News from May 2011

"To an Unknown God".

May 31, 2011

Acts 17:23–30

“for as I was walking along I saw your many altars. And one of them had this inscription on it—‘To an Unknown God.’ You have been worshiping him without knowing who he is, and now I wish to tell you about him. He is the God who made the world and everything in it.

Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in manmade temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is.

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.

For in him we live and move and exist. As one of your own poets says, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. God overlooked people’s former ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to him.”

Paul is preaching in Athens. He was deeply trouble by the idols he saw everything in the city. When he comes across the idol with the inscription, “To an Unknown God”, he begins to tell the people about Jesus.

I love this passage. It is an incredible and yet simple description of who God is and what He has done for us. I also love the opportunity that Paul grabs on to to tell the people about Him. Telling them God is real, in Him we live and move and have our being….He is not some small insignificant idol of gold and silver.

Father, I may not view you as a small idol but I sometimes forget how great you are. How in you I live and move and exist. Continue to remind me of that. And give me the strength and perseverance to begin and continue to share this message with others. To sacrifice in order to share the gospel with those around me.

I love you. Amen.

May 30, 2011

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. Proverbs 12:1

I am not someone who just absolutely loves to be corrected. I really struggle when someone tells me I have done something wrong, I don’t know if it is a perfection thing or even a control thing, but I do know that I am not alone in feeling this way.

This verse brings back memories for me. It takes me back about 3–4 years ago when I first remember reading this verse. I was a very new Christian and still trying to figure everything out. I remember it standing out to me because, probably for the first time in a long time, I realized that if I truly wanted to change my life and live for God and I actually going to have to listen to the people around me when they corrected me. I am not talking about being corrected over the spelling or grammar errors that I seem to be infamous for, but the big stuff like the way I was living and my selfishness. My walls were going to have to come down and I was actually going to have to listen to people; they were only trying to help. But I wasn’t going down without a fight.

It is interesting to see where my heart was a couple years ago and where it is now. Although I am not eager to be disciplined, and I am not excited when someone tells me I am wrong, but I feel…. I hope… that I handle discipline better, taking all things to heart, striving to gain more knowledge. It is still my gut reaction to fight against someone who tells me I have done something wrong, but I really want to change that.

Jesus, thank you for what you have done in my life; thank you for the changes you have made in my heart. Help me to grow more submissive to your guidance and your teaching. You only mean the best for me

I love you,
Kelsey

May 26, 2011

Have you ever noticed…that nothing ever stays the same…after something else has hit it?

I mean sometimes…if you have a VERY BIG THING….that gets hit by a very tiny small thing….the change is minimal….

But its there.

Two opposing forces acting on one another….make changes happen

A baseball can only get hit so many times….because with each hit….it changes…it weakens.

The bat also….will one day break…

A knife can only be used so much…and then it must be sharpened.

And eventually too…you must buy a new sharpening stone

Even WATER splashing onto a brick wall makes a difference….if you don’t believe me…

Then why are all the rocks beside the ocean….round?

And why aren’t they round anywhere else?

The simple truth is…

When two different things collide….a change must occur.

The Gospel…is the only exception to the rule.

The Gospel never changes.

God’s truth is always true…it is the only constant anywhere on this planet…

And yet….

How often do we try to change it…

So that we can stay the same?

How often do we try to justify ourselves…and compromise the Gospel…?

Every day?

Every hour?

All the time?

The truth is that when the Gospel Collision occurs in our hearts…the only thing that will ever change…is us.

We either accept it and submit to it….

Or we reject it.

Either one changes us.

So then the question is….

What are you gonna do with the Gospel?

Because when it collides with your heart….the one thing I can assure you of is this:

You

Will NOT

Stay

The Same.

10.00am
05.29.2011

May 25, 2011

“Than Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

Acts 13 : 8–10

I don’t know why I felt like writing this scripture down today. Maybe its because of Pauls words and how I don’t feel like I could ever say that to someone. Maybe it’s because I’m amazed at the opposition Paul and Barnabas run into, yet time and time again, they continue to spread Jesus.

