A Humbling Thought

This is a quote that I found and the link above will take you to the site where I found it online. I actually read it in the latest newsletter from Voice of the Martyrs. The content is slightly different and may have been edited for the newsletter, but the story is the same. The sovereignty of God can be a fearful thing if we forget the 'mad love' at the center of it all. We must also remember that at the center of sove-reign-ty there lies reign.

The Unreasonableness of God

By Pastor Richard Wurmbrand

Taken from an excerpt of his book"The Oracles of God"

I shared and viewed the sufferings of many fellow prisoners in an underground Communist prison. What intrigued us the most was that we did not obtain from heaven what it was obviously reasonable to us to expect: a slight improvement in our situation, food to quiet our hunger, and abatement of our cruel torture. We did not get what we expected because heaven is not - humanly speaking - reasonable.

Jesus said, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7)". This is surely not reasonable (from a human standpoint).

Nowhere does the Bible speak about the "reasonableness" of God, according to man's reasoning. Was it reasonable to sacrifice the unique Son of God for witless, dirty, dumb sheep? I have asked many shepherds what they would do if they saw a wolf. They all replied, "We would run for our lives". No man dies for sheep (at least not a "reasonable" one). Yet the Lord Jesus Christ did. He died for beings much worse than sheep - for those who denied and betrayed Him, for those who demanded His crucifixion. He died for His killers and prayed that the Father forgive them. Would you say that Jesus' actions were "reasonable"?

Do not be surprised if you fail to get from God what you might reasonably expect. If He were truly "reasonable", He would never listen to the prayers of sinners like us who continue to disobey Him time and time again. If God were truly "reasonable" we wouldn't even have salvation. Rather, our God listens, loves and forgives far beyond the point of folly and "reason".

If you feel that you are in the sad situation of not being able to understand His reason, nor feel His mad love, just remember that following Christ is not about logic or reason or some great feeling that you are hoping to experience - IT'S ABOUT FAITH! Those who are faithful will continue to press forward even when God doesn't make any sense to them and even when it feels as if He is not with them. Those who are faithful will stand strong in their belief of the teaching of Hebrews 13:5: "I will never leave you nor forsake you".

When in solitary confinement, I waited for years for God to come to my aid. In solitary we were happy about His mad love even in moments when we did not "feel" it.

Do not count on "reasonableness" from heaven and you will never be disappointed. Do not expect God to operate according to your limited and sinful ways of thinking and you will never be upset with Him for not answering your prayers in the way that you want them answered. Count only on the fact that He loves you to such folly that He condescended to leave His throne and come down into a sin cursed world to die for you. Forget about sweet "reason" and continue to follow Him no matter what your circumstances may be. For as faithful Job once said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him".

Some Statuary For Pasha

Here are the pics I promised Pasha. They show the connection that has existed between the former Soviet Union and China in their modern ideological beliefs. Both countries display a flair for the aggrandisement of the people they are portraying. Modern day heroes, eh? It does have a certain appeal.

A Different Point Of View

This is an article worth checking out. I don't know at this point if the US media would give this kind of coverage or slant to what this guy is saying, but the Chinese media usually has an interesting take on things.
As an aside, if you want to check out some great pics from all over China check out this link. Do yourself a favour though and install the east asian language packs or you'll be pop-up killing all the way through it.
My own personal take on the above article is that the U.S. has long worked at keeping the rest of the world at arms length. By this I mean that they are quite content to keep people at a level beneath them so that they can continue to ensure their own lifestyle at the expense of the rest of the world. They, of course, are not the only ones, but they are the largest and most visible from our northern vantage point. It really is no wonder to me that the Arab world has such a hate on for them, nor that the enemies of the U.S. would find ample allies in the 3rd world. The rape of the nations to fuel Notrth American comfort will only go on for so long before the balance shifts. History has always shown this to be true. Just yesterday I was reminded that when the Nazis began their rise to world domination they had the most powerful army on the planet which, if not for multiple armed forces converging on them, would have achieved its ultimate goal. The U.S. is currently the most powerful armed force on earth, but again, this means nothing in historical terms. The current government in China owes its origins to the last one pissing off enough poor people that they finally rose up. The U.S. needs to understand the responsibility it has to the rest of the world is not to try to export its idea of democracy or lifestyle, but rather to aid in bringing other nations to a place of self sufficiency. They need to seek equality around the globe, but not base it upon their own ideologies. The fiasco in Iraq is a prime example of what happens when we try to cram our ideals down someone else's throat. Saddam needed to go, but the nation of Iraq does not need to be a little america. Iraq needs to be Iraq just as much as I need to be who I am and you need to be you. The war, the oil, the politics aside our leaders need to seek cultural and socio-economic peace rather than ideological peace. I believe dictators would have a lot less chutzpah if they were in a world united across these lines rather than the current pool of paranoid naval-gazers we have now. Boy, do we ever need to pray for our leaders. They NEED Christ now!

