July 31, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2 Peter 3 for Aug 5th’s message on Matthew 5:17-20 in our summer worship service at 10am

 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”

2 Peter 3:10 (NIV)

Peter knows about the scoffers - you know the ones who laugh at the idea of the Lord coming in judgment. They imagine that because He has not come back by now - that He will never come back. So Peter points us to the Lord’s character - His timelessness, His patience and His desire for all to repent. God’s patience means salvation, and His character is reflected in the tension we feel when we pray for His return. We ask the Lord Jesus to come back, but at the same time we hope that He won’t come back, until our loved ones repent and receive life from our Lord.

That tension between wanting all things made right and wanting ones we love (God loves all people - we love a few) to come to faith in Christ Jesus is present in God Himself in perfection.

Notice that He will come like a thief, and notice that the heavens will disappear, and the earth will be laid bare. Very similar language to Isaiah 51, and impossible for most people to accept - for how could the earth still exist when the heavens disappear, but a key belief for us who believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since we eagerly look forward to this Day, may we live holy and godly lives, as we long to see our Lord return in power, to make all things right.

July 30, 2018 - Suggested Reading Isaiah 51 for Aug 5th’s message on Matthew 5:17-20 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.”

Isaiah 51:6 (NIV)

Did you ever hear your mother say, “I brought you into the world, so I can take you out of the world.”? There is some truth in that.

The One who brought the world into existence (vs13,16) is the only One who is able to take it out of existence. We hear a lot these days about how humans are going to destroy the planet and are able to save the planet by our actions. That’s raw human pride speaking. We can’t destroy the planet - although we can make parts of it hostile to human life, and we should care for our world – simply because it is more complex than we can ever imagine. The LORD is telling us through His prophet that there is a time stamp on His creation, that He will bring it to an end. In case we make the foolish mistake of thinking that our Creator doesn’t have the capability of creating something that will last forever - the LORD tells us through Isaiah that God’s salvation will last forever, and His righteousness will last forever (vs 6, 8). The Creator tells those who seek the LORD and pursue righteousness to look to Abraham, to bring to our minds what his faith in God brought forth. God will comfort us, He will bless us, He will move to deliver us. We can count on His salvation, but we cannot count on heaven and earth, nor on the inhabitants of heaven and earth for the heavens will vanish, the earth will wear out and the inhabitants are going to die like flies,

If we are those who pursue righteousness then let us;

look to Abraham

look at the heavens and the earth

listen to God’s Word

call on God to awake His arm

Come Lord Jesus come!

July 28, 2018 - Suggested Reading Revelation 11 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.”

Revelation 11:12 (NIV)

Woe to the earth when the church and civil government both disappear.

Can you imagine what it would be like on earth when all the Christians and every form of civil government disappeared?

The vision of Revelation 11 of the lampstands and olive trees appears to be a continuation of the vison Zechariah recorded in chapter 2 thru 4. In Zechariah’s vision, Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor are the olive trees that are annointed to serve God on this earth. The church (Joshua), and the civil government (Zerubbabel ) have a God ordained, Spirit fueled role in preserving human life on earth and bringing the gospel to the earth.

John saw them disappear- he saw the end of their role on this earth - what a terrible time this will be.

We get glimpses of it when disaster strikes and anarchy rules, but eventually order is restored, and help is brought to the situation. But this is the whole earth, with no one to restore order and no one to bring help. 

It is the truth that those who think humans would be better off without civil government or without the church, have no idea what they wish for.

Woe to the earth when God calls the church and civil government to heaven.

July 27, 2018 - Suggested Reading Amos 5 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.”

Amos 5:18 (NIV)

Woe to me if I am ‘religious’ and not righteous.

Three “there are those who” phrases in this chapter that we should examine ourselves against;

vs 7 turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground

vs 10 hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth

vs 12 oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts

 We would rather dwell on being called salt then on what happens to salt that loses its saltiness, for it gets thrown away.

The message of Amos 5 is that the people of Israel who long for the Lord to appear, will be thrown away on that Day. 

They will be thrown away because of the lack of righteousness and justice in their lives.

