Wednesday, September 10, 2025

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”” (Matthew 9:12-13 New Living Translation)

              Our family doctor retired over a year ago and we have been without a doctor ever since. At our ages and various health concerns, that is disconcerting. Peterborough has had a difficult time in recruiting new doctors. We were on a waiting list but “waiting” was the operative word here.  It was hard to believe that when we moved to Whitby, there were medical clinics actually advertising for new patients. We found one very close by and we now have a doctor. We have met him. I can’t pronounce his last name or even spell it accurately off hand; his patients simply call him call him Dr. Osa. It is wonderful to have a family doctor again.

                I was fascinated to read in a text from the Apocrypha (Intertestamental literature) how respected and appreciated physicians were even in Biblical times. “Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them, for their gift of healing comes from the Most High...” (Sirach 38:1) This text goes on to describe the abilities of both physicians and pharmacists and the important work that each does. The passage concludes with these words: “There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians, for they, too, pray to the Lord that he grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.” We are blessed in Canada that we have an affordable health care system and everyone can get the medical treatment they need without fearing the cost.

                Jesus was, of course, the Great Physician. “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14: 14) The Gospels are full of stories about Jesus’ ability to restore health to the sick and dying. “And he healed every kind of disease and illness.” (Matthew 4:23) Not surprisingly, his reputation as a healer spread quickly and attracted large crowds. It also attracted controversy and his critics. Even on a Sabbath, Jesus would heal anyone who had a need. He healed Jew and Gentile alike, the poor, the rich, the old. the young, women, children, the sinner, the outcast and the ostracized.  No one was outside his healing purview. “And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.” (Matthew 4:24)

                The health of a person is so essential for their well-being, their shalom.  It is hard for someone to feel near to God when they are sick or dealing with a disease or infirmed or in pain.  I have chronic arthritis and there are days it just makes me miserable (well, more so than usual). Susan is still dealing with her cancer and this is frightening. But our faith helps us to battle through. Jesus still reaches out to us with his compassion and grace and walks beside us in this journey. It may not be exactly the same as a miraculous cure but the stories of healing in the Gospels give us courage, strength, and assurances. Paul, when he was dealing with and praying about his physical aliment, “a thorn in my flesh,” wrote about the Lord’s counsel, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

                In our text above, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees who are criticizing Jesus for eating with a group of low-lifes in their not-so-humble opinion.  Jesus tells them that it exactly for those who are spiritually unwell that he has been sent by God. His purpose is health. Total health. To help everyone who needs God in their lives for one reason or another, to experience God’s Shalom, i.e. total well being. It is no coincidence that following these verses are two more stories about healings and even a resurrection.  Ironically, the leader of a synagogue asks Jesus to help raise his daughter who had just died. On his way, a woman who had been suffering a chronic condition for twelve years touches the hem of his cloak and is healed. Jesus restores the daughter back to life. Later he restores the sight to two blind men and then casts out a demon. Just another normal day in the life of Jesus. A physician’s work is never done. Jesus’ mission to help those who are in need of a physician for the heart, soul and body knew no limits: “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

                Salvation comes from the Latin word “salus,” meaning safety or being saved from harm or danger. But now we use it to describe the results, the good prognosis, we have because of  Jesus Christ. The Great Physician has used his sacred Love to save us from whatever life and death can throw at.us. “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?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Romans 8: 35 -37)

                Be well!

 Dale

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14, New Living Translation)

                “And who is my neighbour?” a man once asked Jesus. Well, so far, I can name Linda, Don, Wayne, Stephen, Jackie, Justin, Jacob and Ryan.  I now know more names of my neighbours in 3 months here in Whitby than I ever did in Peterborough in 20 years. I could name our neighbours’ dogs better than I could name the neighbours themselves. But I am discovering that our apartment building is a very friendly and close neighbourhood in its own right. Nobody is ever nosy but everyone keeps an eye out for each other. I am working hard trying to remember all their names. There are a lot of dogs in our building, too, but I haven’t learned a single one of their names, yet. How times have changed!

                The population of our apartment building is richly diverse. There are many retired folk like us. But there are children, too.  It is very multicultural. There are singles and mixed families and same sex couples and many others sharing our building.  Very different personalities and characteristics.  I know all this by watching and listening and talking to my neighbours. As one of my neighbours said to me, we’re all different and there is no point in judging others.  Life is too short for that. Amen to that! Everyone seems respectful and considerate of one another. (It’s kind of like one would want a church to be.)

                We are living in a perilous time where powerful political and extreme conservative social forces are creating a very unfriendly and unneighbourly society. Outsiders, i.e. people not like us, are being targeted as unwanted. People who don’t look like us talk like us, act like us are unwelcome. Conservative Christianity, sadly, is sometimes at the very vanguard of this movement. Neighbourliness is taking a beating out there in the world. We are more like to accuse our neighbour of something than to befriend him or her. Jesus pointed to such troubled times as this as a portent of the end of the world: “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.” (Mark 13: 12)  We give little heed to God’s declaration: “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.” (Psalm 101:5)

                It may take a Second Coming of Christ to restore civility, tolerance, mutual concern, compassion, justice, grace and peace in our neighborhoods. Perhaps, it can only be Christ’s Love that can fully and completely re-establish the Kingdom of God in all its fullness where one neighbour really does love another neighbour. Let the rapture begin if it means we can treat each other with Love again. At the very least, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.” (Matthew 7: 1 -5, The Message Bible)

                Proverbs give us some clarity on neighbourliness. “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.’ Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you. Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.” (Proverbs 3: 27-30)

                And just maybe, if you and I can begin to get it right again, then the world leaders will pick it up and stop their warring madness. But I am getting way ahead of myself. Let us consider what Jesus and then Paul had to say: Love your neighbour as yourself. Blows your mind, doesn’t it? It sounds so simple. We don’t need to complicate it with conditions, exceptions, restrictions, qualifications, etc.  Just love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule as a good start: “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” (Luke 6:31) How hard can that be? This is not complicated, sophisticated theology. It’s practical, down-to-earth. Love your neighbour as yourself. A child can do it. Why not us?

