorrow we leave Palawan and head for Manilla for three days. I will visit some ministries that RBC has supported and pray with them. I will also visit Christ Commission Fellowship (CCF) a church where several of our RBC members come from. They have a similar vision as we do so I wanted to have a chat with the pastor and compare notes and learn from him.

I continue to be amazed at the goodness of God. I am so blessed in every way. I get emails from various ministry leaders at RBC that are carrying on the work there while I'm gone. They are so faithful and competent in the areas of ministry that God has given them. Although I so enjoyed my time here in the Philippines, I am so looking forward to being home with my church family.

Pastor Jeff

staying close to the throne

2010-10-03T18:53:00.009-07:00

We've been here over a week now. The sights, tastes, sounds, and the smells are starting to seem normal. The ubiquitous tricycles scurrying around picking up would be passengers are a part of that norm that has become comfortable.

Now, of course, there are other sights, sounds, feelings, and smells associated with being infected by an amoeba that are not so comfortable. I don't think I need to go into detail about this. You've got an imagination that will sufficiently take you to that place where no one wants to go.

It probably seems like I'm overdoing the writing about my friend the amoeba, but that's all I've got right now. Brian and I have been stuck in our room for the better part of three days because of our need to stay in close proximity to the "great white throne". We did both preach yesterday. I preached at City Community Church, which holds it's service at 7:30am in a restaurant. And Brian preached at Grace Baptist. Saturday night Pastor Joe sent a text asking how we were and if we were going to be able to preach. I tried to sound at the point of death, but said that we would do our best (playing the part of the martyr). He didn't bite. He said, "Great! I'll pick you up at 7:15. There is a toilet nearby if you need to run." That thought comforted me.

I was very glad that I didn't give in to my wimpy side and insist that I stay in my room close to the throne. Instead we were led in worship to the Throne of Grace by Pastor Noel and his team. The Spirit of God was very evident. I wasn't in top form, but God used the message anyway. He is always good.

After that service we went to Grace Baptist where Brian preached. He wasn't feeling his best either, but again, God was faithful. Neither of us had to make a mad dash for the toilet in the middle of our sermons (one of my greatest fears).

There was a meal after the service, which we decided to pass on. Jojo graciously gave us a ride to our room. A little later in the afternoon we were starting to feel like we could us a little protein in our stomachs, since it had been a couple days without eating anything besides bananas and crackers.

We caught tricycle to Shakey's Pizza, the only place in the city that you can get pizza like we have in Canada. I ordered the high protein thin crust 8" pizza. I went down nicely. It came out very nicely about an hour later. Probably not a great idea.

Today, I have yet to leave the room, except to step outside and call Ruth with Skype on my iPhone. The sound of her voice was sweet. She said that the service went very well. Mel did a great job of leading worship. Pastor Kamal led the communion and the rest of the service adeptly, and Lyle Schrag, our guest speaker preached a wonderful sermon on Psalm 46.

I feel very blessed. Here I am thousands of miles away from home and the church is doing fantastic. Everyone is doing their part faithfully. I am a very thankful pastor.

Here is a closing limerick that Lyle sent me today in an attempt to encourage me. His brother apparently wrote it.

An Amoeba named Sam and his brother
Went out for a drink with each other.
In the midst of their quaffing
They split their sides laughing
Now each of them is a mother.

Thanks Lyle. :)

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

The Gracious Dr. Paul

2010-10-02T04:13:00.005-07:00

Last night was intense. I woke up with abdominal cramps at about 3:00am and staggered to the bathroom. I did the nasty deed and passed out three times for a couple minutes each time. I was able to hobble back to bed and slept relatively peaceful, with a couple of interruptions to do the deed again.

At about 7:30 Pastor Joe texted me and asked how we were doing and if we needed anything. I told him about my night and he contacted Pastor Paul, a member of Grace Baptist Church, and a great man of God. He is in the church choir which sang at every evening service for the missions conference. The thing I noticed about him when he was singing was that he gave it his all. I could tell that he was a humble man even though his income is like a thousand times greater than the average Filipino. He's the guy singing his heart out in the photo. Joe came over to our room and told us that Dr. Paul was on his way to do a house call. That wouldn't happen in Canada.

We waited for probably an hour and a half. He finally showed up. He told us that the reason he took so long was that he was at the market where the smell of fish is overwhelming and he felt the need to shower before coming over so that we would not be affected adversely my the smell.

He took my blood pressure etc. He said everything looked normal, but that he would like to send a stool sample to the lab. Joe knew a lady that worked there, so he texted her and she said that she could do it if we got it there within the hour.

Joe asked Dr. Paul about a bill for his services and he said that he had promised his father that he wouldn't charge pastors. He said that he actually didn't want to be a doctor. He wanted to be a pastor, but he gave in to pressure to his father who told him that instead of becoming a pastor he could minister to pastors by not charging them. I had to fight back the tears. Again, we have so much to learn from the Filipinos. God is so amazing how he takes care of us.

Both Brian and I did our business. Joe and Jojo drove the samples to the lab, and less than an hour later we got a text saying that we were both infected with amoebiasis, but "Pastor Jeff's is much worse". That made me feel real special. Not!!! Brian did some research on it and found that it could stay with us over a year. We wanted to make sure that we dealt with is as expeditiously as possible.

I laid down and fell asleep. I was awakened to Joe's voice explaining what Dr. Paul had said. He had some drugs for us which,again, Brian researched, and took right away. We've spent all day in bed sleeping and resting, with one short trip to the store to stock up on toilet paper. Brian caught a tricycle and took the chance that he would be able to make it back before needing to hit the can.
He made it back with a cache of goodies, most of which my stomach didn't feel like I could handle, but the crackers were perfect.
We both have to preach in the morning, Brian at Grace Baptist and me at City Community Church. Hopefully we can make it through our sermons without being chased down by Montezuma.

Montezuma's Revenge - Philippine Style

2010-10-01T05:43:00.010-07:00

Yesterday, we taught our last session. This one took place at City Community Church, a relatively new church plant in a restaurant owned by a Christian lady. This session was more interactive. We summarized our previous teaching. Brian reviewed principles of sermon prep and got the pastors to come up with an outline based on John 17:20-23, which is Jesus' prayer for the unity of future disciples so that the world will believe that Jesus was who He said He was.
After he was done I reviewed the material on building a healthy church through Growth Groups. I got them to take the sermon outline they had prepared and make a Growth Group Study and then share their findings with the rest of the group so everyone could learn from each other. Thus ended the conference. It was very humbling to think that God would use us to help these pastors get excited about the mission of Jesus. Many of them said that they will be using our Growth Group materials in their ministries.

We learned so much from the Filipino pastors. They are so dedicated to Christ and sacrifice so much for the gospel. After lunch we traveled out of Puerto Princesa. They are so dedicated to the Gospel of Christ. It puts us to shame.

After lunch we headed out of town to visit one of the churches that our Fellowship supports. Ninety people meet in a building without walls. As we drove up to the church site we were met by a deacon. There were three or four ladies with machetes trimming some bamboo for building materials for an extension on their existing "building". We looked around a bit and then two of the men went and got some young coconuts and cut the open and served us some coconut milk. They taught us how to drink it which is a bit of a trick. After we had the fresh coconut Jojo, our driver went and picked some guava from a nearby tree and we ate that. Their hospitality was amazing. They have so little, but they give so much.

I started feeling a little sick, earlier in the day. The lady who owns the bed and breakfast got me some medicine for diarrhea. And she also called her son who is an intestinal doctor in Manila. She put me on the phone with him and he suggested that I not take the pills (the one I already took) unless it was absolutely necessary. It was.

After breakfast today Joe and Lourdes took us on a little tour. I was feeling worse as time went on so they brought us back to our room where I slept for two hours and frequented the the bathroom. Montezuma's revenge hit with a vengeance. I had a fever and headache and felt very weak. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? I'm actually on the mend now, I think. The sleep helped a lot. Brian now has the same ailment. We must have eaten or drank something we shouldn't have.

Anyway, we are nearing the close of our time at Puerto. It's Friday today. Tomorrow we will do a bit of sight seeing and get prepared for preaching. I am going to preach at City Community Church this time, and Brian at Grace Baptist.

Please continue to pray for us, for safety and that God's Word would continue to produce fruit.

Peace,
Pastor Jeff

Puerto Princesa - Days three to five

2010-09-28T22:26:00.009-07:00

It's been a busy few days. My goal was to write in the blog every day, but we are always in catch up mode preparing for our teaching sessions. I had a bit of a start on the prep before leaving the 'motherland', but things constantly change here, the word of the week is 'flexibility'. That's what we are learning. Along with that is the need to learn to trust God.

Each day have been pretty much the same schedule. We get up at about 6:00am, have breakfast in the little outdoor dining room. We then have a bit of a quiet time and work on our teaching sessions for the morning. We get picked up shortly after 8:00am and head to Grace Baptist Church where about 75 pastors eagerly wait to hear what we have to say.

It's quite humbling because anyone of them could be teaching these things and we would learn from them. We are done teaching by about noon. We have lunch, either with the other pastors or out at a restaurant. In the afternoons we are usually busily preparing for our sessions the next day right up until we are picked up again to go to the evening session, which is an evangelistic service for the community. Each day it has been a different theme. The first evening was "Looking for the signs of the coming of Christ". Monday, the youth did a drama presentation called "The Hell." It was very creative and extremely well done, complete with a fire burning on the stage. There was a huge amount of talent in the group. Last night it was a children's theme. Each night a choir would sing. They are wonderfully talented. The church was packed every night with over half those in attendance being unbelievers. I have so much to learn from these humble servants of God.

Yesterday I chatted quite a bit with Pastor Lorwin from Busuanga, an Island about 12 hours away by small boat. He has been pastoring his church for about five years and has seen some tremendous growth in his little village of about 800 people. He has five missionaries that work with him. One of them travels 17 km from his home to the church by foot each week. These people put us to shame. Father, would you bless him and and the ministry that you have given him. Help him to see the fruit of his labor. Would you meet all his needs.