They are going to church- very religiously.

Doing their ‘religious’ thing, pretending they are pleasing God, but actually angering God.

God says – Stop the beautiful music!” and make justice and righteousness prevalent in your lives.

God’s work of grace in my heart is revealed by how I treat others around me.

How I treat others around me reveals whether or not Christ dwells in my heart.

May we be righteous and not ‘religious’.

July 26, 2018 - Suggested Reading Isaiah 58 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

Isaiah 58:10 (NIV) 

Do I want to be ‘religious’ or do I want to be righteous?

Isaiah has a beautiful way of confronting ‘religious’ people with the falseness of separating their ‘worship’ from their lives. 

What makes ‘religious’ people ‘religious’, as opposed to righteous, is that they separate their worship from their lives, as seen in this chapter where the issue is that the ‘religious’ are fasting and praying and yet at the same time exploiting, quarreling, and acting in a violent way. Fasting is one of the acts of righteousness that our Lord teaches on in the Sermon on the Mount, which means it is important to Him, and should be important to a Christian. These people have turned an act of righteousness that should bring a reward from God, into a religious practice that brings God’s condemnation. True fasting according to Isaiah is to spend yourself and your money helping those who are in need, including your own flesh and blood. This way of life, is worship and is righteousness, and will result in a person becoming a light in the darkness. 

One of the box gardens on Parkdale’s property is being used by a lady, who uses a number of box gardens around Belleville to grow food for the Salvation Army’s lunch program. 

The individual who told me this, said of this lady;
“She gives, and gives, and gives, its her way of life.”

Isaiah says of this lady;
“her light breaks forth like the dawn … and the glory of the LORD follows behind.”

May we desire to be righteous, and not fall into the trap of being 'religious'.

July 25, 2018 - Suggested Reading Proverbs 25 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.”

Proverbs 25:26 (NIV)

Reading proverbs relaxes me, for I feel like I am sitting and listening to someone who knows what I need to hear today, in order to live my life in a wise way. These proverbs were written almost 3,000 years ago and yet they are true and applicable to my life today.

In this verse the righteous person is compared to a well or a spring, which brings to mind what our Lord promised the Samaritan woman of John 4 – the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. This comparison turns sour when we realize that this spring can become polluted, or muddied. It is a relief that both conditions described are temporary, if effort is taken to clean them up, that is to God’s credit for His grace abounds. Yet it is our responsibility to do the work. If I don’t want to be a muddy spring, or polluted well, that is if I want the streams of living water to flow out of me and benefit those around, I need to exert effort, to resist wickedness, to exercise self control over my life. When I read this proverb I think of the times in my life where this description fit me, and I feel shame. I took the free gift of water and polluted it. Oh Father forgive me, help me to exercise self control and protect the precious gift you have given me. My righteousness in Christ Jesus.

July 24, 2018 - Suggested Reading Genesis 18 and 2 Peter 2 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Genesis 18:26 (NIV) 

This verse contains the best and clearest example of how the presence of the righteous preserves the lives of the wicked around them.

For the sake of the righteous, God is willing to spare Sodom.

Abraham ‘negotiates’ the number from 50 to 10 - but to no avail, for there is only one righteous person in the city, and the city and all its inhabitants are destroyed by God.

Our Lord declared that the righteous are the salt of the earth, and just as salt preserves meat, so also the righteous preserve the lives of the righteous around them.

There is no law above God that compels this behaviour from Him, rather it is His character as the Righteous Judge of all the earth that compels Him. 

It is His character that Abraham appeals to, as Abraham intercedes for Lot, and please notice Abraham’s prayer was answered, just not in the way Abraham envisioned.

Truly the Judge of all the earth is right in all He does!

Truly the Judge of all the earth answers the intercessory prayers of His righteous people.

July 23, 2018 - Suggested Reading Genesis 1 for July 29’s message on Matthew 5:13-16 in our summer worship service at 10am

“God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:4 (NIV) 

I love reading the first few verses of this chapter.

Here is the Creator in His glory, creating and judging His own creation!