                Who is my neighbour? You are!

 

Dale

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold,
    even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant,
    a great reward for those who obey them. (Psalm 19: 9 -11, New Living Translation)

                I love honey comb.  It is a real treat on the rare occasion I find some. Last week, we were at the outdoor farmer’s market, here in Whitby, and there was a honey vendor’s stall. A small block of honey comb called my name. It wasn’t cheap but I splurged anyway.

                The bee keeper explained to me some of the process of harvesting honey comb. They put each piece in the freezer for 24 hours. There is a slight risk that the queen bee has laid an egg in the comb and freezing it kills the eggs.  Good to know as I really wouldn’t want to spread some honey on my toast and see a wiggling larva looking up at me; don’t need the extra protein that badly!

                Honey is a biblical metaphor for a life that is good, a sweet existence. The Promised Land was called a land flowing with milk and honey. “And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.” (Numbers 14:8) It is said that the manna God gave the Israelites in the desert tasted like honey wafers. God promises that his people will be nourished well. “But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.” (Psalm 81:16)

                Then, of course, we get our text that proclaims that God’s Word is “sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.” Psalm 119 expresses the same, “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (119:103) Although I prefer the honey metaphor, the Message Bible expresses it this way: “God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds.  You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.” Now just maybe, if you put the honey on top of the strawberries…

                But the preamble to these sweet verses is equally important to help us understand just how the word of God nourishes us and sustains us and why the word of God is essential for our well-being. “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” (vss. 7 -8) God’s Word warns us when we sin. God’s Word replaces ill-thoughts with good thoughts.  

           “Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
            Keep me from stupid sins,
                from thinking I can take over your work;
            Then I can start this day sun-washed,
                scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
            These are the words in my mouth;
            These are what I chew on and pray.

            Accept them when I place them
                on the morning altar,
            O God, my Altar-Rock,
            God, Priest-of-My-Altar.” (Psalm 19: 13 -14, The Message Bible)

                I know that I could always stand to be a little sweeter. How about you?

Dale

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden - except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2: 16 -17, New Living Translation)

           Our nearly six-year-old granddaughter, Amelia, is a very smart, independent little soul. Recently, she asked her mother for a snack. She received two cookies. Then she happily went back outside while her mother went off to another part of the house. When Katie came back, a little while later, there was a stool up to the kitchen counter, an empty cookie package on the counter and cookie packaging on the floor. When asked, Amelia readily admitted that she had helped herself to more cookies. How many more?  Maye six or so, she blithely said. We can, perhaps, appreciate her independence at getting her own snacks, but she needs help with her decisions about getting more healthy snacks if she is still hungry – cheese, yogurt, fruit. But who among us is ever really satisfied with just one or two treats and don’t wish for more of the same? Try and eat just one chocolate!

            Maybe, it was the apple core on the ground that first gave Adam away after he ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of good and evil. (I know it wasn’t an apple per se and it was their self-awareness of their nakedness which gave them away, but humour me.) They had a cornucopia of lush, delicious fruits to eat from the bountiful garden but couldn’t resist the temptation to eat the one and only fruit which was forbidden. I have no idea why God would create such a tree of the knowledge of good and evil or put it within easy arm’s reach and then forbid eating from it. It would seem that God was testing Adam and Eve. They failed gloriously and left us, forever more, with humanity’s mess of sin.

            I have always appreciated that tongue-twister of paragraphs in Paul’s letter to the Romans where he admits how hard it is to choose to do the right thing and so easy to do the wrong thing. Perhaps, he had this Garden experience in mind when he wrote, “For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots…”  (Romans 7:5, The Message Bible) Of course, we are not thinking about an extra cookie or the second or third chocolate out of the box, but behaviour, words and actions, that lead us right down the garden path and eventually out of the garden all together. “I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” (7: 19-20, TMB)

            More cookies, please? No? That’s OK, I’ll just help myself anyway. When You are not looking.  Sorry about the crumbs!

           Yet, we are not alone with this turmoil of good versus evil within us. “You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.” (7: 4 -5, NLT) It is now possible to drop the forbidden fruit and in letting go of the sin that grabs at us, to live in new, abundant ways that are pleasing to God. Using Christ as our guide and template, we turn away from the temptations and affectations of living with our poor and ugly choices and find ourselves with all sorts of healthy, wholesome, life-enhancing opportunities to live freely and abundantly. We find ourselves welcomed back into the Garden. “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” (Romans 5:11, NLT)

            That’s the way the cookie crumbles!

 Dale

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” (Psalm 37:7, New Living Translation)

          A long time ago, I used to love to go fishing at my parents’ cottage on Lake Steinburg. I would get in the boat and set out for some part of the lake. It wasn’t a very big lake. But on many a lazy summer’s day, I would get out, not far from the shoreline, turn off the motor and just slowly drift along. I never set down an anchor. If I got too close to the shore, I would paddle back out to deeper waters. I‘d cast out my line and hook with a worm as bait.  I’d light up a cigar and just enjoy the out of doors. The truth of the matter was that I really didn’t care if I caught anything. That would mean I would have to reel the fish in, take it off the hook, throw it back and start over again. Catching a fish would interrupt my blissful reverie. I might spend a couple of hours just drifting in summer breezes.  Lots of time to unwind, think, pray and relax.

