A Bible?

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Bible!”

So can you imagine what might be the reaction of those sitting in the pews if with Bible in hand with the church family in front on you, one was to make such an introduction? What would be their reaction? Astonishment? Offense? Curiosity?

The reality is Canadians have an increasing lack of familiarity with Bible. Biblical illiteracy is epidemic. Even within the Church those who would enthusiastically defend the Bible as the inerrant, inspired Word of God are increasingly rare. And most who attend church struggle to make time for personal study.

So we’ve become spiritual spectators. Most of what we know has been fed to us by others, and what we believe to be true has been shaped by where we focus the majority of our time and attention: the world. Truth as we know it is influenced by a smorgasbord of random spiritualities and humanistic ideals rather than the authority of God’s Word.

Someone once said, “If you stand for nothing you are likely to fall for anything." Our neighbours, families, and even those we sit beside in the pew are at risk, regularly falling for twisted truth born out of a society increasingly focused on self-interest and self-gratification.

If we are to be agents of change in our world then we need to start by renewing some of our own practices. Truth, transformative truth, comes by way of knowing the Christ of the Bible. Are we engaged in knowing His truth? Is it a practice, a discipline of our daily lives, to be shaped and influenced by God’s Word? Do we know Him well enough that we can effectively and authentically represent Him to those that don’t?

This is our mission and passion at Insight for Living Canada. Everything we do is for the primary purpose of communicating the truth of God’s Word to a world in desperate need. Whether its our Paws & Tales program aimed at teaching children biblical principles for life, LifeTrac engaging young adults in a contemporary, relevant conversation of truth, or Chuck’s daily program and resources communicating biblical truth and how to apply it to our daily lives, we believe the Bible is God’s Word to His people, and as such this is where we focus our complete attention.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Bible. Trust it, believe it, be transformed by it, but don’t ignore it.

A Little Less of Me

Relationships. Is there anything that causes more joy or more sorrow? Each of us has the power to encourage, enrich, and uplift just as profoundly as we discourage, devalue, and press down. Central to our feelings of worth, purpose, and security is the quality of our relationships. They shape us, ground us, and provide a sense of belonging and community.

But, as beneficial as they might be, relationships are difficult. Even in the most significant of relationships (i.e. marriage), intended to last a lifetime, we fail more than we succeed. So where do we go wrong, and why so fragile?

Never have I ever known a person who has lived more for others than my mom. It’s almost 60 years that my mom and dad have been married and for all those years she has given of herself to her marriage, her children, her church, and to the lives of others. She’s meek, small, quiet, always unassuming, and oozes faithfulness. Her life has been rich and her relationships deep because she has willingly and lovingly given of herself. She is loved, because she loves, and she has loved without condition.

A relationship is a mutual investment of two people. Relationships are not like mutual funds invested only when times are good and dispensed with when something more promising appears. For the Christian, relationships are not disposable. They may be difficult, they may at times be exhausting, they may feel like they are more effort than they deserve. But disposable? Cast off or thrown aside when we are satisfied they are of no further use? How contrary to the example of Christ who gave everything, invested His life, with no guarantee of how others might respond. He simple gave.

I am convinced, based on my own experience, that if we thought less of ourselves and more of others, if we invested in others despite our preferred return, if we gave of ourselves simply to express love—Christ-like love—our relationships and perhaps even the world around us would profoundly change.

Relationships will always cause us both joy and sorrow, but they are investments that will live on for eternity.

Just a thought

The Highest Call

There is something to be said for those who intentionally invest in the journey of others. It is a high calling to be a mentor, to dedicate one’s attention to shaping and pouring into the life of another. But how about those less formal relationships, the daily, routine, seemingly by chance, informal encounters? Are they not really the most challenging of all?

I maintain there is no such thing as a neutral influence. I can add, I can subtract, but I certainly cannot be neutral. That’s apathy, and is there anything more destructive than simply not caring?

My interactions, as routine or innocuous as they may seem, influence others. I don’t have the luxury of determining who I won’t influence. Neither do I have the right to choose who God will place in my path today.

My true spiritual maturity may be measured not when I am “prepared” to influence, but perhaps when I am least prepared; not when life is certain and controlled, but when people observe my spontaneous reactions to the unpredictability of life.

Influences on me have been formal and informal, intentional and spontaneously inspirational. But the people who influence me the most strive to live what they believe every moment. I see Christ in them. I see authenticity, sympathy, empathy, and wisdom. They have a deep love for the whosoever; no one is excluded. With a passion for the eternity of others and sensitivity in the moment, they teach and grasp spiritual opportunities undeterred by the artificial tyranny of a predetermined schedule. They influence up close, they influence from a distance. Their singular desire is to be like Christ.

What pains me is the lack of names I can place to this description. What pains me is the obvious need and absence of these people in the lives of others, particularly young men and women. What pains me is how quickly and easily I can be distracted from Christ’s call to make disciples, to influence, teach, mentor… for Christ.

To live for Christ, to live like Christ, to influence others toward Christ—isn’t this the greatest calling of all?

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”

(Ephesians 5:1, 2 MSG)

Family Grace - More Than a Prayer

Is it possible one’s capacity for grace is never more tested than with family?

Why is it we take more liberty in being critical, offering more (unsolicited) advice and questioning the decision-making ability of family than anyone else? I have some notions on why, but I’m not sure I have an answer or that just one is sufficient. What I do know is that I have seen more families fractured by careless words and rash actions than I care to think about, and this includes Christian families.