It blesses me so much to know that God created the darkness- it is not bigger than its Creator, and yet He doesn’t call it good does He?

Nope! He creates light and He calls light good.

He then separates light from the darkness, and this statement brings me so much hope.

Some laugh at the creation account, some ignore the spiritual meaning- both groups make the same mistake, by looking at this account as a science manual.

Let me be clear- I believe God created all there is in existence in six literal days, I see no reason to give ground to the skeptics and mockers. Yet I also notice that light was created before the sun, and I can’t help but believe that all of creation was created to reveal God’s glory, to reveal the character of an invisible God, and so when I read of the creation of this light, and the separation of the light from the darkness, I think of the declaration in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that God has made His light shine in my heart, and I think of my Lord within me who is the Light of the World, and hope swells up within my heart for God is right now separating the light within me from the darkness within me

This is good- very good!

July 21, 2018 - Suggested Reading Revelation 6 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

Revelation 6:10 (NIV)

Sovereign Lord, holy and true

Sovereign – meaning they meant it for harm but God meant it for good (Ge 50:20)

Sovereign - meaning everything comes from God (Isa 45:7)

Lord - meaning the Owner of my flesh, my life, my family, my all

Holy- meaning not like us, but different than us in a beautiful scary way

True - meaning true to us, loving us, on our side

This scary vision of Revelation 6 reveals our Lord as the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world, opening seals in heaven (causing events on earth to occur), truly He is Sovereign. The first 5 seals seem to describe normal human history since Adam sinned in the garden, the world thinks “Nothing to see here.” and continues in its cycles, believing that someday humans will figure it out and stop all the fighting. Surely we progress- surely things are better now than they used to be
– ya think?

The 6th seal gets everyone’s attention, and focuses them on the Lamb, and God Himself, and for the first time there is worldwide acknowledgement of the truth that God has held wrath back, that he has restrained Himself, and is now pouring out His wrath - no one can withstand it.

For Christians everywhere especially those being persecuted and killed, this vision reveals our God as 100% in charge, unrolling His plan, blessing his people, glorifying His Son.

Sovereign Lord, holy and true 

July 20, 2018 - Suggested Reading Psalm 122 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV)

I have trouble reading past the first 8 verses of this chapter- for they give me so much hope, I just want to stop and soak in them. Paul’s brilliance in writing is on display as he takes us from earthly tent to building to eternal house to heavenly dwelling. He speaks of groaning and of longing, meaning so much more than groaning because of sore muscles, for he is speaking of spiritual groaning as we struggle in this earthly tent with sin. He speaks of the confidence we have through the Presence of the Holy Spirit, living by faith and not by sight,wanting to be with the Lord, and therefore living our lives in the fear of the Lord – defined here as - living each day to please Him, filled with theknowledge that we will appear before Him to receive what is due.

This hope, this confidence and this knowledgeshould drive us to seek to persuade others.

we should see others differently

we should see Christ differently

we should see our purpose in this life differently 

For God has given us a ministry that consists of proclaiming the message of reconciliation.

May we implore those we rub shoulders with today, to be reconciled to God through Christ.

The old is gone – the new has come, for in Christ we are the righteousness of God!

July 19, 2018 - Suggested Reading Acts 5 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
Acts 5:41 (NIV)

This record of the early days of the early church is busting at the seams with displays of God’s wondrous power at work among the apostles in the early church.

We struggle through the account of the Ananias and Sapphira but get a glimpse of the fruit of this powerful work of God, when we read of the spread of the fear of God and the growth of the church, and we think WOW!

It is amazing that God’s healing power flowed so freely through Peter that people would place their sick so Peter’s shadow would fall on them. People would come from all over, and all of them were healed- and we think WOW!

As you read that God sent an angel to release them after being jailed by the priests, you laugh a little bit, for you think who can stand against those whom God has anointed. Then you read that they didn’t jail them the second time nor kill them like they wanted to, instead they flogged them (Dt 25:2,3), and your heart sinks a little for you realize that the God who knew the hidden lies of Ananias and Sapphira, who healed all the people who came to Peter for healing, and who sent His angel to free them from jail, could have kept them from this unjust vicious beating, which means that this beating was part of God’s plan for His church, and for His servants. I think of what Joseph to his brothers “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Ge 50:20, and we get a glimpse of a God so far above us, so powerful He uses all things even the wicked for His redemptive purposes- and we think WOW!