After the evening service, at about 9:30, we go out for supper. I don't usually eat supper, so I think I am probably putting on some pounds. Then it's back to our room where we work some more on our sessions for the next day.

Yesterday was an exception in our schedule. We actually took the afternoon off. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be to get my work done in time, but God was gracious. I think He knew that we needed a break.

We hired a boat and took a 30 minute ride to another island called Snake Island. There are no permanent residents there. It's tourist destination for snorkeling. I wished I had an underwater camera because the variety of beautiful fish was astounding. I failed in my attempt to find Nemo. I thought I spotted him once, but the markings were a little different.

Today I taught them about how our discipleship process at RBC works. I began by teaching from John 17, the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus and how He prayed for unity for His disciples so that the world would know that His Father sent Him. Our role as pastors is to lead our congregation towards maturing in Christ so that kind of unity is possible.

We then took at look at the Growth Group model that we use for discipleship. They all seemed eager to learn and there was very lively discussion afterward.

I continue to be blessed by God and the culture and people of Palawan. Their lives are so simple and humble, but I never hear them complaining that they don't have enough. Some of the pastors have no income. One I talked to today earns about 750 pesos/ month. That's less than $20. The average is about 8000 pesos/month (less than $200). They work tirelessly to extend God's kingdom. What a lesson for me.
How quickly I complain that we can't afford a house in the Lower Mainland because the average home is about $800,000, or that we can't afford to take a real vacation every year. I have nothing to complain about. God is so good all the time.

I am tired though. Tomorrow is our last session for the conference. After that we go and visit some of the churches and ministries that RBC has supported.

We leave Palawan for Manila on Wednesday where we will visit some more ministries.

Tonight I hope to sleep a little longer than I have. I've been getting about five hours a night. Actually, I think I will try for a siesta right now.

This ugly fish that this guy is holding is called a Stone Fish. Apparently it is poisonous if stepped on and can actually kill you.

That's all for now.

Peace,

Pastor Jeff

Day Two in Palawan

2010-09-26T00:02:00.007-07:00

Hot! Brian put his thermometer in sun and it registered 46 C. It's not bad though. I only feels like 45 when you're in the shade.

I went to bed early last night, i think it was 7:00pm. I woke up at 2:00am and couldn't sleep any more so I worked on my message. I changed it quite a bit. I needed to tweek it a bit and simplify the language for a second language audience. At about 5:00am I took my iPhone outside and called Ruth on Skype. She seemed so close. I love technology -- when it works. The warm night (early morning technically) air felt comforting. As I was talking with Ruth I had roosters and the neighborhood dog competing for airtime. I felt bad because the owners of the bed and breakfast woke up to shush the dog. He was only doing his job. I, on the other hand, woke him up (the dog that is, not the owner) and he was just warning me that I shouldn't infringe on his owners' property. I acquiesced. But, I did finish my conversation with Ruth. We prayed together and then I went back in to get some more work done.

Brian had to preach at Community City Church at 7:00am. We had breakfast at 6:30 in the outdoor dining room. He went off to the church while I stayed and did a little more work. After getting my sermon done I hailed a a tricycle to take me to the service where I heard Brian preach a killer sermon.

After that service, we went over to Grace Baptist Church where I preached. I preached on Acts 1:8, "You Will Be My Witnesses". I think it hit home, although I never know, especially through culture and language barriers. Anyway, that's God's business now. I did what he gave me to do.

One of the things that really moved me int eh service was the singing. I have never, in all my years of being n the church, heard such heartfelt singing. Everyone sung their hearts out. I had a hard time holding back the tears. I was so beautiful. I felt like they really believed the things they were singing about God.

After the service we went out for lunch at a very beautiful restaurant right on the ocean. The food was amazing; fish, chicken, shrimp, egg plant, rice and some other things I didn't know the name of, o yes, and a mango shake. Lourdes said that all the meat gives it's life the day it is eaten. Very fresh.

We are back at our room now, supposed to be resting up for tonight, but we have to prepare for tomorrow. No rest for the wicked. The conference starts in the morning. Brian speaks at 8:30 and I speak at 10:00. And Dan Baetz speaks in the evening.

There are pastors from all over Palawan and some from Manila. I talked to a pastor that came via a small boat. It took him twelve hours from his little island to Puerto Princessa. I was very impressed by that. I asked him why. He said, "I want to learn". We have no idea in Canada what dedication to the Lord is.

I pray that I will go home a changed man. More appreciative of what God has entrusted me with. More willing to live sacrificially. More ready to trust God when the way seems unclear. And believing more than ever that the Spirit of Christ really is dwelling in me. God, you are so good.

This is a family of five arriving for church in a tricycle.

Landed in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

2010-09-25T00:48:00.008-07:00

We lost Friday. I'm still trying to figure that one out. We left Thursday (Well, Friday at 1:00am), we were in the air for 13 hours, there's a 15 hour time difference, so Friday just vanished.

The flight was great. We flew Philippine Airlines. Filipinos are very polite and have superb service. We arrived in Manila at about 6:00am. The service at the airport was phenomenal too. It seemed like there were more people working at the airport than there were passengers (I tend towards exaggeration). We showed our passports to the customs officers. That took about one minute. After walking through that phase of security an airport worker must have seen the confused look on our faces so he escorted us to the next phase of security where they took our baggage, screened it and loaded it on the next plane to Puerto Princesa. We had no idea where to board our next flight, but everyone is in the airport seemed to know where we were going. We just followed the finger pointing people out one door, up some stairs, down a corridor, through another door, and then through some more security scanners. It was much like the x-ray scanners in Canada, except we didn't put our wallets and loose change in a tray. We took our shoes off and put loaded them up with anything loose in our pockets.

We had an hour and a half wait for our next flight so we had a coffee and chatted with a very talkative guy with a British accent from Edmonton. He had opinions about anything we wanted to talk about -- all negative. He seemed lonely so we put up with the negativity and humored him. He was off to an island somewhere around here to meet his fiance that he met online. Apparently, his fiance in China didn't work out.

At 7:30 we head to board our plane to Palawan. It's starting to get hot. I like it. I reminds me of Hawaii. Hot, humid, and sort of like paradise, except with a lot more smog. That kind of made me sad, because I knew that Ruth would not be able to handle the pollution here. I so would have liked her to experience the culture.

The flight was just an hour. We disembarked and felt the hot, humid air hit our bodies. I headed outside to try and figure out where we were supposed to go next. We didn't know if Joe and Lourdes would be there or not. He actually called us while we were having sushi in Richmond on Thursday night, wondering why we weren't at the Puerto Princesa airport where they had come to pick us up. His days got mixed up because he was thinking BC time, not Philippines. I heard a familiar voice calling my name and turned to see Pastor Joe and Lourdes' smiling faces. We embraced warmly. I went back in to retrieve our luggage with Brian and loaded it into the SUV that was driven by Jojo, a young man, whom I think Joe and Lourdes must employ for times like this.

I liked the look of Palawan. It is nothing like I have experienced before. There are motored tricycles everywhere on the road. There don't seem to be any sort of rules that motorist follow, but they all seem to know what they're doing, and again, are very polite with each other. it's getting hotter. It's about 9:00. We drive to the place where we will be staying for the week. It is a six suite motel. It's called Mercedes Bed and Breakfast, only about a one minute drive from the airport. It's clean, comfortable, but hot. The air-conditioner struggles to keep up.

Joe and Lourdes wonder what we want to do and we settle on have a shower and then drive around a bit to get the lay of the land and then to lunch at the restaurant where City Community Church is based. I hop in the shower turn on the water and it sort of trickles out. Cold. It's refreshing, but missing the water pressure that I'm used to in Canada.

Pastor Joe and Lourdes return a half hour later. We drive to Grace Baptist Church where I will be preaching in the morning. They are having garage sale to raise money for the missions conference. We meet Pastor Jun, the senior pastor, and Pastor Harvey, the youth pastor. Hi lives in the church in perhaps a 12 by 12 foot room. Everyone is so welcoming.

After that we went to City Community Church at the restaurant call Balinsasayaw Rizal. We met some people there, set up a time when we'd be back for lunch and then walked to the mall. It's getting hotter. It's sunny and my head is bald as a cue ball. I worry a bit about getting a burn and decide to look for some sort of hat to buy for protection.

At the mall I try on about a thousand pairs of sandals and flip flops and settle for the first ones I picked up. The cost $240 pesos. About $5 Canadian. I feel bad for the sales guy who eagerly ran back and forth to get me different styles or colors. Lourdes tells me that it's his job. so don't worry about it.

After the mall we go back to the restaurant and into the VIP room where there is a huge meal fit for a king. There were coconuts with the tops cut out so we could drink the water from inside through a straw and then scrape the tender meat out and eat it. Chicken, several dishes that I hadn't seen before and followed by the best mango I have ever tasted. Before we started eating Pastor Joe asked me if I like eating hot things. I said, "I love hot and spicy. the hotter the better." There were some little red peppers on a plate that he started cutting up. I tried one, pretended it was like candy. He seemed disappointed. I took a relaxed drink from my mango shake and suppressed by pain with a forced smile.

After the meal. Pastor Joe fills us in on our schedule for the week. Things have changed again. that's ok. I'm starting to realize that maybe it's how things go around here.

After buying some bottled water we are now back at our room. I am writing this blog. I am so thrilled to be here. What a joy to minister to these people who are so eager to bless and be blessed. God is so good.

I think Joe will call soon and ask what we want to do for dinner. I'm not hungry. I feel satisfied in more ways than I can count. Lord, thank you for the privilege of bring here. I feel so blessed.

It's hot. I wonder how I will sleep tonight.