Too Cute

So this morning when our smiley 3 year old Ethan scooted up to the table for breakfast I was constrained to inquire as to where he obtains his seeming limitless supply of cuteness. Without batting an eye he said

God put His peace in me and He put His strength in me so that is where I get my cuteness

Tagged

Well Nathan, it has been awhile so here goes.
5 Things you may not know about me.

#1. I used to have a dog named Snoopy, but she was a she not a he.











#2 Most of my life has been spent in B.C., but I was born in the prairies.



#3 I only got into construction because during the days I was doing drugs it was the easiest thing to get into. I have found out though, that you don't actually have to be stoned to be a carpenter, or at least to be a good one.





#4 I started smoking on the night of my grade 12 graduation. It has been said that if you haven't started by then you probably never will. I always seem to leave things right to the end.


P.S. Been quit now for 8 years now


#5 I'd still pick S'toon over Kelowna for a place to live in Canada. Course I've never been to Cornerbrook.


So there you go. Since I don't know who all reads this thing you'll have to leave some sign of your passing for me to know where your tag is.

There Can Be Only One

Hey, any Highlander fans out there? That one was for all those who think the first movie was the best and only one.

It does refer to the context of this post though, because someone else said there can be only one. Before diving into who what and why, though, lets first peruse some visual history.

Exhibit 1

No intro needed here. Even when I asked my wife for a list of historical baddies this guy topped the list. He has come to represent evil personified. Old Adolf is still number one.

Exhibit 2

This man also hit the list in the same order when I asked my wife. Papa Stalin, king of the political purge. Blood of the masses for the masses was his credo. We must be headed somewhere with this, right?? Right.

Exhibit 3

A little more modern feel to this expose of Dudley Do-wrongs. Mr. Milosevic definitely belongs here for his all out attempt to eradicate an entire people group from his country. Just as much Haman here as with baddie #1, the genocidal maniacs club seems to like company. Is that why Mr. M is on this particular list though? Nope!

Exhibit 4

Remember this guy? No, it's not Martin, it's Idi. The Ugandan butcher himself. Wow, this doesn't seem to follow even racial guidelines. Everyone is welcome, as long as they have the credentials, but what are those?

Exhibit 5

Oops, nope, it's not gender related either. Madam Mao is here too, to represent the ladies out there who may have started to feel a little too secure in their gender credentials. This gal could rip and tear with the best of them, and for now she will round out the dean's list. Just for now, though.

Oddly enough the inspiration for this post came out of this morning's worship time as I focused on the majesty of our Father, the beauty of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit. All it took was the above mentioned quote to stir some thoughts. 'There is only one good' is what Jesus said when someone called Him 'good teacher'. It seems to me that He was implying to the person His own divine identity, but the fact remains that He said that God is the only good guy out there. That leaves a whole lot of people on the other side of that line, doesn't it? My wife indicated to me just the other day that my own divine resemblance was lacking of late so I know where I stand in relation to that line. Sadly, since Eden, we have all found ourselves born on the wrong side of that line. The other thing is that emigration policy on this side is pretty stiff. We gotta concede the truth of where we are. It can be difficult to do though, because we tend to gather people around us who like us and hopefully don't mind telling us so. That's not all bad since we are told to encourage each other, but it can narrow the view if we only look there for an accurate portrayal of who we are. Every once in awhile we need to climb up on a ladder to peer out over the heads of our peers and see from whence we have come. From that vantage point the hit list above suddenly starts popping out at us. From that vantage point we get a fuller view of the mirror. It ain't pretty is it?