Or prehaps it becasue when Paul is speaking to Elymas, I feel like he’s speaking to me. I’m not saying I’m a devil child or anything, but the line that grabbed me was, “You are full of lies and trickery.”

Truly I am. The days where I put my devotions second to something, and convince myself that it’s fine. Or my little white lies that I casually slip into any conversation. I feel I could go on for a very long time. But why? To gather sympathy?

Father I am so sorry for my ways and how they don’t bring you glory. I don’t know why. I’m disqusted with myself and the fact that multiple times throughout my day, there are things that are more appealing to me than you. I truly am sorry.

Help me to gain the understanding and wisdom of what it means to be a whole hearted follower of Jesus.

Amen.

May 24, 2011

Psalm 23:1

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need.”

As a North American, I have everything I need and more. I have a roof over my head. I have food. I have clothing. I have a car. I have a cell phone. I have a job. And yet I want more. As North Americans, we never feel like what we have is enough. As a society, our biggest goal is to be successful….you can’t seem to get anywhere in this world if you do not have money and an abundance of material wealth. This lifestyle is so contrary to the way most of the world lives. Their lives are marked by a need to find food and water each day. Their biggest need and want in life are their basic necessities to live.

As I sit here and read this passage, I am struck by how much of a North American I actually am. How I actually have everything I need and more and yet that does not always seem to be enough.

What if God was enough? The fact of the matter is….He is. He is everything I need. But why don’t I always think that way? What if everything I had was taken away from me and I nothing else but God? Why is that kind of scary? When I know He is enough; when I know He will provide and protect me.

Father, Thank you. You are enough. Help me to remember that. I love you. Amen.

May 23, 2011

They will proclaim his righteousness to people yet unborn – for he has done it. Psalm 22:31

I didn’t feel the need to dive into the parallels between this Psalm and the death of Jesus. All I can seem to focus on today is the truth that Jesus has done it, Jesus has conquered the grave. I found myself really asking the question, what does that mean to me, and how should it effect my life.

If I was to live my life exercising in the full freedom that Christ provides would my life look different than how I am currently living? If it is different, then why? I am just left with questions today, questions on how I live my life and if I am embracing the fullness of Christ and what my life would look like if I did.

Jesus, you have provided me with an amazing freedom through your death and resurrection. Show me today how to live my life in the full freedom you provide.

I love you,
Kelsey

May 20, 2011

Acts 10

27 And as he talked with them, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

God was changing Peter’s heart towards those outside of the Jewish faith, He was changing the hearts of the apostle’s and the heart of the church…

The message of the Gospel was not only for the Jews, but the Gentiles and every nation.

The Gospel is the ‘good news’ for all…not just us who are in the church, but for the world…

John 3:16–17
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

As I read and reflect on this very familiar passage of scripture, I am struck by the truth that the message of the Gospel is the message of love, not of condemnation or judgement, but of love.

Sadly, I believe the majority of the world have only heard a message of condemnation and judgement…we, as the body of Christ have failed to share the true message of love…

I have failed to share the true message of love… I have removed myself from uncomfortable situations with uncomfortable people for fear of being judged, for fear of being misunderstood, for fear of sharing the Gospel and somehow getting it wrong…

I guess the question I’ve been asking myslef lately is how can I get it wrong if the only thing I’m about is loving people? If the pressure to preach to others about what is right and what is wrong is removed from the picture of sharing the Gospel…if we became a people devoted to Jesus and to loving His people (the world around us)...I wonder how differently the world would view Jesus and the message of the Gospel….

Jesus was a friend of sinners, He hung out with the tax collectors and prostitutes!

Jesus, I pray that you would help me to just love, to share the Gospel through my love of you and people…that what I do would be out of this love.

Thank you Jesus, in your Name, Amen.

Erin

May 19, 2011

You know that feeling where you’re at the end of your rope?

When you feel like you’ve got nothing left to give?

You’re crying while watching AlarmForce commercials on TV and you almost threw your glass at the wall when you spilled water on your shirt…

That kind of overwhelmed.