Then we read of the apostles reaction –they rejoiced- and realize surely it was God’s wondrous power that enabled them to rejoice over being counted worthy- and we think WOW what a God!

May God’s wondrous power be so obviously at work among His church at Parkdale.

July 18, 2018 - Suggested Reading Psalm 120 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.”

Psalm 120:7 (NIV)

A psalm of ascent is an expression of the heart desires of the worshippers as they approach the city of Jerusalem to meet with the living God to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The scholars tell us that these psalms would be recited by the worshippers as they walked the climbing road to reach Jerusalem.  This first psalm in the series of psalms that end in Psalm 134 has a bitter edge to it, it seems to speak of the desire of the worshipper to live anywhere other than where they live, for they are surrounded by those who want war. The picture I selected for this blog, shows the height that a worshipper would have to climb on foot, but it also shows the Dome situated where the Temple used to be, and as I looked at this photo I wondered how many people have died in war on the slope that I was looking at. And then, how many more will die in the wars to come? Many of us in North America say the wars in the Middle East will never end, for war is a way of life for the people of the Middle East. 

The true worshipper longs for peace, true peace that only comes from a restored relationship with our Creator God through his Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and their longing causes a distress within them by the truth, that in their present situation lies, deceit and warfare are the way of life. How fitting that the God of Peace would choose the place on the earth where warfare seems to be the way of life, to have His Son the Prince of Peace die on a cross, bringing peace as a way of life to all who surrender to Him. Surely there was no better place to show the peace-making power of God Almighty then in the on place on the earth best known for war.

July 17, 2018 - Suggested Reading Judges 6 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

Judges 6:24 (NIV)

This is the record of the beginning of Gideon’s ministry. Chapter 8 describes that God used Gideon to bring about a period of peace for forty years, now Gideon was a peacemaker and a hero of the faith with his name in Hebrews 11.

 Judges is a hard book to read for it contains many ugly truths about these heroes used by God, and Gideon is no exception for he is clearly a human with flaws, however we can see in this verse that Gideon understood at the beginning of his ministry that this LORD is peace. The LORD did not reveal Himself to Gideon to kill Gideon, rather the LORD revealed Himself to Gideon to bring true peace to Gideon. This peace for Gideon meant that God and he would work together to bring peace to the land. More than a cessation of war, true peace is cooperative, it is two parties living and working together. As you read the account of Gideon we might wonder when this peace will start, for he caused conflict in his hometown, and then in the Jezreel valley, and then at Sukkoth and Peniel. Well the peace started with Gideon’s encounter with the living God for the LORD is peace, and we would be wise to concentrate on that truth, for true peace for ourselves, our families and our communities starts with individuals encountering the risen LORD Jesus who is peace.  May we be peacemakers in our land.

July 16, 2018 - Suggested Reading Genesis 4 for July 22’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?”

Genesis 4:6 (NIV) 

Why is Cain angry?

Why would he care if Abel was right with God?

What does it matter to him that his brother has a righteous relationship with his Creator?

We are told why Abel had a righteous relationship - for Hebrews 11 teaches us that Abel approached God with faith, but we are not told why Cain grew so angry.

Some of us might blame Satan - for he is the evil behind the persons who attack us- but the text only talks about sin. 

It is a truth that those who have attained righteousness by faith are hated by those who have not.

We can ask why? But all we are told is to expect it.

And we are taught by Christ to see persecution as a sign that we are truly righteous by faith. 

Our Lord experienced this persecution unto death, the apostles all experienced this persecution, and they rejoiced to be counted worthy.

Dear Lord help us to rejoice when we are insulted, persecuted and lied about, for ours is the kingdom of heaven.

July 14, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2 Timothy 2 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV) 

No human can look into the heart of any other human.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that we can’t even read our own hearts.