I know I start to look for some way to look away at this point, but He tells me to not forget what I have seen. Eeeek! This gets uncomfortable. How can I be like those guys and gals. They are the dregs, aren't they??? Ain't I floating somewhere near the top of the barrel looking down?? Nope, it's all flat here (sorry S'toon pals, no jab intended). The murdering thugs in the pictures were gathered into my corral when Jesus said that being angry at my brother was the same as murder. The worst skid row hooker is in with the one with the wondering eye. AAaaahhh, what will I do??? He didn't come and lower the bar. He didn't come and eradicate the bar. He came and showed us where it really is, un-freaking-reachably far above us. He showed us that the bar is God Himself. There is only 1 who is good. Suddenly I am faced with the reality of my position. The good thing is that it happened while I was beholding God. This revelation of our place leaves us at His mercy alone, and that is a good place to be. A good place because when the Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin it will be for the sin of not believing in His mercy, and we can only truly believe this when we are seeing ourselves for who we truly are. What a wonderful liberty ensues the fervent grasping of this truth. Freedom reigns in this place where we understand the fullness of God's great mercy towards us. In fact when I looked at these guys during that time of worship I realised the mercy of God in a new way. The mercy He had on these people. The food they had to eat. The beauty their eyes took in. The very breath in their nostrils was mercy. The very breath in my nostrils is mercy, the fragrance of God.

One Piece

Holy Crap!!!

What is it about cold weather that acts as an irresistable lure to lunatics and sociopathic road warriors? I cannot help but wonder as I kiss the warm floor of home after returning from the Coast for Christmas. Apparently a herd of these nomadic morons got wind of our travel arrangements and decided to join us on our homeward migration. Fortunately my wife is a fiercesome prayer warrior and she and the Holy Ghost fended of their determined onslaught and delivered us with much peace and in one piece. WHEW!!!!
Merry Christmas........and safe travels to all.

Come Up Here

I have been pondering through a somewhat ponderous book lately and loving what I am finding. The book of Hebrews used to be my least favourite book of the bible due to some of the harsh things I thought it was saying. These days it is a book of splendour. It is one of my favourites now. The reason being that I finally got over what I used to think the author was saying and got to the heart of what he was getting at. The whole thing is about Christ. Front to back it is some of the clearest revelation of who He is than is found anywhere else. This with apologies to those who love Isaiah and Revelations, but here in Hebrews it is a sustained view, a long wondorous look.
What has been piqueing my interest most is the portions regarding the priesthood of Christ. This is absolutely thrilling stuff. There is one part in particular where the prophecy regarding the work of Christ is reiterated. It is the one in 8:12 where He says He will remember their sins no more. Wow...no more... that is cool. The thing is that I always tend look at this as being from the time I first believed and everything previous to that, but afterwards it is back to the blackboard with all the current stuff. Not really what He said though, is it??? I have found in my biblical travels a wonderful truth. The only sin left, the BIG ONE, is to not believe what Christ has done for us. Check out what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict people on in regards to sin in John 16:9. It is about believing in Christ. All the other stuff we do that is contrary to God's will comes from this. The temptations Christ faced all had to do with questioning God's love for Him, which He had just declared at His baptism. All the temptations we face are contained within the question of whether or not God loves us as completely as He says He does.
This has left me with the picture of Christ as the door to heaven (or gate as He put it). In Ezekiel the prophet saw a vision from the perspective of earth looking up to God's eternal throne. In it you will see that there is a sea of crystal above him. In the book of John's Revelation of Christ there is a door open in heaven and He is beckoned through it. From the perspective of the throne room he looks down and sees the same crystal sea, only FROM ABOVE!!! We have been invited through Christ to "come up here".
DO YOU BELIEVE IT???

Why Is It??