Done.

What happens…when we’re ALREADY in that place….and God asks us for more?

What do we do when we’re ALREADY praying for strength…and instead we get put in a situation that demands more sacrifice?

Would God really do that to us?

Doesn’t the Bible say something like “He’ll never give you more than you can handle?”

Maybe the Gospel calls things out of us we didn’t know were there.

Maybe Jesus isn’t just about taking from us…

But maybe He understands that when we are completely at the end….we are in the perfect place to experience grace.

Maybe Exodus 14:14 means something….

The Lord will fight your battles for you….you need only to be still.

10.00am
05.22.2011

May 18, 2011

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snagged”

Proverbs 3 : 25–26

There is coming a time when my God will judge all on this Earth. Where ruin will overtake the wicked…

It freaks me out to think that I am one of those who is going to be spit out of Gods mouth. I just don’t know. i could spend LOTS of time thinking and wondering and questioning this.

Matthew 6 : 27 says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Ya, I could ponder this for a looooong time. Why bother? Life has so much in store!I will find the answer to that question one day. In the mean time, may I not only look to you for my confidence, I pray that you will BE my confidence as this scripture so beautifully states. May I be confident in the fact that my wickedness left me the day your son willingly gave his life for me.

May I bring glory to you in all of my ways. Give me the wisdom to know and the courage to do what is right. I love you,

Amen.

May 16, 2011

Proverbs 1:20–33 (mini guide)

Wisdom calls in the streets, but what does her voice sound like? I sat on these verses for some time this morning.

I love them.

The speech Wisdom cries out about accepting knowledge, fearing the LORD and the fruit of all our decisions is so full of teachings. This is where I drew a blank.

What can I take from this today? How can this make me change my life to be more gospel focused. What am I going to do today that comes from this devotional time?

Then Wisdom, she called: The world cannot fear the LORD if they don’t know he is there to fear. Of course the world spurned the rebuke, they don’t know what they did to deserve a rebuke.

Wisdom can scream as loud as she wants but if people don’t know her voice, if they don’t know God’s voice, her cries will fall on deaf ears and no lives will be impacted.

LORD, do not let me reject the knowledge that comes from Wisdom; let me hear her cries. Use me today to help those who cannot hear her cries. But before I show them Wisdom, may I show them you. Let them fall in love with you like I have; tune their ears to hear Wisdom’s beautiful cry. Break my heart for those people who our blind deaf and lame: Blind towards you, deaf towards your teaching and lame towards your calling

I love you,
Kelsey

May 11, 2011

Have you ever tried to watch a 3D Movie without the glasses?

Its blurry.

Out of focus.

You can’t see things the way you were supposed to.

What do you see when you look around your neighborhood?

Your City?

People going about their lives?

A friendly neighbor, cutting his grass?

A lady comparing prices in the grocery aisle?

The mailman, cheerful as always?

What if the man with the lawn mower just lost a family member to cancer…would you know?

What if the lady in grocery store wasn’t checking prices…but deciding if she could afford any food at all?

What if the mailman was going through a divorce?

Do you know the stories of the people around you?

What if we don’t see things right?

Like the 3D movie without the glasses.

What if there was a way to view the world through a different lens…a different filter?

What would we see?

And how would what we might see affect us?

Maybe the Gospel isn’t simply a story.

But a filter to view the world through.

10.00am
05.15.2011

May 11, 2011

“From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the Kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the law of Moses and from the prophets.”

Acts 28 : 23

Paul is at Rome preaching his face off. It is such a beautiful thing to read about. Reading this verse, I sense almost an urgency in Pauls teaching. Not urgent in the sense that he wants to get out of there, but urgent in the sense of, “These people NEED to hear what I HAVE to say.”

I am such a light switch. This fire in my heart is ignited one moment and than snuffed out the next. Why?

Paul speaks with desperation and love. Some days I feel I hold my car in higher standards than I do Jesus and spreading his kingdom. Maybe it’s something lot’s struggle with. I know I’m not alone in this battle.