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

Waiting for departure

2010-09-23T23:19:00.003-07:00

Waiting. Not normally my favorite activity, if you can even call it an activity. I don't mind waiting at the airport though. It's so very cosmopolitan. There are not many people like me here (middle aged, slightly overweight bald guys with red goatees). Brian is the closest to that description, minus the bald, overweight, and red goatee.

We are at YVR. Waiting. Our flight was delayed just over an hour. Justin was gracious enough to drive us to the airport. We got here at about 8:30pm.

We fly out at 1:00am. That's ok. I've got plenty of prep to do for our speaking engagements. I'm not going to passively wait. I want to stay awake until we board the plane. I'd like to be as tired as possible on the flight so I can sleep as much as possible. So, I will busy myself now with things other than studying the variety of people that frequent airports. I've got lots to do.

I just found out from Brian that we loose a day. There are some things that my brain does not easily compute. Time travel is one of them. It's Thursday and we land in Manila on Saturday. I assumed that we would land on Friday and that I would have a day to take care of some of my prep. Not so. That's ok. I need plenty of practice trusting God. I will actively wait for our departure on the PAL 107.

As Christians we are to, likewise, actively wait for our departure from this earth. One day Christ will return to take us home. Until then we wait. But not passively. Between the two advents He has give us a job to do. We are to make disciples by teaching them to obey everything He told us to do (Matt. 28:19-20). We wait actively by submitting to His Spirit as He transforms us into the image of Christ (Romans 12:1-2). We've got work to do. We are waiting. It would be easy to waste our time doing trivial things that make our lives easy or fun. But, our lives would be just that - a waste. God has so much more for us. Life is so good and exciting as we learn to trust God as we actively wait for Christ to return.

I'm praying for all of you RBCers. Please pray for us as we minister in Palawan, Philippines.

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

Philippines Mission

2010-09-22T10:31:00.002-07:00

I am getting ready to fly to the Philippines. We leave tomorrow at 11:50pm. I took my first malaria pill today as recommended by several Filipinos. They are expensive little things. $170. I have yet to start packing. That's tomorrow's job. I did put a couple things aside so I wouldn't forget. I have my travel iron and my neck pillow for the flight. I have several barong tagalogs ready to bring along. They are the traditional loose fitting shirts that the men wear. I have to try to fit in.

My travel mate is Brian, pastor extraordinaire from Prince George. I'm looking forward to spending some time with him. He has a lot more experience in the pastorate than I do. I may be able to finagle some trade secrets from him on the 13 hour flight.

I'm feeling nervous about a few things. Number one is the teaching sessions that I am responsible for. The number of them has swelled from three to nine in the last while. God seems to like to stretch me so I depend on Him and not myself. When I first said that I would be willing to do this I thought it was going to be a small workshop with about a dozen pastors who didn't have a support network and some of them lacked training. I thought that, even with the little training and experience I have, I may be able to offer some small bit of encouragement to them.

It has now morphed into a full blown missions conference with about 100 pastors as well as a workshop after the conference with the dozen or so pastors. Now I'm not so sure. Lord, you are going to have to give me your grace and power, because this is beyond me.

I was hoping to have things pretty much prepared before I left, but things do not always go as planned. I have a general idea of what I am going to speak on, but not much concrete yet. Again, I will trust God.

We land in Manila early Friday morning and then fly to Puerto Princessa, Palawan, an island off the Southwest of the main island. Apparently it is quite the beautiful resort destination. Sunday morning I preach at Grace Baptist Church. Apparently, it's about the same size as RBC, between 200 - 250. Monday is the first day of the conference. I speak for an hour each day, till Thursday.

Session 1: Church Health Equals Church Growth
Session 2: Discipleship: Our Call
Session 3: Leading the Church to Becoming a Disciple Making Church
Session 4: Becoming Outward Focused

Pastoral Workshop
Day One: Your guess is as good as mine
Day Two: Same as above

Actually the workshop will be based on things that were said at the conference, so it will have to flow out of what the Lord gives me there.

Sunday: Speak at City Community Church

We then fly back to Manila where I will visit some of the ministries that we have supported. I want to encourage them, pray for them, and find out if and how we can continue to partner with them.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. I would really covet your prayers. I know that God is going to work. I simply need to humbly surrender to His Spirit and trust that His grace is sufficient.
He is good all the time.

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

Questions from Sunday - May 23, 2010

2010-05-25T14:11:00.009-07:00

Sunday, at the end of the sermon I got a text mail with a very good question that I'm sure all of us would like an answer to:

"How do you listen to God?"

I'm going to answer this from two angles because there are a couple different ways that one can interpret the question. First, what is my part in listening to God? i.e. What do I need to do to make sure that I am doing what I need to do so that I am spiritually attune to God? Or, second, how can I actually hear Him? i.e. How do I know His voice?

It's easy to preach about the necessity of listening to God without really explaining how to do it, or assuming that those in the congregation will know what I mean. It's much more difficult to explain because we don't normally hear God's voice in an audible sort of way. Jesus did say, though, in John 10 that the sheep "know" his voice and "listen" to his voice. The sheep, are, of course, those who call themselves His disciples. So, since, we can't hear him audibly, how can we be sure that it's His voice.

When my wife calls me on the telephone I can immediately recognize her voice even though she doesn't identifying herself. Not only can I recognize that it is her. I can usually pick up on what kind of mood she is in just by how she sounds. I know if she is sad, or excited, or mad, or happy. She can even try to hide her feelings, but I can pick up on her true feelings by the sound of her voice. I have spent almost every day with her for the last 22 1/2 years. I know her intimately.

The first key to listen to God is to posture ourselves in such a way that we can hear him. That means spending time with Him. I can't expect to hear Him if I'm not listening, and in order to listen I need to be purposeful about spending time with Him.

God is a god who speaks. He spoke creation into being in Genesis 1 and He has not ceased speaking since. He speaks through creation, that is we can see His hand in what He has done. He has spoken through His written Word - the Bible. And He has spoken through His Son, God-incarnate - Jesus Christ. So, by spending time with Him, I mean reading and meditating on His Word. Marinate yourself in the Bible - especially the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

Jesus said that the wise person is the one who hears His words and does them (Matt. 7:24-29). We can't do what Jesus says unless we first know what He says and the first way to know what He says is to spend time learning from Him in the Gospels. Meditate on them. Spend quiet time, not just reading, but asking God to speak to your heart. The more you do this, the more sensitive to His voice you will become.

I am assuming that the person who sent the text to me would like to know how he/she can know from God about specific direction in their life. Let me give you a three legged model that I use.

1. Read the Bible. Make sure that the decision you make does not contravene what God says in His Word. For instance, the Bible says that we should not steal, so we can assume that He wouldn't want us to choose bank robber as our career choice.

2. Talk to God's people. The Bible says in Proverbs 15:22 that there is wisdom in many counselors. Check with a few godly Christians you know about your plans. Ask them to pray with you. Ask them for wisdom.

3. Listen to the Holy Spirit who will speak to your heart and give you affirmation that the decision you are making is one that is wise and good. James 1:5 says, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you."

Yesterday I read through a journal entry I made in my PDA at a time when I was seeking guidance for my future. I was in a state of limbo in the ministry I was at and was sensing that God was going to move me on, but I was having a difficult time getting clarity from Him about any direction. Here is that journal entry.

September 8, 2005

"It's the silence that keeps me awake."

That's what I said to Ruth this morning after a somewhat sleepless night.

I got another email from a search committee. These things seem to come just after I have resigned myself to staying. I want God to speak to me more clearly. If He would tell me to go this way or that way I could confidently go even if its hard. Its the silence that keeps me awake. It's the silence that frustrates my soul at times to the point of debilitating me. It's the silence that makes me question every decision. How do you trust God when He's silent?

I suppose if the point in life was to find answers, or to get what I want, I would have to concede that God does not hear, or that He does not care. But, if the point in life is to get to know God, then where better than in wrestling with the silence.

Perhaps God is silent in order bring us to the point of surrender. What do we hold as treasure in our hearts that should be reserved for God? Wrestling with the silence has a way of revealing the direction of our soul. Those things don't matter. Those aspirations don't matter. What matters is whether or not God Himself is at the center. He will do whatever it takes to get us to the point of giving Him His rightful place.

Silence has a way of revealing what important to us.

I hope that helps. If not, clarify your question and I'll give it another shot. I don't always get it right the first time.

God's peace to you as you seek God and His wisdom for your life.
Pastor Jeff

Questions from Sunday - April 11, 2010 2nd attempt

2010-04-14T16:38:00.005-07:00

I am going to do a second attempt at answering the question from Sunday. Here is a reply to my answer to the question:

I am truly grateful for your insightful answer. I appreciate that. It was my fault that I did not make my question very clear in the first place. The question was actually deeper than it sounded like. What I was trying to get at through that question was the notion that Christ followers get no special treatment from God. In other words, following Christ without exception is not a "deal-breaker" (I quoted from Alex Gee) or guarantee for our relationship with God to evade getting trials and tribulations in our life. When the storms seem to be insurmountable in our life, how do we respond to that? Hypothetically, at this stage of life, let's say we have done the best we could to please God including marinating ourselves in the Gospels and spending quiet time with God and etc but it still seems that life is unfair for us, how do we respond to that? Shall we lament to God? I took an example from the life of Alex Gee as one of the pastors in Fountain of Life Madison-Wisconsin. No doubt, he is a devout Christian since his early childhood but I think what he went through in his life is beyond description with the lost of 2 children in a row. How do we respond to that?

Yes, that is certainly a different question from the one I answered. I met with a very good Christian friend for lunch today and he said something like, "I am seeing more and more that you can conceivably do all the right things in your life and still things can go terribly wrong." It's true. We see it all over the world. Bad things happen to good people. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:45, that God "gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."