            I read an article recently which expounded the importance of taking time off in the summer for R&R. It is important to unplug from the stress of work and routines and recharge our whole-body system.  We owe it to ourselves to have some down-time, some fun, some serious (?) playtime. We work through very busy, demanding and stressful schedules, whether  in a workplace, at home or even in retirement sometimes.  Our lives can be dictated to by our calendars, our clocks and our lists of things to do. The article gives six recommendations for a meaningful rest break. Yikes, now I have an agenda even for my down times!

But for what it is worth here they are:  1. Take it when you can – even if it isn’t perfect. 2. Make a list of things you might enjoy doing. 3.Small is good. 4.Practice a bit of quiet. 5.Reflect purposefully. 6. Block it off and pay yourself first. (Eilleen Chadnick, Globe and Mail)

We read in the Gospels that Jesus took time-outs from his hectic and busy schedule.  He would find some secluded spot where he would pray and think. After being inundated with the demands from people to cure illnesses, listen to their stories and requests, he needed some “me-time.”  He practiced what the Psalm advocated: be still in the presence of the Lord. The Message Bible puts it this way: "Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him." In the busy, noisy, demanding lives we have, we need time to get away from the madness and seek and renew our relationship with what and whom  deeply and truly matters and that includes our relationship with God. We time to reflect, pray, ponder,

Such quiet times helps put things in better and healthier perspective. If we were to read the whole of Psalm 37, it reminds us that even though the world is full of problems, sinful people, wickedness and the like, our time with God restores our confidence and assures that God is still in charge. “Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” (v.8) In fact, when we start to get really angry and upset about the state of the world, the Psalm tells us to chill out. “Stop being angry!  Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper - it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.” (vss.8-9)

Being still in the presence of God helps us to find inner peace, some personal sanctuary in troubled times, some sense of spiritual and psychic balance. These critical quiet times help us develop the strength and resolve of then meeting the demands of the world around us. The reconnect us with our centres and core of our beings. They help us to refocus on our priorities and relationship.

            I know that the summer is late now. But it is never too late to make the time to stop and smell the coffee, as the old saying goes. “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 4:10)

            Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
            thy wings shall my petition bear
            to him whose truth and faithfulness
            engage the waiting soul to bless.
            And since he bids me seek his face,
            believe his word, and trust his grace,
            I'll cast on him my every care,
            and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer! (W.W. Walford)

Dale

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6: 19 21, New Living Translation)

            So, yesterday, Susan asked me whether I knew that we had packed my old skill-saw and brought it with us to our new apartment.  Well, of course, I did. You never know when I just might get a powerful urge to rip something in two. I will be all set.

            We have a small storage area in our apartment. It is now chock-and-block filled with everything that we couldn’t fit into the rest of the apartment. Heaven only knows what may be in those several boxes and bins.  Even though we discarded piles and piles of unneeded stuff, we still have a crammed storage space of miscellaneous who-knows-what.  Oh well, our children can sort it all out when we are gone.

            Perhaps, it is human nature that we hang on to what is old, unneeded and ends up as clutter and baggage.  It is one thing to hang on to keepsakes, old photos, memorabilia that may elicit fond memories, emotions and a few good stories.  But it is when we cling to the old, hang on to the past, embrace nostalgia that we get stuck and mired or overwhelmed in emotional debris and useless sentimentality.  Or worse – we store up regrets, grudges, complaints, criticisms, judgments, envy, malice, sins, habits, worry, anxieties,  etc. One might think that these are not treasures, per se, yet we put high value on them and give them precious status in our lives. We hang on to them dearly.  They come with a high cost to our own welfare, relationships and outlook on life.  Even so,  it is hard to let them go.

            But Jesus urges us to put these things in proper perspective. Don’t let these things define us. Don’t let them hold us back from a more abundant form of living. Don’t let our baggage and our past weigh us down.  For some of us, in the light of Jesus Christ, it is time to clean house, to let go of all the attitudes, behaviour and brittleness that fills our minds, spirits and hearts. None of that matters anymore. It is of no use. It is not worth the bother. We are made new. We get a fresh start. We get a better perspective if we don’t have to peek up over the jumbles.

            But we are not striving for mere emptiness. Instead, we are seeking to fill our lives with the attributes of Love, Forgiveness, Compassion and Joy. We open up our minds, hearts and spirits to let the cleansing breath of the Holy Spirit sweep out the old and bring in the new. We should have an enormous capacity to live the right and best way – to follow Jesus Christ. “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.” (Philippians 2: 1 -5 The Message Bible) Or simply put in other translations: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” (NRSV)

        Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
        Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
        Melt me, mold me
        Fill me, use me
        Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
        Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me

Dale

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.” (2 Corinthians 4:8, New Living Translation)

            It is a catastrophe! Or should I say, a batastrophe?

            After, ever so carefully, transporting my Lego Batman cityscape to Whitby – the one I had meticulously and laboriously spent days and days, weeks and weeks, in putting it all together – I was attempting to move it from one room to the spot where it was to be displayed. I picked it up thinking it was more solidly put together than it really was. It buckled in the middle, slipped from my hands, and most of it hit the floor, exploding into hundreds of pieces. It was devastating. I couldn’t believe that it had happened.  Just my clumsy luck! There was nothing to do but sweep up the pieces and put them in a bag.  I tried to console myself that the joy of the project was in the making of it. Nobody died!  The world didn’t end. The Blue Jays are in first place. And I have a nine-year-old grandson who has been dying to get his hands on this project since the get-go. He is a Lego savant. If anybody can put it back together, he can. Thankfully, I still have the two manuals of instructions. But still…

            We have all experienced life-shattering events in our lives, far more serious and perhaps life-changing than a shattered Lego set. A Lego set can, indeed, be put back together but sometimes it can be very difficult to put one’s life back together after a shattering event when everything seems to fall to pieces. A marriage breaks up. A job is lost. A loved one gets cancer or we ourselves face serious health issues.  A son or daughter has addiction issues. There are a stack of unpaid bills and the creditors are at the door. Maybe, there are mental health issues which weigh us down or knock us out of the joys of living.