To accept this truth, putting it into practice in our lives, means that we must guard against trying to discern motives or heart desires in those around us. If we live our lives trying to read motives into the actions of people we love, or the people we work with or the people we worship with we can be in trouble very quickly, simply because of our inability to peer into a person’s heart and discern
their motivation.

However, Paul is communicating to Timothy in this chapter that it is possible to know whether or not we have a pure heart. He says in this verse that a person with a pure heart towards God pursues righteousness, faith, love and peace.

Are these behaviours true of us?

Do we pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace?

Or can we take them or leave them?

Am I ok being righteous on Sunday and not the rest of the week?

Am I ok with loving only some people?

How about being at peace with only some people?

Maybe I am ok with having just a little bit of faith?

A person who can say to God – just give me enough faith to get by on, please don’t give me the kind of faith that changes my world, is a person who does not have a pure heart.

O Lord Jesus forgive us for our lukewarmness - create in us a pure heart that pursues righteousness, faith, love and peace.

July 13, 2018 - Suggested Reading Psalm 24 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”

Psalm 24:4 (NIV) 

This wonderful psalm has very clear sections

Vs 1 & 2 establishes the Creator’s ownership over everything in the earth He created

Vs 3 asks Who can ascend to this One over all?

Vs 4 thru 6 answers that question by describing those who are able to stand in His holy place

Vs 7 thru 10 are a call to strongholds everywhere to allow our Creator to rule in our earthly place, for our Creator is the King of glory, the LORD Almighty.

We can wonder if David penned 7 thru 10 to be sung as the Ark of the Covenant was carried into Jerusalem, yet this psalm makes no mention of Jerusalem, and because it opens with the Creator’s rightful ownership over all that is in the earth, we may safely understand this call to open the gates, as applying to all strongholds throughout all human history, throughout the face of the entire earth. We may also understand this call as a personal call to each individual to surrender their lives to the rightful rule of their Creator, the King of glory from whom we all have our being.

We may ask ourselves - “what does this surrender look like?”

The answer is to have clean hands and a pure heart.

Too late you say!

NO! Never too late, not while we have breath, not while we can think and act!

James tells us to wash our hands and purify our hearts - confess our sins, repent, seek His face and our King Jesus will forgive us- He will clean us and He will purify our hearts.

July 12b, 2018 - Suggested Reading Hosea 6 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Hosea 6:6 (NIV) 

Come let us return is a call to repentance, it is the call to healing, it is the call to revival, it is the call to restoration of our relationship with God. But what will God do with His people who refuse to obey that call of repentance? 

Well God will cut them to pieces with His Words, the Words uttered by His prophets. For God desires mercy not sacrifice!

Matthew records our Lord speaking these Words to the Pharisees on two separate occasions.

The first time while eating in Matthew’s house (9:1-13) and the second time when the Pharisees condemned the disciples for picking and eating grain on the Sabbath (12:7).

Oh, that we would learn the lesson that Hosea and our Lord teach.

Repentance- the act of a sinner seeking God’s mercy is what God calls us to.

Instead, we love to pretend to follow the rules, pretend that the kingdom of heaven is about breaking less rules than others, and miss the simple truth that each of us needs mercy to be restored to God,

and that mercy comes as we return to Him in sincerity and truth, not as we pretend to obey external regulations.

The vision John the apostle had of Christ Jesus is that with a double-edged sword coming out of His mouth - surely He will cut all who have not repented to pieces with his Words!

Seek mercy Today while it is still Today for our God desires mercy.

July 12, 2018 - Suggested Reading Matthew 18 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?””

Matthew 18:21 (NIV) 

Seven times to forgive someone seems like a lot to me!

Let's be honest- how many people do you know that you have had to forgive 7 times?

Don’t count your spouse - hopefully there is an unlimited amount of forgiveness for them.

Don’t count your children- hopefully there is an unlimited amount of forgiveness for them.

But what about our parents - our siblings - our classmates - our co-workers - our neighbours- our church siblings?

Forgiveness in this passage means restored relationship.