I just heard today of a pastor whose son committed suicide recently. How is a Christian, and a pastor at that, one who has followed God all his life and conceivably done all the right things along the way, cope with a tragedy like this? Shouldn't God have prevented this thing from happening? How should he respond to God? It's impossible to say how I would respond to God in His situation because I have not walked in his shoes. I think that perhaps the best way to reply to this question is to tell you how I responded to a loss in my own life. It wasn't the loss of a person close to me. It was the loss of my business my identity was unhealthily wrapped up in.

I won't bore you with the long version. I will pick it up from where I thought my construction business was doing well. I had three salesmen working for me. I had an office staff and about twenty people working in the field: two eaves-trough crews; a couple roofing crews; a crew of framers; a plumber; and some siding crews. I thought I was doing pretty good. As a matter of fact I thought God was pretty lucky to have me on His side.

Since everything seemed to be going well I decided that I should go back to seminary and finish my graduate degree because, I thought, with my experience and leadership abilities God needs me. With that demented mindset I headed off to seminary in Saskatchewan to take a couple of modular two week intensive courses.

While there my pager and cell phone never stopped ringing. The bank called me several times; once to tell me that a couple of customers' very large cheques had bounced, and another telling me that my payroll had bounced. Then my salesmen disappeared. They had all under-quoted some jobs in order to make the sales. I foolishly trusted them and didn't keep tabs on what they were doing. To make a very long story short, I spent my nights those few weeks laying in the fetal position, crying myself to sleep, begging God to make it better. And all the while I was crying out to God I could sense Him speaking to me to persevere because I would come out the other side a stronger man. I didn't pretend that everything was ok. It wasn't. It was terrible and I was desperate. God seemed quite able to handle my desperate pleas.

David in the Psalms often cried out to God is desperation. Sometimes he seemed downright angry at God. He was terribly honest. Psalm 42 is my favorite. We're not really sure what the situation was that David was writing from. There are several suggestions. One is when he was hiding out in the caves of En Gedi when Saul was trying to kill him. Another possibility, and probably a better one, is when he was fleeing from his son Absalom who was trying to depose him from the throne. I'm not sure which would be worse; to have a son chasing you down trying to kill you, or to have a son die. David had both.

Here is what he wrote in Psalm 42. Listen to his pain as he cries out to God.

1 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? 3 Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” 4 My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! 5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and 6 my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. 7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. 8 But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. 9 “O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” 10 Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?” 11 Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!

He sounds pretty desperate doesn't he? He doesn't hold back at all. He expresses his disappointment knowing that God is big enough to handle it. Notice though that after his lament He always comes back to trust. He recognizes that although he is at the end of himself he will at some point come back to the realization that God is 100% trustworthy.

Read Romans 8. Here's a short part of it.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Life is not fair. We can work hard at living it in the best way possible and still get cancer, or lose one we love. Things can go terribly wrong even though we try to make sure that we lived well and had all the contingencies in place. The world we live in is broken. It's temporary. And one day God is going to make it all right. I guess that is why it's so important to have an eternal perspective and not attempt to make heaven on earth. God is good all the time! No matter what pain, trial or loss we face God's love is sure. I hope that helps!

Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. (2nd ed.) Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Questions from Sunday - April 11, 2010

2010-04-13T17:30:00.005-07:00

I am always thrilled when I get questions from the sermon, because when that happens I know that people are thinking these things through and not just accepting what I say.

I got one question this Sunday, and it's one that I'm sure we all think about.

I think we believe that we don't live in "la-la land" where things go smoothly according to our plans. When things get derailed from our plans and when our faith in God gets tested severely (for example, losing children or the one we love* or like what Job experiences in his life), how do we respond to God and trust persistently that His way is better than what we were living?

*Alex Gee. (2006). When God lets you down. Inter Varsity Press.

This is a great question, and I'm sure it's one that we all ask when things go bad in our lives. I suppose I could give the pat answer and just say, "God knows best, and He's in control, so take comfort in that." However, when you are in the middle of a world that seems to be falling apart that sort of response doesn't seem to help.

Jesus actually talked about this in His parable of the wise and foolish builders in Luke 6. He said,

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Notice that there are only two differences between the wise and foolish builder. First, the wise builder, in addition to hearing the words of Jesus, actually obeys them. Secondly, the wise builders' house withstood the storm. Both builders heard His words. Both builders encountered a severe storm. The difference was the foundation they built on, which is obedience to the will of God.

So, how do you respond well to the storms of life? Live in obedience to Christ. But, again, this seems like a pat answer. It seems like a pat answer, but it really isn't. The only reason we would obey someone is if we think that it is best for us to do so. The question then is, how well do we know Jesus? The more we get to know Him, the more we will see that He is trustworthy. The more that we see He is trustworthy the more readily we will be obedient to the way of life that He offers us. In other words, we need to get to know Jesus. How do we do that? We marinate ourselves in the Gospels. We spend quiet time with Him in meditation. We do the hard work of disciplining ourselves so that when the storm comes we know that God is bigger than the storm. We know that Jesus has and will never lead us wrong.

I hope that doesn't sound like a pat answer. There really is no easy way. It's more along the lines of preventative discipline so that we are ready when the hard stuff comes. And of course, this takes practice. We get hit by a storm. In fear and trepidation we trust God through it and we learn that He is trustworthy so the next time a storm comes our faith muscles have been built stronger. Learn that our Father God is well able to sustain us even when the most severe storms blow our way.

Matthew 11

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Let me know if this is not helpful and you need a more complete answer.

Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. (2nd ed.) Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Questions from Sunday - April 4, 2010

2010-04-06T09:36:00.006-07:00

He has risen!!! What a superb Easter weekend we had. Both our Good Friday service and the Easter Sunday service were very Christ honoring. Praise the Lord!

Sunday I announced that those listening to the sermon could email me or send a text message with questions they have. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I received two questions from Sunday's service. One regarding the sermon, and one regarding communion which we celebrated together.

1. Here is the first question:

From time to time it is mentioned that Jesus body was broken for us. However when the Scripture is read just before the bread is passed, the reading says that Jesus says this is my body, given for you. My question is: Does Scripture state that his body was broken? I ask this in reflecting of the Passover Lamb when they were instructed not to break any of the bones of the Lamb and the same is reflected in John 19 when they pierced His side and in Psalm 34:20 etc. In Isaiah 53 it does say that He was crushed for us. Just wondering your thoughts.

This is a much more complex question than what it seems at first glance. The short answer is that yes, if you read the King James Version you will read in 1 Corinthians 11:24, "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." Young's Literal Translation also renders it similarly. I didn't look at every translation, but of the 10 or so that I did look at, these were the only two that translated it as such. I'm not a Greek expert. I took just enough Greek to get myself into trouble, so I have to rely on others who are more adept at the languages than I am.

To put it simply, though, it's a manuscript issue and a science called textual criticism which studies those manuscripts to ascertain which is most accurate. There are thousands of manuscript copies of the Greek texts of the New Testament. We don't have any of the originals. There are different families of texts depending on age and other variants within the manuscripts. The KJV and YLT used what is called the Received Text manuscript. They are not the oldest copies, but they are numerous. The newer translations used what is called Wescott-Hort manuscripts. They are much older, but fewer copies are extant. That said, absolutely none of the variants has any bearing on any major Christian doctrine, so we don't need to worry about feeling insecure about the accuracy of the Bible.

In regards to your question relating to 1 Corinthians 11:24 regarding the prophecy that none of Christ's bones would be broken might seem to call into question the accuracy of the KJV translation of the verse. However, I don't think it necessarily has to. Jesus didn't have any bones broken, but His body certainly was. He had a crown of thorns crushed on his head. He was beaten and whipped with a cat of nine tails. He was nailed to the cross and finally He was pierced with a spear. I would say that a good way to describe the condition of His body was that it was broken.

I hope that is clear enough for you. If not let me know and I'll try to clarify it further.

2. The second question that was posed was this:

What about the differences in the story among the four gospels? The events seem similar but there are notable differences. Is there a reason for the differences?

Yes, there many differences between the four passion accounts. This is actually a good thing and lends to the credibility of the Bible. In a court of law if witnesses are called upon to give testimony the veracity of their stories will be called into question if they are too similar. It would normally mean that the witnesses colluded with each other in an effort to ensure that they had their stories straight.

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are quite similar, but still with some distinction between them. John is a completely different style. Continuing on with the courtroom analogy, if you had four witnesses on the stand giving truthful accounts of the same incident you would get variations of the same story. All would be true, but they would each focus on different things, or have noticed something that the others didn't.

In the sermon on Sunday, (April 4, 2010) I synthesized the four narratives into one to fill out the story as best as I could. That's an important exercise when reading the Gospels. Look for the parallel passages in the other Gospels so that the story is rounded out.

Again, I hope that helps. Let me know if it needs clarification.

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

Going Home

2010-01-28T23:33:00.011-08:00

It's 2:00am Friday morning. I fell asleep at about 8:30 last night. Had I been more strategic about combating jet lag I would have forced myself to stay awake until about 1:00am, which would be 11:00pm home time. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some more sleep before I fly out later today. Anyway, it's a great time to do my last blog for the trip. It's bitter sweet, of course, because I certainly do miss Ruth and my church family at RBC, but there is so much more to see. The last two days were spent in Jerusalem. Wednesday night Wayne and I wandered around the old city until about 11:00pm. I have never felt so safe walking late in an urban centre before. The streets were alive. It seemed like everyone knew each other. There were still some young children, ten or twelve years old playing, and young men and women standing around, leaning against the city walls chatting, some smoking cigarettes.

If you looked up you would see security video cameras keeping an eye on the streets to make sure nothing untoward happens. There is a very strong police and military presence. The Israelis, for obvious reasons, take security very seriously. The Old City is divided into quadrants of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian. When you cross over from the Jewish to the Muslim side you have to go through a security check point, much like the security that we now need to put up with when we fly -- empty pockets, place bags on counter for a search and walked through a scanner to make sure you aren't carrying weapons. When you go to the Western Wall (or the Wailing Wall) you do the same procedure. It was not an inconvenience at all. I felt extremely safe because of the measures they take to ensure that Jerusalem is a place of shalom.