Families today are perhaps more at risk, more dysfunctional, and more undervalued than at any time in history. The wanting condition of our society only stands to underline the importance of strong and healthy family relationships.

On occasion, even with the best intentions, I think we can misunderstand our role as a member of a family. My role is not to change or correct, my role is to love and present Christ in my living. It is God by His Holy Spirit that does the convicting and convincing. I cannot be an influence for Christ if I find myself on the outside looking in on the life of my brother, sister, father, mother, son, or daughter, as a result of fostering a less than grace-filled relationship.

The ones I love—those God has entrusted to me in the relationship of family—need to be recipients of grace. The same kind of grace extended to me by God characterized by his unfailing love.

“Grace is not something simply to be claimed; it is meant to be demonstrated. It is to be shared, used as a basis for friendships, and drawn upon for sustained relationships.”¹

Those we love the most often require the most of us, including our grace.

Just a thought

A Plumb Line for Living

If you’re like me there’s something alluring about the New Testament Church. As I read the book of Acts I’m drawn in, intrigued, energized, and a little mystified.

What is it about the Early Church that has the ability to challenge and confront the status quo, while simultaneously encouraging potential, passion, and power? For me it’s all about getting back to basics, focusing on those things that were fundamental, foundational, and imperative to the Early Church.

With any new movement there is the great benefit of building from the ground up. By beginning with the cornerstone, alignment takes place for the entire structure. This cornerstone, this alignment, is critical to the strength of the building as it was designed. But when we become detached from the original plan we can find ourselves in jeopardy of compromising the integrity of the entire structure.

When I misalign the fundamentals, or even allow other good things to divert my attention, I risk diminishing my potential, passion, and power as a man of God.

So how do I make a correction? How do I realign? By getting back to the basics that the Early Church was devoted to. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42 NIV) These were the basics, the passion, and the power of the Church, which energized the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I can become easily misaligned when I lose my grip on the basics, instruction in His Word, connection with His people, reflection upon His sacrifice, commitment to speaking with Him through prayer.

The basics were the power behind the Early Church; it is the reliance upon these basics that continue to be the power of the Church today.

So let’s get back to the basics.

Just a thought…

Something About Nothing

What does it feel like to do nothing? I mean really nothing. No demands, no noise, no interruptions, no expectations. That’s difficult to imagine—even my leisure time is filled with something: a book, a newspaper, a television program, or a favourite diversion. Seldom do I do absolutely nothing.

In our day and age, I think the idea of doing nothing appears wasteful, unproductive, and even negligent. There are always needs to be met, expectations to be fulfilled, and there is always something to be done. We are driven to maximize, not minimize, our valued time.

I don’t know about you, but there’s a risk in buying into the hyperactivity of our fast-paced world that only esteems you when you say you’re busy. When asked, “So how are things going?” you rarely hear the response, “I’m doing nothing, in fact I’ve dedicated time for nothing.”

Perhaps one of the greatest disciplines absent in this life of exponential demands and activity is the discipline of doing nothing.

So what does “nothing” look like? Silence. It’s the absence of distraction, expectation, interruption, schedule, manufactured noise, and the torment of a relentless to-do list. And what can “nothing” provide for us? Well, potentially an emptying of self, the release of pent–up emotion, anxiety, stress, and a replenishing of hope, peace, contentment, purpose, and the undisrupted presence of God.

In quietness I set myself aside for God that I might hear from him. Not on my terms, not managed or manufactured, but simply absorbed in His presence.

Andy Park wrote,

In the secret, in the quiet place

In the stillness you are there.

In the secret in the quiet hour I wait, only for you,

Cause I want to know you more

Take time to wait upon Him. Take time to empty yourself—be still, without agenda, come with nothing, and experience the renewal of your hearts and minds having simply been in the presence of God.

Just a thought...

THE 10-90 RULE OF LIFE

Who of us has not experienced the intense weight of suffering, whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual? I’ve heard it described as a pressing down, a heavy weight on one’s chest, intense anxiety, even trudging through thick mud exhausted with the prospect of moving even one step further. Suffering can be overwhelming and oppressive.

The burden you carry may not even be your own. Empathetic or sympathetic concern for the suffering of others can be as oppressive as any distress we might experience personally.

Given that suffering can be a frequent companion, how do we cope when confronted by the stress, pressures, and burdens that come from simply living life? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Be determined to be a person of character. When you intentionally pursue being a person of integrity, your character shapes your decision-making. The decisions of life become more obvious and compromise-free. Many times we are weighed down by the burden of our own poor personal decision-making. We are seduced by the easy, quick, or immediately gratifying answer. Don't get distracted. Stick to your guns. Making right decisions eliminates the stress of carelessness.

2. Don't carry the weight alone. Some of us try to get through the struggles of life on our own, but isolation in the middle of difficulty can intensify the burden. Burdens are best carried with the support and love of others. Choose carefully and surround yourself with authentic, trustworthy, wise, and godly people.

3. Trust. There is One who loves you more than you can imagine. There is no burden that you carry He cannot identify with, no trouble that Christ does not desire to walk through with you. Trust the Lord, even when life doesn't make sense. What we don't understand today we live knowing He does. The Lord has all our todays and tomorrows in His hands.

We all share the same reality of suffering that confronts a fallen world. But we also share a choice of how we will respond to the troubles and burdens of life. We can choose to let them crush us, or embrace those attitudes and influences that will allow us to live above circumstance. As Chuck has said, "Life is 10 per cent what happens to us, and 90 per cent how we respond to it."

Just a thought,