You could make the Scriptural case that forgiveness always means restored relationship, but I hesitate to say that because of abusive relationships- and Matthew doesn’t address the abusive relationship (though Luke does in 17:3,4 for true repentance rules out abuse) - for his concern seems to be that we understand our Lord’s teaching about our NEED to forgive in order to be forgiven. The story that is our Lord’s answer to Peter’s question ends with an example of the unforgiving Christian being thrown in prison and being tortured until he has paid back in full, and a direct Word from Christ that this is how our heavenly Father will treat us unless we forgive others from the heart.

If I ask you to think of a person who won’t forgive - who jumps to mind?

Hopefully not you.

Are they not in a prison - kept by bars made of their stubborn refusal to forgive?

We NEED to forgive, we NEED to love mercy, we NEED to practise mercy by forgiving 

July 11, 2018 - Suggested Reading Micah 6 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8 (NIV)

Why is this instruction so hard for us to live out?

The LORD has not burdened us for He has redeemed us and He has delivered us.

He gives us leaders, and He protects us from the schemes of the evil one.

He doesn’t demand anything from us for our sin,

He just requires us to act justly and to love mercy, to walk humbly.

Justice – Mercy – Humility.

There is a God given order to this instruction;

for any pursuit of Justice in our lives will lead us to our need of Mercy which will bring us into Humble living.

If we genuinely attempt to act Justly in every aspect of our lives, we will love Mercy, and if we don’t love Mercy we reveal the truth that we aren’t concerned about acting Justly.

And that is how this chapter ends - a Word condemning the people of God for the injustice or lack of Justice in their dealings with other people. Lest we think this is only an Old Testament problem, we see this same Word spoken against Christians in James 5.

May Parkdale be filled with Christians who act justly, love mercy and walk humbly!

July 10, 2018 - Suggested Reading John 4 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:14 (NIV) 

What a promise in Christ Jesus we have in this verse.

Never thirsty again for the spring of living water wells up within us!

If we pretend that we don’t understand what this water is - like the Samaritan woman did - then we can expect our Lord to point to our sin-filled lives to teach us the obvious truth that this living water is true righteousness, true life in the Spirit.

Accept the promise as it was given- to a sin-filled woman looking for the Messiah to come.

We go to many different sources searching for the water of righteousness

There is the well of comparison- a very shallow well not deep enough to last

There is the well of self - full of a terrible drug it clouds our eyes and hides our need

There is the well of denial-  your voice echoes in the vastness for there is no water at all

There is the well of leftovers – you live on the outflow of the righteousness of others

If we are thirsty - it is only because we have gone to the wrong well.

Friend leave those wells and search for the well of living water, seek the face of Christ and receive from His hand the gift of living water. And seek to have this spring overflow out of your life into the lives of the ones we love.  

What a promise in Christ Jesus!

July 9, 2018 - Suggested Reading Psalm 42 for July 15’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

Could this psalm be entitled “the dark night of my soul”?

Psalm 42:2 (NIV) 

This psalm is very well known because of the praise song we sing called “As the Deer”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5pZkLWZv-E which is a beautiful song, a beautiful expression of a worshiper desire for God and yet this psalm reveals something very ugly going on inside this worshiper. It is somewhat of a dichotomy- for the psalm is beautifully constructed and yet the experience of the writer is ugly. For example the psalmist gives a picture of thirsting after the streams of living water we can only find in God (beautiful picture), and then transitions into the truth that all he has to drink day and night is his own tears (ugly experience), with no one to comfort him- actually people spend their time mocking him and ridiculing his faith in God. (even uglier)

This ugly experience is expressed repeatedly through the “soul” language used in the psalm.

These things I remember as I pour out my soul

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

It is a reminder that the desperate situations worshipers of God find ourselves in, create a deep desire for restored fellowship with God and our fellow worshipers.

This psalmist's situation reminds me of a friend who has been in this state for over a year

 Oh Lord fill him with your living water, restore him, bless him. 