Anyway, we walked through security a couple times that night. We talked about how phenomenal it was that we were walking in the city where the disciples of Jesus had walked many times, and how this was the city where Jesus, when he was still a boy, was forgotten by his family who were already on their way back home to Nazareth. I imagined what it would have been like for them to run through crowded, narrow, city streets that are filled with a labyrinth of passage ways that make it very easy to get lost if you aren't well acquainted with the city. We could have walked all night, but we knew that a good sleep was important for us because the next day would be very full.

Thursday we walked along the outside of the wall of the city by the temple. We stood on a piece of ground where our guide, Eitan said that he has no doubt that Jesus and His disciples would have stepped (see the second picture from the bottom, where I am sitting down). As a matter of fact, he said that a friend of his was guiding Neil Armstrong, the man who took that inaugural first step on the moon in 1969, who asked him to take him to one piece of ground that he could guarantee that Jesus had placed his feet. The place in the photo above is the place where the guide took him. Armstrong, with tears flowing down his face said that standing on that ground in Jerusalem where Jesus walked was far more meaningful to him than stepping on to the lunar soil.

After this we went through security in to the courtyard by the wailing wall and then down into some tunnels that go under the wall of the city. The reason there is a tunnel is because the existing walls are not the originals that were there when Jesus walked the earth. The city and the temple were destroyed for the second time in 70AD. Jesus, predicted their destruction. All three of the synoptic Gospels recount the incident where the disciples are awed by the stones of the temple. In Mark 13 it says, 1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.” 2 Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
The tunnels were dug to get down to the original walls. Having seen them I can imagine why the disciples were so impressed. The one stone is the largest single carved stone moved by man without the use of modern machinery. It is 570 tons and is 44 feet long, 10 feet high and 12-16 feet deep. The next largest stone in the wall is a mere 40 feet long. The largest stone in the Great Pyramid weighs 11 tons. It was cut with such precision that it didn't need mortar between the stones. No wonder the disciples were in such awe. We certainly were.

The tunnels continue for about a half a kilometer with numerous archeological finds along the way. At one site, which is considered to be the closest place to the Holy of Holies in the temple you can find people praying as in the picture above. It is said by some religious Jews to be the most holy place in the world.

After emerging from the deep we had lunch in the Christian section of the old city and then spent a few minutes wandering through the very busy market where people selling their wares would try to entice you to buy. As we were walking by they would yell out a price for whatever they were selling and as you continued to walk away the price would get less and less.

Our final part of the journey was appropriately to walk along the the via dolorosa (the way of suffering). We stopped at each of the 14 stations of the cross and then had a very meaningful communion service one of the apparent sites of the tomb of Jesus and His resurrection.

He has risen! He has risen indeed!!!!! I could go on and on, but I need to get some shut eye. It's 5:00am.

Shalom!!! See you on Sunday.

Pastor Jeff

Jerusalem, Oh Jerusalem

2010-01-25T13:46:00.004-08:00

This morning we had a little bit of a later start than normal -- normal being wake up at sixish and on the road at 7:30. The plan was to climb Masada at 5:30, but it turned out that my roommate is a snorer so I put earplugs in and missed my alarm and the call from the others wondering where we were. Now, it would stand to reason that my roommate should have heard the alarm and phone call, but apparently I'm a snorer too and he also used earplugs. No worries we had a nice restful sleep until about 6:30 and then another amazing breakfast. All hotels here come with a smorgasbord in the morning. I have never seen so much amazing food.

After breakfast we swam, or I guess I should say, we floated in the Dead Sea. Yes, it's true you float like a balloon on top of the water. It's quite a strange feeling. The water was refreshingly cold.

After our swim we headed up Masada on the tram. It was unbelievable. Masada isn't mentioned in the Bible but it is an important part of Israel's history. The Jewish historian Josephus recounts how over 900 Zealot Jews committed suicide instead of submitting to the Roman emperor after the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Masada is a fantastic archeological site. Read some more about it from here.

After that we took a short stop at En Gedi where David hid from King Saul in caves and cut off a piece of his garment while he was sleeping.

Then off to Jerusalem. What an amazing feeling to set our faces towards Jerusalem for the climax of our journey. We will go home in a couple days. Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem, the Bible says, knowing that His fate was the cross. We took a walk tonight through Jerusalem. One of the roads we walked on was the via dolorosa, (the way of suffering) in which Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha to be crucified. We walked to the wailing wall and prayed after inserting a prayer request in the wall. Then we went out for coffee before making our way back to our hotel.

We walked for about four hours. I had imagined that walking in Jerusalem at night would be unsafe, but I felt safer there than I would walking in Vancouver at night. It's 12:15am now and I am dead tired. We rise at 6:15. Tomorrow we will spend some more time in Jerusalem and then head over to Bethlehem in Palestine, which means that our Jewish guide and drive can't accompany us as Jews are not allowed across the Palestinian border.

I have no great spiritual insights tonight, except to say that I am continuing to fall deeper in love with Jesus and with Israel. What a blessing for me to be in the Land.

Shalom,
Pastor Jeff

Towards the Dead Sea

2010-01-24T10:46:00.004-08:00

Our journey is half done now. I'm writing this at about 8:30pm Sunday night, which is 10:30am Sunday morning BC time. The service at RBC is just beginning. Earlier today I prayed for RBC. As much as I am thrilled to be in Holy Land walking in the footsteps of Jesus I miss RBC. I talked to Ruth about 45 minutes ago. She has a killer cold and can't go to church either. We both miss our church family when we can't be there.

However, I'm here and loving it. Our first stop on the way to the Dead Sea was the ancient site of Magdala. This was Mary of Magdalene's (Magdala's) home town. Next we went to Bet She'an (in the photo above) which is the largest archeological site in Israel. It was incredible. There is a very large theatre, a couple public bath houses, hippodrome and a cultic temple. On top of a hill overlooking the city was the house of an Egyptian Governor from the 12 Century BC.

Next stop Harod's Stream at the South end of Mout Gilboah. (Saul was killed on this mountain) This was the stream where Gideon chose his 300 men to fight a battle against thousands of men.

Judges 7: 1-

1So Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon) and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of Harod. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. 3 Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain* and go home.’ ” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.
4 But the LORD told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” 5 When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the LORD told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” 6 Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream.
7 The LORD told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” 8 So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him.

Against all odds, God through Gideon miraculously defeated the Midianites. This was an exercise in dependence and trust in God's provision.

Next stop was Naboth's Garden. First Etan taught us from a vantage point that overlooked the Jezreel Valley along the Jordan River. Nazareth was in the distance. Jesus regularly walked along the Jordan between Nazareth and Bethany where His friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived and then Jerusalem. At Naboth's vineyard was an excavated site of his vineyard. if you don't remember who Naboth was read 1 Kings 21. Naboth was a king who pouted because he coudn't buy a vineyard that he wanted and his wife, the evil Jezebel connived to get it for him. The vats and vineyard are still there.

Next we headed through the West Bank. Everything changed after going through the check point. The terrain became more rugged and desert like. There were Bedouins living in the hills in tents. Camels wandered in the flat lands. Shepherds tended their flocks in the hills. Small unkempt villages popped up along the way. In these towns life looked to move very slow.

We arrived at Qumran and had lunch after which Etan took us to the site and showed us the caves where a Bedouin shepherd boy found the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in 1947. He was looking for his sheep by throwing a stone in caves to see if his sheep were in them. When he heard a crash instead of the bleating of sheep he went in to see what he broke and found the ancient scrolls which were dated at the second century BC. A reclusive Jewish sect of about two hundred people called Essenes meticulously worked on copying the Old Testament texts which were over 99% the similar to current texts. This was the most significant biblical archeological finding in decades.

After we were taught by Etan we had a very meaningful communion service in which several of us took part.

Next stop our hotel at the very south end of the Dead Sea. Tomorrow we rise at 5:15 am, and climb Masada, then have a quick swim in the Dead Sea and off to Jerusalem.

I must say, the more I have seen in the Holy Land the stronger my faith in God and His Word becomes. All the archeological finds lend credence to the biblical text. God is real! He is all-powerful, and He is good -- all the time.

God's shalom to you,

Pastor Jeff

Falling in Love with Jesus all Over Again

2010-01-23T11:44:00.008-08:00

Today we spent all our time around the Sea of Galilee. First stop was the Mount of Beatitudes. It was the Sabbath so the streets on the way there were eerily empty. We took a group picture with the sea on the background and then went immediately into some teaching time with Etan. We sat down on some rocks under some trees. It was quiet and very reverent. Etan had someone read from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 then he went on to explain the text. After he was finished his teaching he admitted that Jesus was much more than a prophet -- "much more", he said. We sat there quietly for a few minutes. Nobody moved. Nobody said a word. We got up one by one and wandered off. I intercepted Etan and walked with him for a few minutes. I said, "Etan, I want to thank you for ministering to us. I find it so amazing that you don't call yourself a Christian but the way you teach I am falling more and more in love with Jesus." He then said something to the effect that he's not finished his journey yet, sort of leaving the door open to the idea that he might one day call himself a disciple of Jesus.

After looking around the catholic church on the grounds we went on to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus' Galilee ministry. We simply walked down the hill. Etan picked some mustard seed, which was very abundant and taught about the parable of the mustard seed. Jesus spent much of His time in Capernaum preaching, teaching, healing the sick, and performing all kinds of miracles. The house that is said to be Peter's and where Jesus may have lived with them for a while was there. A most interesting ruin of a temple (pictured above) was a highlight of the day.