“As I sink in despair, my spirit ebbing away,
    you know how I’m feeling,
Know the danger I’m in,
the traps hidden in my path.
    Look right, look left—
there’s not a soul who cares what happens!
I’m up against the wall, with no exit—
    it’s just me, all alone.
I cry out, God, call out:
‘You’re my last chance, my only hope for life!’
Oh listen, please listen;
    I’ve never been this low.” (Psalm 142: 3 -6, The Message Bible)

            The apostle Paul had suffered much in his defence of the Gospel. At one point, he admitted that he was at the point of despair. We would probably diagnose him today as being in a deep depression. “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.” (2 Corinthians 1:8) We consider Paul to be a spiritual and faithful giant of Christianity, heroic, fearless and courageous as he spread the Gospel. But he is very honest about his own humanity, his vulnerability, his struggles with his health, the suffering he endured. It was never easy. “Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:11)

             I don’t see Paul as being a martyr, per se. He suffered for Jesus Christ, yes; but he also, at times, struggled with an enormous cost of doing what he did for a living – preaching the Gospel. When he was reflecting on his “thorn in the flesh,” some chromic physical impediment he wished would go away, he found strength in Jesus’ words, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9) Perhaps, that seems too simplistic for us when our lives are facing hardships. But it is an important step, even remedy, which helps us get through the tough and broken times.  It creates a bedrock from which we face the storms which rail against us.  In faith and trust we sweep up the pieces and take one step at a time into healing, restoration, redemption and reconciliation. We are never alone, never abandoned, never forsaken.

            “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.” (Romans 8: 38 - 39)

 Dale

 Wednesday, July 23, 2025

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.” (Matthew 23: 25 -26, New Living Translation)

           There was an article in the Globe and Mail last week or so that asked the question: “Do you need a 10-step shower routine?” Slow news week, perhaps? But it caught my attention. Apparently, many people are using elaborate shower cleansing as part of their rigorous, daily toiletry. It includes “double cleansing, antibacterial soap, loads of scented body scrubs and shower oils.”  And apparently, according to dermatologists, it is not a healthy thing to do as it washes away essential oils and other natural skin protection.

It strikes me how much time all that washing must take. Not me, boy! I am in, wash up using whatever soap is handy, shampoo my hair and get out in less than ten minutes. Now I am wondering whether I am really clean.

The Pharisees were very strict about their washing routines. It was an offence to them if one did not wash their hands before a meal. Don’t we tell our kids to wash up before coming to the table? Sure, we do but for these religious leaders it was virtually an eleventh commandment. They were in high dungeon when Jesus sat down at the supper table “without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.” (Luke 11:38) On another occasion, they criticized Jesus’ allowance for his disciples’ lack of respect: “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” (Matthew 15:2) Note that the Pharisees were not so much concerned about hygiene as they were about rituals, traditions, ceremonies and religious rules. A clean Jew was a good Jew! Or we might say that a clean Baptist is a good Baptist. Sadly, they deemed so many others as being unclean – Gentiles, women, Samaritans, foreigners, lepers, and the list goes on for far too many. (So do some Baptists!)

Just so we don’t get too pompous about our own culture and times, we still see how the pious and powerful treat immigrants, women and children, indigenous people, the homeless, the poor, the hungry, the addicted and the like. There is still this snobbish arms-length from the “unwashed.”

Jesus breaks and re-invents the codes of cleanliness. He understands that it doesn’t matter how clean you are on the outside, i.e. how religious, how pious, how religiously strict one is, how conversant one is with scripture, how many times one goes to church in their best clothes and sits in the best pews.  It is what is inside the person which counts the most. Jesus wants a cleansing from the inside out, Get rid of the inner filth. “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” (Matthew 15: 19 20) Get one’s personal priorities straight and on the right side of God’s Love and Mercy and then one will experience the truly fresh and purifying nature of walking with Jesus.  “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51: 7)

To this end, Jesus demonstrated the depth of clean living when he washed the disciples’ feet.  It was a lowly, humble thing for him to do. You would have never caught a Pharisee doing any such thing. That stinky, dirty job was for the lowest of servants, a slave perhaps. But we see Jesus taking a basin and a towel and washing each of the disciples’ feet.  He tells them “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene.” (John 13: 10 -11, The Message Bible) I think he goes on to explain “holiness” i.e. cleanliness, not as ceremonial observations but in terms of servanthood, how we treat and love others: “You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do.”

In the words of Paul to Titus: “It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.” (Titus 3: 5 -7, TMB)
            Time to wash up, people! 

Dale

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

“God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit…Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful... All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.” (1 Corinthians 12: 4 11, The Message Bible)

           As many of you may know, baseball is my other “religion.” It has been that way for about as long as I can remember. I can recall swinging a bat at a ball when I was less than five years old, in our driveway on the farm that we owned at that time. My father passed his love for the game on to me which I then passed onto our sons (our daughters enjoy the game, too). Nick was only a few days old when he sat on my lap as we watched a World Series game on TV. Now, our grandchildren also love the game. Two of our grandsons play for rep teams in Mississauga. It’s in our DNA.

            Last night was the annual MLB All-Star game. It’s the gathering of the best of the best in professional baseball.  I don’t think that I have missed very many all-star games over the many, many years. Last night’s game was a thriller.