Shred me to pieces if need be Father. This is it. More important than money or a job. You could come tomorrow and those things would count for nothing. Your name NEEDS to be spread. It is my calling. Along with my brothers and sisters, may we humble ourselves and get ready to fight the good fight.

Amen.

May 10, 2011

Psalm 13:5–6

“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he has been so good to me.”

The first four verses of this Psalm are David crying out to God. He asks God questions like “how long will you forget me?” and “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?”

He is clearly hurting; he is upset. He is having a difficult time and yet his response, his conclusion is one of delight and trust in the Lord.

I admire that response. I admire the fact that he trusts in the Lord no matter what. Even in the face of trials, he still believes that God is faithful and therefore he will worship Him.

I want this to be my response, at all times. When I am happy and life is awesome….sing to the Lord because he is good. When I am facing many trials and hurt….sing to the Lord because he is good.

Father. I love you and I thank you for who you are and all that you do. Lord, today I lift your name high. I praise you and rejoice in you for you are good. Your love is unfailing, you are trustworthy. Be my focus….be at the centre of all that I do today. Amen.

May 9, 2011

Then they prayed, “LORD, you know everyone’s heart. Show us to which of these you have chosen
Acts 1:24

The disciples are choosing to whom will replace Judas to once again have twelve disciples. Before they cast lots they pray to God, “LORD you know everyone’s heart” The LORD knows our hearts, he knows our desires, he knows our motivations, and he knows our secrets.

Have I ever prayed for something I didn’t want to happen? Did I every pray a prayer when my heart didn’t agree with the words I was saying? Maybe it was out of bitterness and I didn’t want my enemy to succeed. Or maybe it was out of hurt when I prayed for a blessing upon someone’s life when I really wanted them to suffer?

Why do we even pray at all? God already knows our hearts, he already knows what he is going to do. Why do we pray prayers we don’t believe will happen, are we just acting? Does it really matter? Will our bitter hearts really soften? It is bound to happen eventually so why bother to pray? If the sick child is dying are my prayers really going to change God’s mind to take her home?

Prayer is something I fought with for a very long time. I believe God is God and he will do what he wants whether I pray for it or not. But the truth is God IS God, he is God of the whole universe and he wants to see my tiny little heart poured out before him. He wants to hear me say what moves my to tears, what makes my heart feel. He wants to hear me fight through my bitterness, he wants to hear my frustrations, he wants to know my conerns, my fears, my hopes and my dreams. My God just wants me to spend time with him, talking. Yes God already knows what he is going to do, but through the pouring out of our hearts in prayer we give God the opportunity to fill us up with his love.

LORD, my God, I have so much on my heart today. So much that I have yet to bring before you in prayer. It is easy for me to pray what is on my list to pray about, but today I want to just pray for what I feel. I want to look past my prayer check list that I pray so robotically, this morning I want to pour out what is on my heart. Guide our conversations this morning and allow my heart to be lain before you, open to the work you need to do.

I love you,
Kelsey

May 6, 2011

John 21

7 That disciple whom Jesus loved…

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”...
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

Throughout the book of John…the author uses the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved”...

John knew who he was and more importantly he knew whose he was…he belonged to Jesus, his identity and belonging was wrapped in the truth that he was loved by Jesus…he was the “disciple whom Jesus loved.”

There is much that I have taken my identity, even my value from…but all these fail, all these don’t measure up…

But the honest truth is, is that sometimes I don’t want to be valued just for who I am, but what I do, what I can bring to the table…how I can help to make something better…I don’t want to be the ‘star player’, just a ‘player’, and so I am in a constant state of trying and failing, of working outside of my true identity and clinging to false identities… Sometimes, the fact that Jesus loves me isn’t enough.

This brings me back to John…there was probably much he could have said when identifying himself…but nothing else mattered, everything paled in comparisson to the truth that he was loved by Jesus. His identity, his value, his belonging was that he was “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

What was true of John is true of me…I am loved by Jesus!!!