Next we went down the road to Tabgha located at the foot of the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus is said to have multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed five thousand people. We then went to a boat museum where a reconstructed boat from the time of Jesus was on display and finally a magnificent boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We landed in Tiberius and went on to our next Kibbutz where we enjoyed far too much food. Don't be surprised if I look 10 pounds heavier when I come back.

What an absolutely tremendous day. Before leaving Canada I wondered what God would do in my heart while I walked with Jesus in Israel. I wondered if I would leave different than I came. I can tell you that I am more eager to get to know Jesus. I am more hungry for the Word. I have a deeper desire to experience His goodness, and I am so looking forward to coming home to RBC to walk together in the foot steps of Jesus.

Tomorrow, the Dead Sea, Gilgal, Nazareth, and Bet She'an - the largest archeological dig in Israel. I can hardly wait.

Shalom to you,

Pastor Jeff

It just keeps getting better

2010-01-22T08:00:00.028-08:00

How could it get any better than what we had on Day One? I thought it would be impossible. How wrong I was. Day Two was better. Day three better yet. I have to tell you I feel so very full. Our guide is Jewish - not Christian, yet he passionately talks about Jesus as if he believes that He is the Messiah the hope for the world. I am being fed like I've never been fed before, and yet every day I feel hungry for more. When I read the Bible now I am constantly seeing things that I didn't see before and asking questions I have never asked. Etan is like a river of Biblical knowledge. He never stops teaching. I feel like my faith has grown so much through this experience.

It's now Shabbatt -- as of sun down. I am in the lobby of the kibbutz. There are about 150 people here listening to live Jewish music. People are enthusiastically clapping along. It's family time. At dinner families were in the dining room celebrating their Shabbatt meal together. The men wore their Yamakas, or if they didn't have one would put a napkin on their heads. First they stood around the table singing a celebratory, very obviously Jewish sounding song together. Then they sat down and enjoyed lively conversation around the meal.

Before our meal Etan led us through what a typical Shabbatt meal would entail. It was so moving to understand a little of the symbolism -- all pointing to an almighty God who cares for His people. That was how we ended a very full and satisfying day.

We started the day at Tel Dan, the ancient city of Dan where we saw the wall of the city and the temple that was built in the high place by the Northern Kingdom so they wouldn't have to go to Jerusalem to worship. I have a picture of me standing in the Holy of Holies (I'm having trouble downloading the photos, otherwise I'd have some here). We spent about two hours here. We walked to the source of the Jordan River. The Jordan is fed by the largest spring in the Middle East. In some places the Jordan rages very powerfully. In others it is calm and not looking very threatening at all. The path we followed to get to the source borders Lebanon. Wayne and I stepped across far enough to get our picture done to prove that we had been there.

Our next Stop was Cesaerea Philippi, or where the city was. It has yet to be excavated. We walked across the Hermon River Springs to the site where Jesus and Peter had that amazing exchange where Jesus said to Peter, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." Etan showed us the four places where there were temples erected for four different gods: Pan; Zeus, and the Tomb Temple of the sacred goats; and Nemesis - the goddess of vengeance and imperial justice. There was a large cave in the rock and the floor of the rock had a pool of water under which it is said that the gods had access to and from the underworld. He said that when Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church he was referring to the demonic world under the cave. In other words those so called gods have no power. He has supreme power and Satan and his army of dark angels will not be able to defend themselves against the church. Wow!!! Scripture came alive once more. What an awesome God we have.

After this we went through the controversial Golan Heights in Upper Galilee, occupied by Israel, but which the Syrians believes belongs to them. We stopped at a little village called Mas 'ade. All the residents are Druze (with the exception of one Christian family I found out by chatting with one of the locals). The Druze are neither Christian, Jew nor Muslim. They are actually a strange mix of the three with some of their own elements mixed in such as a belief in the transmigration of souls and the ultimate perfection of humankind. We had some of their very good coffee and famous sweets and continue our ascent to the summit of Mount Bental. This was a military stronghold that borders Syria. From the summit you could look out and see for miles. It would be impossible for the enemy to make a sneak attack on the Israel from this vantage point.

After a surprise stop at an olive oil factory we headed back to the Kibbutz for our Shabbatt meal. What a fabulous day with Jesus!!!! How could we possibly beat this day? Well, how about a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum and boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. O Lord, I am so full and so looking forward to receiving more. "As the deer pants for water so my soul longs for you oh Lord." (Psalm 42).

Stepping into the Land

2010-01-21T11:04:00.006-08:00

This is the first day since landing in Israel Tuesday afternoon that I've had an internet connection. I was able to connect on my phone with Skype last night. Wayne and I went for a long walk around Netanya looking for a wi-fi signal. We finally found one and stood on a street corner where, standing in the rain, we both called home to let our wives know that we had arrived safely in Israel. The flight was about 12 hours long - emphasis on the long. I didn't sleep the whole trip because my back decided that I needed to stay awake for some reason.

We landed in Tel Aviv at about 1:30pm on Tuesday. We were exhausted, but excited with anticipation. I have heard of people who have life changing experiences when they go to the Holy Land for the first time. I wondered if I would have a similar experience.

Day 1, on the way to our first Hotel we stopped in Joppa. This was the place in Acts where the Peter had his vision of the sheet that came down from heaven with all the "unclean" animals on it. Peter was hungry and God told him to eat the animals in the sheet. Peter was appalled and at first refused to eat because the animals were not kosher. God told him not to call anything that He has made clean unclean. The day before that Cornelius, a Roman God-fearing centurion, had a vision where an angel to him to send some men to Joppa and find Peter who would have a message for him.

This was a watershed moment in history. Cornelius wasn't a Christian. He wasn't a Jew either, but he had a heart for God. Until this time, the early Christians thought that Christ was just for the Jews. Things would be changed forever now.

Acts 10

23 So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa. 24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Peter put two and two together and realized for the first time that Christ was for people of all nations who would believe - Jew and Gentile.

What a thrill it was to be in the place where all this took place. After Joppa we we to our hotel and then the next day, just like Peter, we went to Caesarea where we saw Herod's theatre, the Hippodrome and the steps that I'm standing on the the photo above. Our tour guide, Etan, said that this was the one place where he was 99% sure that the Apostle Paul and many of the other New Testament figures would have likely have stepped on from their docked boats.

I tried to imagine Paul being there on those steps 2000 years ago. I was overcome with emotion and had to fight to keep my composure. I told Brian (the owner of Christian Journeys) how overwhelming this was for me and he said, "This is only the beginning." He was right.

After that we went to Mount Carmel where Elijah battled it out with the Prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven to burn up his sacrifice on the altar that he had soaked with water. Then we went to Cana of Galilee to the place where Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding where the host ran out of wine. After that it was to Nazareth, the birthplace of Jesus.

About thirteen hours later our first marathon day was nearly done and we traveled for about an hour and a half to Kibbutz Hagoshrim in Upper Galilee where we will call home for two days. It's now 11:15pm and I need to attempt to get my mind to shut off and find some sleep so we can do it again tomorrow.

I don't have words to describe this experience. Scripture is opening up like it never has before. I feel like a beginning student of the Bible. It's like drinking from a fire hydrant, yet at the same time, I am thirsty for more.

I'll try to post some photos tomorrow. God's shalom to you!

Pastor Jeff, from the land of our Lord.

First leg of the journey

2010-01-18T21:59:00.005-08:00

Sunday was a day to remember. I went to sleep at 8:30 Saturday night because I was exhausted from only having two hours sleep Friday night. 1:30am was the last time my eyes would see sleep. I laid in bed hoping that I might be able to drift off and snag at least a few minutes before my alarm would rudely let me know that it was 5:30 and time to get to the church to prepare for the morning service. After realizing that it wasn't to be I rolled reluctantly out of bed, got ready for church, drove through the McDonald's drive through, as I do every Sunday morning. Hence, I was operating on only about seven hours of sleep over two days. I asked God for grace to make it through the day.

We had Dan Baetz as a guest speaker in church. He is the Director of Fellowship International Ministries. He did a fantastic job of stirring the congregation towards the mission of Christ. We had 5 people baptized that morning as well. They all gave their testimonies. I was so thrilled to hear their stories of how God had intersected with their lives.

After church we went to Megumi Japanese Baptist Church where I preach monthly. After that service I, along with Tim and Ruth, had the privilege of praying with a young lady to receive Christ. I went home exhausted, but so full of joy I could hardly contain myself. God is so amazing. I kept saying to Ruth (I'm sure she got sick of it), "I love our church. I am so thankful to God."

I slept like a baby that night - over eight hours. Just what I needed. I boarded my plane to Toronto. I prayed that God would set up a divine appointment for me and then kept my eyes open. A young lady sat beside me in plane. I initiated a short conversation by asking her where she was off to and left it at that. I didn't want to be one of those people who chats it up with someone who is not interested in a conversation. About half way through the flight she asked me something. I can't remember what it was but I found out about her job and family. She was off to Toronto from Vancouver for business and she left her kids at home with her husband.

She asked what I did for a living, which gets varied responses, depending on their view of pastors, from "Ewww groooss" (actually, they never say that, but I can see it in their eyes and body language), to mild amusement, to "That must be great to have a job where you only have to work an hour a week." Anyway, we got into somewhat of a spiritual conversation when she asked what brand of Christianity I was a part of. I struggled with how to answer and ended up sharing the Gospel with her instead. She said that she had been very involved in a church before she got married and it sounded like she had a real faith in Christ, but said that she hadn't been to church since she was married. I asked her why and she started to cry.

I'm going to leave the rest of the story to protect her privacy, but I told her that i would pray for her and she seemed genuinely thankful. I'm sure she would appreciate it if you would pray as well.

I'm at the Toronto airport right now. It's 3:30pm and we leave at 7:00pm. I'm with my buddy Wayne who is a fellow pastor in Cranbrook. Please continue to pray for us that we will many more divine appointments. I am praying for the same for you.