            It is so much fun to watch these elite baseball players showcase their talents, all at one time, in one place. For some, it was the first time they had ever been to an all-star game. For others, it was old hat but I got the sense that it still has an aura of specialness for them.  It takes a great deal of talent just to make it to the big leagues for each and every ballplayer whether they ever make it to an all-star game or not. To be chosen to go the All-Star Game is recognition of baseball being performed at its highest level.

So, what’s the connection between an all-star game and what Paul is writing about? Let me preface my observations with noting that Paul would often refer to the men and women of the churches to which he wrote as “saints.” E.G. “To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae…  In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1: 2, The Revised Standard Version). He doesn’t mean, I believe, “saints” in the sense of people who are holier-than-thou, pious and flawless. We know from his letters that these folk were anything but perfect, even in their lives as Christians. But what makes them saints is that God loves them, has redeemed them and they stand beside Jesus Christ in their daily lives, “because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.” (Philemon 1:5). Nobody is better than anyone else among these believers. Love and compassion are the hallmarks of their sainthood.

To put it somewhat tritely, each and every Christian has All-Star credentials.  Because of God’s Spirit everyone has been given a gift or a talent to use in the fellowship of bonding with other believers to make a difference in the world, set an example and be a witness to the Love of God through Jesus Christ. “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4: 15 -16)

Every gift or talent is needed whether you are preaching from a pulpit or washing dishes after serving a meal for the homeless. “In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.” 1 Corinthians 12:22) There is no place for elitism, conceit, egotism, superiority or boasting when one is acting saintly in the Church.  “So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (12:24 -27))

All of us are called to be saints, to make God’s All-Star team.

Batter up!

 Dale

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

“Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1 -5, The Message Bible)

           When I retired from pastoral ministry, 10 years ago, I was fairly certain that I was absolutely done with church work.  Church ministry had become mostly unfulfilling, unsatisfying hard work for me. I wasn’t getting much joy out of it anymore and I suspect my people were not getting much joy out of me either. Call it burnout or what you will, I knew it was time to hang up my pastoral cleats. Furthermore, I vowed that I wouldn’t take any interim work once I retired.  I just wanted to disappear for a while. I became a recluse, more or less.

            But this spring, I received an email, out of the blue, from First Baptist Church, Port Hope, inquiring whether I would be open to doing some supply preaching for them, this spring and early summer.  They had gotten my name from our Convention office. We had just decided to sell our house and all that which it entailed. I wasn’t sure I wanted this in the midst of all that. I was tempted to just send back a polite refusal, but some financial practicalities and a nudge from some inner voice made me stop and rethink. In the midst of the impending chaos, I said yes.

            Instead of just doing the job of preaching, I have discovered this little gem of a congregation. Small but mighty!! They welcomed me into their fellowship like a lost soul. Their worship style is simple but energetic and best of all, it’s real and authentic, comes from the heart and soul of the people. They listen intently to the sermon and can reflect back after the service with smart and insightful comments. In fact, I think they may be the best congregation I’ve ever had for attentive listening. It calls out my best efforts. They are warm, friendly, embracing. For a small church, they are very unselfishly active in their community, which for me is vitally important for a church. So, like Paul, “Every time we think of you, we thank God for you.”

            I may be back in the Fall although they are looking for an interim pastor for a few days a week.  I really don’t have the energy or stamina to do that. Be that as it may, I applaud this church’s “work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father.”  I pray that they will keep it up and I expect they can and will.

            They are a very different from our home church, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. In fact, one lady, after my first Sunday there, commented to me that she had been concerned that I would be too stuffy for them, coming from YPBC.  I love my home church and all that they do in the community and their excellence in worship but I equally love the simple, unassuming joy of my experience in Port Hope.  I have learned a few new worship songs and sang some golden oldies in hymns and enjoyed them so much.  “It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special.”

            Actually, if I put on my dusty, old Area Minister’s hat, I hope that no new pastor comes along and tries to change any of that. Don’t mess with it. Rather, go along with the amazing ride off faith, love and service. They don’t even take up an offering during the service – what church has done that!  Love it! Churches like FBC give me hope for the Church in general.   I wish, - no, I pray - that there were far more like them.

If I was twenty years younger…

Dale

 Wednesday, July 2, 2025

“How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” (Ephesians 1: 5 - 6, The Message Bible)

           We have moved to our new home in Whitby. I am not sure that it feels quite like “home” just yet, but we will get there. There are still plenty of boxes to unpack. (It’s been too darn hot to get too energetic about such things.)   Lots and lots of changes to process and manage. I used to thrive on change – not so much anymore. It’s much too stressful and exhausting. I want my quiet life back.

            But one thing is for sure, we are grateful beyond measure for all the help that our family has poured into helping us make this move. We could not have done this without them. Our four adult children and their spouses and partners all pitched in. Katie and Gary were the key leaders but everyone helped us in making this major transition. Even some of the grandchildren kicked in. They gave up several weekends to help empty the house of all the stuff and junk we had accumulated over twenty years of living in Peterborough. They made umpteen trips to Value Village and the Re-Store with unneeded household items. They filled dumpsters. They made trips to the dump. They cleaned and scoured. My brother asked me how we got the good kids. All I can say is that family has been one of the most important key values that we have always tried to instill in our children. Apparently, it caught. We reap what we sow and we are proud of them and very, very thankful.