Why is it that I am being slapped silliy with requests for change orders. Not renovation type of changes either, which would be quite easily handled. These are the kind where people are asking me to change where I am standing so they can see their world better. Sometimes they even want me to change my shape or color. The worst of all is when they simply request that I remove my presence altogether. After awhile it starts to feel like I am in Circque de Soliel. The contortions become quite painful for someone who is not so flexible and I then stop and reevaluate why I am going through this torture. Sometimes it is justifiable, but most times it is just plain silly.
The frustrating thing is that for most of us life can seem intolerable when people are being themselves instead of who we think they should be. The things they do complicate our lives endlessly and they show no remorse or even awareness of the consequences their actions bear upon us. If this is the way things are supposed to be I gotta admit that checking out would seem like a viable option. The weight of it all is just too oppressive. Of course being a bit of a chicken shit when it comes to personal impalement I would find some other form of self destruction and just draw it all out for much longer.
To avoid all this I have to remind myself that I can actually ignore these change orders ( for the most part). The reason being that most of the things people would want me to change are simply for their own comfort and so that they don't have to change themselves. The same goes for me. When I think that rewriting someones program would enhance my life then I am heading for trouble. For one thing, no one is running around out there with a keyboard strapped to their noodle and if they did it would probably be bearing a sticker saying 'Protected by Smith & Wesson'. The other thing is that I would never understand the language they are wired with. That whole option is hopeless. If I go the other way though, I find that I know the language and I can access the mainframe quite easily, cuz its my own noodle. This is where I should concentrate on making changes.
The only thing remaining then is what should be programmed in there when the system starts smoking and the gears are grinding? This is simple. Just refer to the Owner's manual.

The Mighty Ones and The Blanket

Its been awhile since I posted last and for this I apologize. Perhaps it was my recent foray into learning Chinese that finally forced me into doing some typing in English. I mean 一个男人 can get a little flustered trying to communicate with his own brain after awhile. It is cool though to start to recognize some basic characters.
In the meantime I have also had some time to ponder things and one of them was the word God spoke to me a few years back regarding the prayers of the saints. It was during one of those open prayer times that Wes Campbell loved so much (Korean style, he and Gord called it) when some people were given the mic to pray outlouder. As I listened to the prayers there was a noticeable bent to them all and as I wondered on this and struggles to enter in I heard the Spirit say," What is this fear that fills the hearts of the mighty??" Suddenly it became obvious. What I was hearing was the same sound that I had heard coming from my lips so many times. It was desperation. It was a faithless begging. I believe that in the heavenly tongue they refer to it as whining. At least the Buddhists have the good sense to mask over this ritual with a lot of clapping and clanging of gongs etc to awaken the desired ancestors before they get to the heart of the issue. We on the other hand raise this baleful moaning that reminds me a lot of what I hear from the back of the minivan when we say that we are not stopping at Burger King this time. Its pathetic. Especially when I remember all the times I have done this.
It is really quite easy to slip into this mode, frighteningly easy actually. All it takes is a steady diet of worldly opinions to slap some mud on the internal gyroscope. Then to attempt to bring some balance back we glop some human reasoning (my personal fave) on the other side. Since this must be done in equal proportion to the mud on the opposing pole we have to measure it out with some judgments and squint through vague perceptions to get it all right. When the whole mess begins to wobble like a cheap tire our only recourse seems to be the aforementioned whine. I don't know about you, but personally I have never found this approach to right the gyro.
What does work, on the other hand is to pull the wobbly tire over to the side of the road and proceed to a full stop. This may be difficult since braking with said tire is somewhat tenuous. Once stopped though, the rebalancing can begin. Firstly we have to look in the mirror (rearview mostly) of the Word so as to pick out the beam that has caused the vague perceptions and judgments. This will allow a sudden, sometimes overwhelmingly, new view of things. Then we grab the hose of God's word, crank up the pressure and let the ol' gyro have a good blast. I've found that if I set the nozzle to praise it gets those first layers off with wonderful ease. The clingy bits will usually succumb to a scrub brush with some soapy promises on it, and voila, you have a shiny clean gyro.
The cool thing about the gyro is that it can only get spinning with some help from Dad and after cleaning it off it becomes surprisingly easy to see that Dad really loves to give it a mighty rip (c'mon dads, you all like too showboat for the kiddies, dontcha??) The other thing is that you realize that you are a son/daughter that is dearly loved. You realize that you too are mighty, simply because you are mightily loved by Dad. It changes our prayers, our perceptions and our personality dramatically. It will even change me to the point where other people will want to be around me, now that's dramatic!
When you pray from this place the first thing you will notice is that the piercing whine no longer fits, and instead of sounding like pious zeal it will simply sound like what the angels have been hearing.....whining.
Children of God let's never forget who we are and Whom we serve. It's great to be a kid!!!

Oh yeah, p.s. : the blanket is that burden that wants to bury you in comfortable apathy and tell you its alright to let the gyro sit there, unused.