Shalom,
Pastor Jeff

packing light

2010-01-17T20:29:00.003-08:00

I'm not the kind of guy who worries about what to pack on a trip. When Ruth and I leave for vacation each summer she literally takes about a week to pack. She has a list that she has perfected over the years and she takes her time making sure that she's got everything on her list. And typically she asks me to help her with decisions about clothes. "Which tank top looks best? Should I take both of them, or just the one? What about this... and that... and this other thing? " I tell her, "They are all fine." She hates that answer. She says "fine" is not a word that helps her make decisions. Anyway, you get the picture. She takes a lot of time deliberating about the clothes she is going to pack.

Not me. I pack the morning of our departure. I don't stand in front of my closet vacillating between the red or the green thing. Men don't have such propensities. I simply take it all. Why worry? It doesn't matter.

Of course that tactic works for a summer trip in our Dodge Magnum, a sort of station wagon with lots of cargo space. It doesn't, however, work for an overseas trip to Israel. Packing light is the theme for this trip. It's something that I'm not very practiced at. So, now I'm a little worried. What if I need that thingy that I'm not going to pack? What if I the weather is different that I expect it's going to be and that old tattered stained sweatshirt didn't make the cut in my packing list? I'm flying El Al from Toronto to Tel Aviv. They allow only one suitcase and one carry on. So, the suitcase I have decided to take is one of those mammoth crates that you can pack a small apartment in. I'm going to take it all. I may need that sweat shirt.

Now, in the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter how much I take. 10 years from now I'll look back on this trip and without giving a second thought to my idiosyncratic packing tactics. In other parts of life though how we travel is a weightier issue.

Hebrews 12:1-4

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Gravity pulls us down to earth and the more we hang on to down here, the more we try to take with us the harder it is to live well. We have a tendency to think we are living well if we have a lot of stuff. The truth is just the opposite. It's all going to end up in the landfill. It's not as important as we think. The important things are eternal -- God and people. So, instead of focusing on collecting more trophies for ourselves let's work on becoming a people who grows in our love for God and others. Let's "strip off every weight that slows us down..."

I leave at 11:30 tomorrow. I think I'm going to go to our storage room and get that smaller suitcase. I'm going to attempt to pack light. I'll let you know how it goes.

God With Us

2009-12-08T15:48:00.004-08:00

Matthew 1:23

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).

God is with us. I think this is one of the most profound statements in the whole Bible. God is with us. The Almighty God condescended and became like me. Think about it. God, the One who created the universe and everything in it, humbled Himself. Don't you find that hard to fathom? That begs many questions. The first thing that comes to mind is how can someone perfect humble himself. If God is perfect, and holy and righteous the only reason for doing that is for humanity. He humbled Himself so that we could get to know Him. He became like us. Wow! Actually, double wow!! He purposefully humbled himself. He was not humbled. God cannot be humbled. In order for him to come low, He had to make that decision.

That begs the question, "Why did He do it?" And the only answer is from John 3:16, "For God so loved the world..." That is what love makes possible. God is love and love is from God. Without love humility is impossible for a higher being.

Another question: What does that mean for you and me? Paul said in Philippians 2:5-8, (NLT)

"Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross."

"Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had."

This is the way God has called us to live. Jesus was The Great Sent One, and we too are the sent ones. We are sent into the world to be like Jesus. We are to humble ourselves and take the life saving message of Jesus to the world around us. That takes a lot of bending. It's not natural, but it is what God has called us to do by the supernatual power of the Holy Spirit who lives in the Christian.

That is why at RBC we serve our community in practical ways. That is why we sacrifice so that others can experience the same love that we have receieved from Jesus. "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had."

That is what Christmas means. It is about incarnation. God became like us so that we could get to know him and have life. We become like those around us so that they can get to know the Christ who lives in us.

God's peace to you as you live out the life of Christ in your community.

Pastor Jeff

Our Father in Heaven

2009-10-26T17:04:00.002-07:00

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." (Matthew 6:9)

What is God like? Is He distant? Is He unapproachable and aloof? Is He too busy to talk? Does He really care about the things that I care about?

Jesus begins this prayer that He's just taught His disciples addressing God as "Father." What kind of a father is He? In the news recently has been the story of a father in Merritt, BC who brutally killed his three children to get back at his wife. Is God that kind of a father that can't be trusted? One minute you think He's ok and the next thing you know He's snuffed out your life for no apparent reason except to further His agenda? What is He really like?

Well, depending on what sort of relationship you had with your earthly father you may view Him in different ways. We tend to relate to God is a similar way that we relate to our earthly father. Hence, if your father was not affectionate and caring, or if he was downright mean and vindictive, you may think that God is that way too and you could have a difficult time trusting Him enough to believe that He has your best in mind. If, on the other hand, your father was nurturing, approachable, kind, and affectionate, you will likely have an easier time building intimacy with Him and believing that He has a good future for you.

God does have a good future for you. He is the perfect Father. No matter how good your earthly father is or was, he was not perfect. But, God the Father is, and He has your best in mind.

While the Jews were being taken into captivity by the Babylonians God through the prophet Jeremiah said this:

Jeremiah 29

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

So, no matter what you're going through right now God has a good future in mind for you. Your situation may not seem like it, but it is true. God never wastes pain. He takes it and turns it into something good. Why not trust Him today knowing that He is the perfect Father who will never let you down?

Next Jesus says that after addressing God as Father we are to "hallow" His name. That means we are to make it holy -- recognizing that He is the Supreme ruler, not only of creation, but of you personally. In other words, to hallow Him means to do what He says. We cannot call Him God and Father and go on with life as usual.

Jesus said a similar thing in Luke 6:46: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say." In Matthew He said the same thing and then went on to tell the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27). There were two builders. One was wise and one was foolish. The wise builder built his house on the rock and when the storms of adversity came along his house was sturdy enough to withstand it because it had a good foundation. The foolish builder built his house on the sand. When the storms came it fell flat because it didn't have a good foundation. Jesus said that the only difference between the two was that the wise builder not only listened to the teaching of Jesus, he followed through with obedience. The foolish builder heard Jesus' teaching too, but he didn't obey and when the storms of adversity came along he found that he couldn't handle life.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." If we call God, "Father" we must do what He says. His mission for us while we are on earth is to make disciples by teaching them to obey Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). He said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and people and all the other commands are summed up in those two. Hence, we are to teach others how to love God and how to love people. That is God's call on our lives.

Why not give God permission to search your heart this week and show you if there is any way that you need to surrender to His way of living. Remember, He will never call you to something that you and He together cannot handle.

Shalom,
Pastor Jeff

Becoming a People of Prayer

2009-10-19T13:43:00.002-07:00

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that everybody prays whether they know it or not -- even the atheist. In one of our Christianity Explored classes a few years ago we had people from several different faith backgrounds in the group, including a couple atheists who were new to the country. One of them on the way to the class was nearly in an accident. A car was careening towards her. She slammed on her breaks, closed her eyes, and to her surprised said, "Please, help God." She told us that she didn't know where that came from. But, I believe that God has put a knowledge of Him deep in the heart of even the atheist. Everyone prays. Some just don't know who they are praying to.

Jesus taught us how to pray in the Gospels. Here's what He said.

Matthew 6:5-15

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰ your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

¹² Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Even a quick look at this passage shows us that Jesus was not concerned with the form of praying, but the heart of the prayer. "Who are you praying to?" is the question Jesus asks. The religious people that Jesus calls hypocrites were not praying to God. They were praying to those who were within earshot of them. They were putting on a performance. They were hoping for some applause for their eloquent monologue. So, Jesus said, if that is what they want that is what they will get. The applause of men will be their reward. God will not hear them.

Heart attitude is everything. James said in 4:3, u want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. So, if we are serious about God hearing our prayers we need to be serious about praying to Him and with His will in mind.

Here's what Myron Augsburger wrote in The Communicator's Commentary on Matthew:

“Prayer is opening one’s life to God. It is inviting Him to act in our lives. Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is being willing to accept His will in our lives. Prayer moves the hand of God by giving Him the moral freedom to do in our lives what He has been wanting to do. God, in His sovereign practice, does not impose His will upon us. Consequently, He can function in our lives in accordance with the degree of freedom we surrender to Him. Prayer is therefore relational; it is not merely a psychological exercise of self-fulfillment, nor is it a mental review of God’s principles, nor is it coercing God; rather, it is a free personality inviting the Personage of heaven to share with us.

Prayer, then is inviting God into our situation, whatever it is. It may be a dark place. It may be a happy place, but whatever your situation God can be trusted to go there with you. Invite Him in through faith in Christ. Open up to Him to come to that place and Father you in the way that you need Him.

Prayer should become as natural as breathing. That's what Jesus meant when He said, "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Prayer should become so much a part of our lives that it flows out without even thinking sometimes. We should become so aware of God's presence with us that we can almost feel Him beside and conversations with Him become as normal as talking with a friend.

It all starts with an honest heart. In humility we go to God and say, "This is where I'm at God. Come and join me in my situation. I want to develop a heart that is totally after you." David was very adept at this kind of soul searching prayer in the Psalms. Here is what he said in Psalm 139,

Psalm 139:23-24

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Why don't you pray this prayer along with David and ask God to help you develop this kind of heart that gives Him permission to search your heart and show you what you core motives are.

Remember, we are on this journey together.

God's peace,
Pastor Jeff

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mt 6:5-15). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Becoming Givers

2009-10-05T15:31:00.004-07:00

Love when you expect no love in return.

Do good without expecting thanks.

Lend when you do not hope for a return.

This will make us act like the sons and daughters of the Most High.

-Henrietta Mears

Matthew 6:1-4

1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus main point here is not the secrecy of our giving. He is not addressing our outward actions, but the inward attitude that drives our outward actions. He is urging His listeners to probe the inner workings of their hearts to discover their motives for the good things they do. Why do we give? If the reason give or serve is to receive accolades from people, we can surely get that. But, Jesus says that this is all the reward we will get.