Jesus, help me to find my identity in you, not in the values of the world, but in the value, in the truth that I am loved by you! I pray this in your Name, Amen.

Erin

May 5, 2011

Have you ever felt like you were searching for meaning?

Not in the grandiose, metaphysical sense…

But in what you do each day.

A purpose for getting out of bed.

Why go to work?

Why talk to that person?

Why go to Church?

I mean seriously, why?

Whats the point?

To please God?

To satisfy the requirements?

What if it was about something more?

What if the Gospel was supposed to mean something?

To change things?

What if the Gospel was where the purpose was found?

What would that change…about your life?

About what you’re going to do right after you get up from your computer?

Maybe the Gospel is more than a story.

Maybe the Gospel is more than a phrase.

What if it was more than just something to be “shared.”

Maybe its something to live.

Maybe it changes things.

Maybe its alive.

An energy.

A motivation.

A catalyst.

10.00am
05.08.2011

May 4, 2011

” ‘Here is your king.’ Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
John 19 : 14–15

It freaks me out to think that when Jesus comes back to Earth, how many will still reject him. What if I’m one? What if I think its phony or a hoax?

I think of all the priests and Jews that are gathered yelling, “Take him away!” “There is no king but Caesar!” I think, Idiots! This is your Lord and saviour your mocking! Than I think some more…

I was a part of that crowd. I was the “idiot” yelling at Jesus and mocking him. I put him on the cross that day.

I get this VERY vivid picture in my mind of my saviour standing there, bleeding to death, being humiliated and me being in the crowd showing no compassion.

Father, Thank you for love. A love that conquers the impossible and the incomprehensible. Jesus invites me to His eternal glory. Me. The one who cursed him and spat in his face. God I don’t get it. I don’t want to get it. That’s what’s so amazing about it. A love that can’t even be computed in my own mind. Help me to live in a way that always brings glory to you and only you forever and ever,

Amen.

May 3, 2011

Psalm 8:1, 3–4

“O Lord, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.”
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have in place—What are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us?”

This is often a question I have. Why humans? Why me? Who am I to deserve and receive the love that God has for me? I am nothing and He is everything.

It always baffles me that someone so powerful, so wonderful….someone who created the night sky…the mountains and the valleys, rivers and oceans….would love… me. I have done nothing to deserve his attention and love and yet he gives it to me unconditionally.

He sent his only Son to die for me. God gave up the universe. He gave up his heavenly throne. To become a man….not a wealthy man or a king, but a carpenter. All so that He could show His immense and unceasing love for me.

This is a fact that will never get old to me and one that will always be hard to fathom.

Father, may I never forget this. May it never get old to me. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your love. I am sorry that I so often turn away from you. I am sorry that I turn to worldly things for love and comfort. Lord be the focus and centre of all that I do today. May my life be a life marked by you. May my life be a life that brings you glory. You are so faithful and I trust you. I love you. Amen.

May 2, 2011

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them and will continue to make your known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:25&26

It brings me a lot of pain to know that some of the closest people to me are the farthest from God. They are not in him and do not experience his love.

Sometimes I question God. I question what he does, why he does what he does and why does he bring some people into his kingdom and why some aren’t. I get really scared sometimes to think that my family won’t be with me in heaven. I found myself asking God is he even loved my family. Did he forget about them? Why have their hearts not changed.

God loves my family more than I could ever imagine. He created them and he loves everything about them. Who am I to doubt the love of God?

Today I pray, because that is all I can do… it’s all up to God

Righteous Father, though my family doesn’t know you, I know you, and I know your love for me and I know your love for my family. Lord would you reveal yourself to them in order that the love you have for me may be in them. But not my will, but yours.

I love you,
Kelsey

This is Love...

Date Posted: May 18 2012 by Erin MacIntosh
The Secure Place.

Date Posted: May 17 2012 by Brian Hawkins
A challenge.

Date Posted: May 16 2012 by Kyle Dyck
Thoughts and Thanks

Date Posted: May 15 2012 by Alecia Klassen