            “May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.” (Psalm 144:12, New Living Translation)

            Our Ephesian’s text reminds us that we are God’s Family through Jesus Christ. Paul expands on this elsewhere in his letters. “Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”  (Romans 8:15) I recognize that there are many people, especially women, who have had terrible and painful experiences of fatherhood and family.  I can only hope that the loving experience of being in God’s family might heal, transform and transcend those memories.  But that means we all have to pitch in and help one another in the process, responsibilities and support of what it means to be part of God’s Family. “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

            Being in God’s Family calls for the best in us. Jesus once said that family is more than blood ties but we are joined together through faith and the fruit of our faith. “Then he pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’” (Matthew 12: 48 - 50) Family is the fruit of our love for one another. It is more than a shallow token idea about Church. It is in the very fibre of our being in fellowship with open another.  For it to be a reality, we need to intentionally practice the soul of what it means to be God’s Family. “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16) That is not just mere hyperbole or foolishness; it is how we work, play, worship, pray and enjoy life together as if our lives depended on each other.

            “My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3: 14 -15, The Message Bible)

Dale

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” (2 Thessalonians 2: 16 – 17, New Living Translation)

 (I will be on hiatus for a couple of weeks or so as we make our big move to Whitby this week; not sure when the internet will be hooked up. Blessings.)

           Eulogy for my big, blue comfy recliner. Thank you for your embracive welcome as I sat in you over the last several years. Thank you for allowing me to snuggle in your soft solace when I was recovering from shoulder surgery and other illnesses. Thank you for the hours spent in you watching baseball games by the score. Thank you for giving me moments of reflection from where some of these blogs were inspired from. I have watched church services, watched family videos, participated in on-line committee meetings, played endless video games, all from the comfort of your hugging hold on me. I am grateful for all those years but the time has come to say good-bye as we make this move. Parting is such sweet sorrow…

            You might be thinking, “Get a grip, Soble. You’re losing it! You're off your rocker.” (Pay attention - it's a recliner.) 

            But it has me thinking about comfort. What gives you comfort in your life? It might be as simple as some ice cream or a cold drink on a hot day to something more serious like the good company of friends and family during times of stress and challenges. It might be a favourite Psalm or the Lord’s Prayer. It might be recalling favourite memories or spending time sitting on a dock along the water.  It might be the love from a pet. It might be reading a good book or taking time to meditate or pray.  We all find comfort in different ways and we all need comfort from time to time in, Comfort is the time we take to catch our breath, find our equilibrium, refocus on what matters, seek guidance, repurpose ourselves and seek strength and courage.

            Jesus understood the need for comfort. “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) We mourn not only after the loss of a loved one but we may mourn lost loves, loss of faith, loss of a job, loss of a marriage, loss of a friend, loss of health, loss of youth and its vitality. We look for comfort in these types of occasions, something which will give up some energy, some hope, some encouragement or some reassurance. We need something which nurtures our spirits and boosts our morale.

            Of course, Jesus promised that we would never face anything alone in our lives. “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” (John 14:18) Not only does this point to a hopeful future, Jesus also recognized that we need his Spirit in the here and now. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” (John 14:16) Some translations use the word “Comforter” instead of “Advocate”. Either way, we are never alone, never without Someone on our side and in our corner and invested in our well-being.  “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26)

            The idea of a force that will never leave us is a source of great comfort. ”Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and staff protect and comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

It was a very comfortable chair. But, whereas chairs get old and lumpy over time, God through Christ and the Holy Spirit covers me constantly with their  Love, Grace and Mercy. And that never gets old or tired! 

Dale

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

“What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.” (Galatians 6: 15 =-17, New Living Translation)

           Finally, my car has gone to the collision repair shop to have its ugly dented hood and fender replaced. It has been several weeks since our horrendous ice storm here in Peterborough.  A huge tree limb fell on the hood during that storm.  It was a grievous blemish on a brand-new car. I was reminded of it every time I got in the car. So, I am relieved that it is going to be repaired and hopefully it will be as good as new.

            Would that human scars could be so easily repaired and our hearts, souls and minds made new. “I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73: 14) Many of the Psalms speak honestly, frankly and unabashedly about the burden of conflicts, suffering, hopelessness and despair which get between themselves and others or between themselves and God. They pour out their hearts and souls with complaints, confusion, weariness and fear. ‘I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.” (Psalm 38:17) They often refer to the scars left my enemies, opponents, critics, judgers and all those who seek them harm. Sometimes, the hurt comes from someone close and beloved: “It is not an enemy who taunts me - I could bear that… Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.” (Psalm 55: 12 -14)  

            So yes, we all carry scars, I believe. Some may be physical as well as mental as in cases of abusive relationships.  We may have emotional scars from someone who has taunted us, ridiculed us, argued with us, told lies about us, insulted us, ignored us, told us off, hated us or treated us as unimportant and insignificant. These wounds hurt; they fester; their toxins spread; they leave their nasty mark on our soul and psyche. And one just can’t drive into the body shop and leave it there and come back when it is fixed. These types of scars tend to be forever visible and present, an ugly reminder of the past. “I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.” (Psalm 69:29)

            So, what is a person supposed to do? Of course, the answer is to turn your life over to Jesus Christ. (Hey, I am not much of a preacher/writer if I don’t say that, am I?)  Specifically, I am thinking along the lines of what Paul wrote a number of times, “to have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2) We choose intentionally not to give into all the negativity, all the disturbing noise, all the disapproval, all the nastiness and pain.  Rather, we fill our minds, hearts and souls with the positivity, the wellness, the redemption which Jesus Christ gives us. “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2:5)   

Have the same mind; try to think and act as if Jesus was by your side and encouraging you every step of the way. It may take some time or some practice to have the mind of Jesus. Get to know him more deeply by reading about him in the Gospels; pray more often; think about what he does and what he asks of us.  Ask yourself how you can be more like him, hour by hour, day by day.  The scars and pain will become less vivid, less sore, less intrusive, less destructive.” So, you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”  (John 16:12) With this new mindset, those scars now signify that you belong to Jesus.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse… Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Philippians 4: 8-9, The Message Bible)

Dale

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

“Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (2 Timothy 3:16, The Message Bible)

(I am doing a pulpit supply at First Baptist Church, Port Hope, for a few Sundays. Service time is 11:00 a.m. I have found the people to be very warm and friendly. If you live in the area, we would love to see you.)