This is hard for us because we want instant gratification. Waiting until we cross over into eternity seems like such a long time to wait for a commendation from God. We would rather go the way of the reductionist and do what is easy and instant. That's how we get our egos stroked and getting those kudos keeps us going.

Jesus calls us to live according to a higher motive. Just do the right thing because it's the right thing and leave the rewards for God to dole out. It doesn't matter who gets the credit. Think about it. If God's people served, loved, and gave sacrificially without expecting any reward and not caring if someone else got the credit how much could God accomplish through us. Things would get done simply because it was the right thing to do.

So, this week let's ask God's Spirit to search our hearts so that we will become aware of our motives, and then ask Him to make us a give like He is a giver. He never asked us to earn His love. He didn't wait until we deserved it. He simply loved. "For God so loved the world that he gave..." (John 3:16).

Romans 5:8

⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Too often we won't serve someone, or give to someone because we say, "They have done nothing to deserve it. When they shape us, then maybe I'll give to them." And then they get an icy cold shoulder until we see signs of remorse. That is what comes naturally to us because we want the books balanced. We want justice. Jesus calls us to something higher. It goes against what is natural. It is "To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). We want the justice without the mercy. Jesus calls us to walk a higher road, to love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

Let's pray that God would morph us into givers like He is a giver.

I pray that you would experience God's presence this week as you walk with Him daily.
Pastor Jeff

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mt 6:1-4). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

[1] Henrietta Mears in Dream Big: The Henrietta Mears Story.Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 6

Learning to Walk With the Spirit

2009-08-31T14:48:00.004-07:00

I told you the story yesterday in my sermon about my routine for preparing for Sunday mornings, and how I was interrupted a couple times yesterday. I'll tell the story again for those of you in bloggerland who weren't at RBC. By the way, you can listen to the sermons here http://www.richmondbaptist.com/grow/sermons .

Sunday mornings I get up at about 5:00am and after showering etc. I walk to McDonald's. I use the kiddies play room to go over my sermon and pray because usually kids don't frequent the place at 6:00am. Yesterday, it so happened, was not usual. At about 6:30 a young mother came in with her two or three year old daughter and sat in "my office", without asking me permission no less. So, I gathered my things and decided to go out and find a quiet secluded place in the skateboard park across the street. I happily found a spot to sit down. Nobody was there to bother me. I let that sense of satisfaction linger for a moment and before I knew it a man drove up in his grey Magnum. He parked near me, opened his back door, and his Golden Retriever came bounding excitedly out of his car running through the field near me. So much for my quiet time. The man had another dog. This one as big as the other, only it did not come bounding out of the car. The man gently lifted him out, placed a harness on his hind quarters and then took the dog for a walk lifting his back end as they walked. The dog was a paraplegic. At first I was miffed that they were disrupting my time alone, but then I thought, "Wow, this is a fantastic illustration of how we cooperate with God's Spirit." So, I allowed them to invade "my space" and meditated on those thoughts, thanking God for His goodness.

Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time all humankind has been broken. We cannot live the life God called us to. We are prone to wander from Him. We have a tendency of wearing masks to protect our true selves. We have a propensity to lie, cheat, steal, hurt other people, and do whatever we can to make sure that we look like we are ok -- even though we know we aren't. In short we are naturally inept at relationships both with God and with other people. Our natural way is to feed our sinful nature.

Galatians 5

¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

Paul talked about this in Romans 7 as well. He said in verse 7, "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." Our natural way is to go against God. If we only did what came naturally we would almost always do the wrong thing. When we do that people get hurt and relationships are less than they were intended to be.

It sounds hopeless doesn't it? But, there is good news. Paul concluded in verse 24 & 25 of Romans 7: ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The good news is that Christ has provided a way. We are like the crippled dog. We need to always depend on our Master for strength to live the life to which He called us.

In Chapter 8 of Romans Paul continued: ¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

If we feed our sinful nature it will become strong and take over. We will never be able to do the things we know we ought to do. If, on the other hand, we feed our new nature in Christ our faith will become strong and we will more and more bear the fruit of the Spirit enabling us to keep in step with the Spirit of Christ in us.

Sometimes we think we need to break free of God's "clutches" so that we can live our lives without His restraints. That kind of thinking keeps us in bondage to our own futile efforts and our lives become about nothing more than sin management. God wants to free us so that we can do the things we know are best for relationships. He wants to change our hearts and minds so that we are able to live a life worth living, one that is far beyond mediocre. The only way that this is possible is if we admit that we are powerless and then cooperate with His Spirit as He does an extreme makeover on our minds and hearts. That is true freedom. It is freedom to live and love like we never thought possible.

Galatians 5:1

³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

most people are average

2009-08-20T11:11:00.004-07:00

Ruth and I are at a retreat centre on Vancouver Island for a few days trying to rest up before the new church year starts in September. We desperately need the rest. We did have three weeks off in July but it was spent on the road visiting our families in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It was very beneficial to connect with family and friends that we rarely get to see, but it wasn't a rest. And right now rest is what we need, and resting is what we are doing. It feels so good!!!

This morning I was sitting in an Lazy Boy chair, reclined for optimal comfort, having a quiet time with Jesus. I read the first verse from Matthew 18; "At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'" The words didn't really register before my mind wandered and my eyes scanned the room and then came to rest at a bookshelf filled with Christian inspirational books left here by the retreat centre for the purpose of drawing our hearts towards God. My eyes darted back and forth along the bookshelf noticing the titles and also the names of the authors. There were numerous works from Max Lucado, Erwin McManus, Mark Buchanan, Bill Hybils, Lee Strobel, and the list went on and on. Several titles each. I think McManus is younger than I am. Buchanan is about the same age and pastors a church nearby the retreat centre where we are staying, and in fact he stayed at the centre to write his sixth book in February of this year. I know that because he said so in the entry he wrote in the guest book.

Suddenly I had this overwhelming sense of averageness (trust me it's a word) come over me. I broke into a cold sweat. "I am mediocre. I will never be able to make contributions like these guys." What a ridiculous thought. Most people are average. It's crazy. We rate everything. Most people are average. That means that there are a few who are above average and a few who are below average. What does that even mean? Should the above average people (those who have reached certain levels of notoriety for accomplishing things that average folks can't, haven't, or don't want to) feel better than those who are average (those people who do their jobs well, support a family, and love their neighbours as themselves). And what about those who are below average. I guess they have nothing to feel good about.

After shaking myself out of my derisory wanderings through self-defeating thoughts I returned to Matthew 18. "And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"

Wo!!! I think i just got rebuked by Jesus. I tell others that God uses the humble. He takes our efforts, especially when its our best, and uses them for something good. The best we have, not rated among six or seven billion others, is what God expects. I tell others from the pulpit and in private counsel to just give God their best and not to look at others, but it is so difficult for me. We have been programmed to rate each other. We have trophies and awards and grades and highest honours, yada, yada, yada. God's economy does not work that way. Jesus said, "Unless you turn..." from that way of thinking, "and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." We will never comprehend God's kingdom if we continue to rate each other against each other. It will be like chasing after the wind. He doesn't want me to be Max Lucado, Erwin McManus, or Mark Buchanan. God is using them as they humbly give Him their best, and likewise He wants me to be the best me that I can be. The same goes for all of us. He simply wants our best, not rated against anyone else. There is no such thing as average. The word should be stricken from our vocabulary. He simply wants me -- the best me I can be.

I could go on and on, but let me just say that this message from Jesus is exactly what He is trying to teach me while on this retreat. God is good! His mercy, grace, and joy are new every morning.

Peace,
Pastor Jeff

New Beginnings

2009-08-14T16:54:00.005-07:00

Well, I suppose since we have a brand new website at RBC (www.richmondbaptist.com), I should keep up with writing my blog. So, this is the first in quite some time. In the fall we are going to begin a new sermon series on living by kingdom values. Jesus often began His parables by saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." Then he would go on to tell an amazing truth about what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus. Probably the central parable is in Matthew 13 where Jesus taught about the value of the kingdom.

⁴⁴“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

⁴⁵“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. ⁴⁶When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

Until we learn that there is nothing worth pursuing more than the kingdom of God we will live a senseless life. There is nothing worth more than the kingdom. Beginning September 13th we will be looking at the teachings of Jesus on the Kingdom and we will see just how worthwhile it is to give absolutely every to this pursuit. It really is all their is. Follow us as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus. I think you will be surprised at how inexpressibly worthwhile the pursuit is. Let's expect big things from God.

So, my hope is to write something each week relating to the sermons that we will be looking at on Sunday mornings. Let's walk with Jesus together and enter into a life worth giving everything to.

In Christ,
Pastor Jeff

Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Mt 13:44-46). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Towards Becoming Together

Why did God Allow Satan to Hurt Job?

At the Safadi's

At the Freiman's

Masada, Dead Sea, Qumran & Day Off in Jerusalem

Day 8 and a Half - I think

Day 7 and a Half

Day 6 and a Half

Day Three and a Half

Day Two and a half

Day One and a Half

Israel 2011

Farewell for the Deguzmans

staying close to the throne

The Gracious Dr. Paul

Montezuma's Revenge - Philippine Style

Puerto Princesa - Days three to five

Day Two in Palawan

Landed in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Waiting for departure

Philippines Mission

Questions from Sunday - May 23, 2010

More questions

Questions from Sunday - April 11, 2010 2nd attempt

Questions from Sunday - April 11, 2010

Questions from Sunday - April 4, 2010

Going Home

Jerusalem, Oh Jerusalem

Towards the Dead Sea

Falling in Love with Jesus all Over Again

It just keeps getting better

Stepping into the Land

First leg of the journey

packing light

God With Us

Our Father in Heaven

Becoming a People of Prayer

Becoming Givers

Learning to Walk With the Spirit

most people are average

New Beginnings