                 Books, books and more books. We could fill  a small library. As we sort and sift through our household in preparation for the big move into an apartment in June, we realize just how many books we have.  Fantasy. Mystery, Science Fiction, Novels. History. Bird books. Cook books by the score. I gave away over half of my personal library when I retired but I still brought home 6 or 7 boxes of theology, commentaries, and favorite authors like Walter Brueggemann, William Willimon  and N.T. Wright. Haven’t touched them since I brought them home.  I don’t just want to throw them out either. There should be book rescues like there are pet rescues. Do you know a good home for a commentary on Timothy? A lot of our other books are going to be donated to the “Friends of the Library” for their annual book sale, but I doubt there is much market for a preachers’ library.

                There are some who might say that the only book I really need is the Bible. There is much truth in that thought. It has been my constant companion for my whole professional career and then some. It has been the first source for my sermons. It has been my personal guide and inspiration. The Bible has been the cornerstone for the growth and development of my theology.  The scriptures have painted a picture and forged an understanding of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I wouldn’t and couldn’t write this blog without my reliance on the Bible. In short, where I go, my Bible goes.

                But you don’t have to be a pastor or a theologian to enjoy the grace, beauty and message of our Bible. “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119: 105, The Living Translation) There are some parts that hard difficult to read (e.g. Leviticus) or perhaps to see their relevance. But for the most part, the Bible teems with wisdom, inspiration, moral checkpoints, encouragement, and best of all, perhaps, the stories about Jesus. “Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.” (Psalm 119: 133)

                We Baptists (as well as others, of course) affirm the Bible as the sole authority over our discipleship and within our churches. It doesn’t mean we all agree in our interpretations and understanding. As has been often said about Baptists, when you put two Baptists in a room together, you will  end up with  three opinions. Sadly, we have had some very deep divisions  in our Baptist history over the use of scripture. Even today there are significant divides between us,  over women in ministry, church memberships, sexual orientation, and so on.

                Traditionally, Baptists have practiced what is known as Soul Liberty. “Soul liberty is the freedom to choose what one's conscience or soul dictates is right in the religious realm. It is the freedom to worship according to one's own conscience. Every individual, whether a believer or an unbeliever, is accountable to God personally. Soul liberty asks the believer to accept responsibility for his own actions and not try to force anyone else to do or believe anything contrary to his own conscience.” This definition has also embraced our understanding of scripture. It doesn’t mean that any old meaning will do to suit our purposes. Even Satan can quote scriptures (cf. Matthew 4:6) But it allows us the freedom of thought, of choice in picking our path toward the truth, without any external authority

                Yet, I also believe that our mutual discussion and conversations, even preaching to a congregation, enrich and enhance our understanding of the Bible. We need to gather together around God’s Word.  Not only do we need to read it on our own in our daily or weekly devotional times but we deepen our understanding when we listen to others share their relationship with scriptures. “The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.” (Psalm 119: 160) It is always better to get to that essence by reading, listening and sharing together “Focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.” (1 Timothy 4: 13)

                “This commandment that I’m commanding you today isn’t too much for you, it’s not out of your reach. It’s not on a high mountain—you don’t have to get mountaineers to climb the peak and bring it down to your level and explain it before you can live it. And it’s not across the ocean—you don’t have to send sailors out to get it, bring it back, and then explain it before you can live it. No. The word is right here and now—as near as the tongue in your mouth, as near as the heart in your chest. Just do it!” (Deuteronomy 30: 11 -14 The Message Bible)

Dale

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Philippians 3: 8 - 9)

                I’d like to think of ourselves as savers, not hoarders. Our adult children may be  thinking otherwise.

                They have stepped up and, on their weekends, our kids are emptying our house of all the junk and detritus in order to get us ready for our big move in June. They are sorting through 20 years of stuff that has amassed over that time. I suspect that there are boxes that came from Brantford when we moved here which were never unpacked. The kids have sorted out their old rooms and now some of our junk is their junk. Nathaniel took home a huge tub of action figures which I am sure delighted  Declan and Naomi, our grandchildren. But we really have no one to blame for the amount of junk than ourselves. Both the sunroom (now immaculately empty) and the garage became easy dumping grounds for whatever we weren’t using or didn’t need. Things pile up over 20 years and after a while I don’t think we even saw any of it anymore. The vast majority of it is worthless garbage. And we don’t need to take any of of it with us to Whitby.

                In our text, Paul is looking back on all the religious baggage that he has stored up over his lifetime up to then and   he came to the conclusion that it really wasn’t worth anything. He uses words like worthless or garbage which, when more literally translated, means something far stronger; “dog dung” is how the Message Bible translates it.  I don’t think he was saying that his life was worthless but that all that religious weight of rules, regulations, proscriptions and dogmas (i.e. the Law) were of no value in living a life in Jesus Christ. Mind you, Paul never gave up on the Law but he put it in in its proper, secondary perspective, “so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”

                It can be very difficult to put the past behind us. We tend to have good (?) memories and we collect and hold on to all sorts of worthless stuff. We hold grudges, for example. We hang on to hurts, insults and broken promises. I know that this is not really what Paul is writing about but I think it can be applied. Sometimes, we can’t let go of old biases, prejudices, assumptions or judgments. We continue to see others in stereotypes and old paradigms. We cling to tired old religious doctrines and dogmatic labels. We fail to discard that which weighs us down, takes up room in our minds and hearts, and piles up to our detriment. There comes a time when we need to let go and let Christ free us from all that garbage. “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Galatians 5:1)

                When we make our move to Whitby, it will be a new start, free of all that stuff we have accumulated over the years. When we are in Christ, we let go of the past; we let go of emotional baggage; we let go of old physic and spiritual damages; we let go of failures and disappointments; we let go of Sin. It is freeing. It is liberating. It is redemptive. “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

                It may seem daunting (our move to a new home has seemed that way, at times) but  to let go and let Christ become the centre of your life offers you a whole new future, rich in possibilities and opportunities, especially to love, to do good, to fill your new space with harmony, joy, hope and love.

                Let’s make room for God’s best: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Matthew 6:38)

                Where did I put that broom?

Dale

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful;
I can’t take it all in! (Psalm 139: 1-6, The Message Bible)

                It would be easier to buy a house than it is to rent an apartment these days.

                The rental companies ask for deeply personal  details about our financial trustworthiness. They want proof and documentation about everything.  Credit ratings. Proof of government pensions. Copies of our house sale. Bank statements. ID authentications. We have totally opened and exposed ourselves to their scrutiny.  We have hidden nothing and they know our financial situation as well as we do, maybe better. The good news is that we passed their examination and as of June 1^st, we have a place to live in Whitby.  Whew! (I think our children were fearing that we would be living in their spare rooms and they really don’t have any.)

                ‘You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body.” (Psalm 139: 15)  That profound divine knowledge about us might make some of us squirm just  a tad or more.  I read somewhere recently that every person has about seven deep secrets about themselves which they never share with anyone. But God knows about them. Scripture tells us that God knows the numbers of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). I expect God doesn’t actually count the hairs on our heads (surely, God has better things to do) but the text means that God knows us intimately, all  our inner thoughts, all our tendencies, our attitudes, our egos, and everything that makes you and me you and me. That includes our sins, warts and failings but, as well, our goodness, our good works, our successes and triumphs. As Adam and Eve found out from the very beginning, one cannot hide from God. “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (Genesis 3: 10) God will always find us.  He has seen us naked, fully exposed, fully known, fully examined.

                But wait a minute. That is not as bad as it sounds. God has amazing filters in his examination of us.  God is able to sort out the bad from the good. God certainly sees our sins and shortcomings but God is also able to practice his grace upon us and protect us from ourselves with his everlasting Love. “Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles surround me - too many to count! My sins pile up so high; I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.” (Psalm 40: 11 -12, New Living Translation)

                Just as in the parable of the Lost Sheep, God goes to the fullest lengths in order to find us and pull the brambles from our souls. “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19) I have met many people who think that they are worthless and that God could never love them and it was hard to try to convince them otherwise. But the truth is that God gets to know us completely in order to love us just as completely. No one is out of his range of his Vision of Love or left exposed to fear, despair and separation. It is not what is on the outside; it is what is inside. “It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.” (Galatians 6: 15) God can take what we are and change what he sees, making us into someone he loves deeply and joyfully.

                “Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139: 23 -24)

 

Dale

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

“You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.” (Job 30:22, New Living Translation)

“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind…” (Job 40:6)

             Stop the world; I want to get off.

Over the last several weeks, certainly ever since the ice storm, but even before that, it has felt that Susan and I have been living in a whirlwind of circumstances beyond our control. It seems to be one dang thing after another to weary our souls, sap our energy and even test our faith. There are, no doubt, thousands of people worse off than us by far but when one is going through one’s own personal challenges, that thought is of little comfort. I will spare you all the details but a recent example has been the sudden decision to sell our house.  We have talked about it but had really done very little to move forward. The preparation to put the house in order for selling  was daunting, to say the least. But reality reared its ugly head and it became a leading priority.

We listed a week ago this past Sunday (better the day, better the deed as my mother would say). In little more than a week, we sold the house just last night. Yikes!  We don’t even know where we will be living other than it will be an apartment, probably in Whitby where our daughter can keep an eye on us. We have to be out of here by mid-June. Double yikes!!

We are in the midst of this whirlwind and feeling just a bit overwhelmed to say the least. But sometimes you just have to put your face into the wind, trust God and move forward. I am not saying that we have to like it or enjoy it, but like Abraham and Sarah who were sent out by God into unfamiliar territory, so Susan and I are plunging into the unknown and the unfamiliar, a new chapter in our lives.  Thankfully, we have the full support and help of our family. It could be far worse. It will be interesting. I will be thankful when the dust settles.

Yet, having complained somewhat like Job, we have also discovered that God is there in the whirlwind. Even the selling of the house has God’s fingerprints on it.  We have discovered hidden resources that we didn’t know we had but came along just at the right time. God has had our backs in more ways than one.  God speaks to us out of the whirlwinds in our lives. It is still all a whirlwind but we know that we are not alone.

Of course, I cannot help but think of that stormy night on the sea of Galilee. The disciples are caught out in the storm in their small fishing boat. “But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.” (Mark 4:37) Despite the storm, Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. The terrified disciples are aghast that Jesus is sleeping while they are in danger of drowning. They shake him awake. “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.” (4:39)

A great calm.  That sums up my hope right now. I am waiting through the whirlwind in faith that there will be a great calm, a peace, a sanctuary, a time to catch our breath and feel safe once again after all the turmoil. “But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” (2 Timothy 1;12) Jesus is in your and my boats, even if we feel we are going against the wind without a paddle. Jesus is nestled in our storms and upheavals and he does have the spiritual power to bring calm to our situations. It is hard, I know, (believe me, I know) to trust in that powerful Love and Mercy. But it is that or be swept away in despair, anxiety and worry.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3: 5 -6)

 

Dale