July 7, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1 Timothy 6 for July 8’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,”

1 Timothy 6:3 (NIV) 

  What a privilege to be able to read the apostle Paul’s letter to the man who would replace him as overseer over the churches planted by Paul and his fellow missionaries. In most organizations the leaders are careful to keep their correspondence at least partially private, but this correspondence between leaders became part of the New Testament churches’ regular Scripture reading, even though you can see from this chapter that Paul does not mince words.

He describes for Timothy the characteristics of any church teacher who doesn’t teach the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ - once again we see that being a Christian is about following the pattern of teaching that our Lord gave us.

Look at the way Paul describes all church teachers whose teaching doesn’t agree with the sound instruction of our Lord;

conceited

understand nothing

unhealthy interest in controversy and quarrels

Look at how Paul describes the result of this type of church teaching;

envy

strife

malicious talk

evil suspicions

constant friction between people

corrupted minds who think godliness is a means to financial gain

What Paul has just taught is that Christian slaves should serve their master better then non-Christian slaves. That would be a test for my faith – to apply verse 6 to my life as a slave.

May God keep us from being on this list, may we devote ourselves to the Lord and His apostles' teaching.

July 6, 2018 - Suggested Reading Romans 6 for July 8’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.”

Romans 6:17 (NIV)

How many of us describe being a Christian as obeying “a pattern of teaching”?

Generally, we use words like a personal relationship with God thru His Son Jesus or living like the child of God that Christ made me. 

In our church, I notice that we are careful not to talk about “doing” but to talk about “being”, perhaps because we feel that the dangers of legalism outweigh the dangers of license. 

But where has this talk about “being” got us? 

Has it not brought us into a place where if an outside observer followed the average Christian around all day- they could not tell the difference between them and a good moral non-Christian?

Matthew records all thru his gospel that our Lord talked about obeying a pattern of teaching.

Consider the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; 

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:"

Consider the end of the Sermon on the Mount; 

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority,
and not as their teachers of the law.”

Consider the great commission as recorded by Matthew;

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

It seems pretty clear from these three passages that our Lord
expected us to follow His pattern of teaching. 

A Christian does what they are, what we do comes from who we are - which is why we start with being and then move to doing. 

A Christian changes from the inside out, but if there is no external change, no obedience to the pattern of teaching of Christ Jesus and His apostles,
then on what basis do we believe we are Christian?

Wait you say I love the Lord, I sing that in church - John 14:23,24 records our Lord’s answer to that.

Wait you say He calls me friend, I sing that in church – John 15:14 records our Lord’s answer to that.

Thanks be to God that we can obey from our hearts the pattern of teaching that has claimed our allegiance!

 “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

This “pattern of teaching”, this “message of Christ” is to dwell among us, that is amongst the people who make up the local church called Parkdale.

For as we teach one another (that is an act of love) and admonish one another through the songs we sing together to God, the message of Christ dwells in our midst.

There are a number of phrases or sayings that have come out of church worship discussions over these last 20 years of change. One of those sayings is that the “modern” worship songs are a prayer language and that the old hymns are a teaching tool. This is one of those sayings that is only generally true, for there are many hymns that are prayers, and there are many “modern” worship songs that are teaching tools. There is an important place for spiritual songs that are prayerful in a worship service, and this verse specifically teaches us that there is an important place for songs in a worship service that teach the message of Christ. 

Whatever we do in our services- may we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and may the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and in our congregation.

July 5, 2018 - Suggested Reading Isaiah 57 for July 8’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)

Isaiah 57:8 stands out in my mind as one of the clearest denunciations in all of Scripture of people who view pornography - a companion passage is Habakkuk 2:15 & 16.

Isaiah 57 provides a terrible picture of the people of God who have turned to wickedness, who have rejected the high and exalted One whose name is holy, who busy themselves with going as low as they possibly could and just when you think they might become tired of wickedness, they somehow find strength for more. Very discouraging- for as I read these Words I think of loved ones raised to fear God and to love Jesus, who fit this description in Isaiah 57 and who have the promise of verse 21 hanging over their heads and their futures.

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Yet this chapter started with a wonderful promise that the righteous find rest in death for they enter into peace. Who exactly are those righteous ones? They are the ones in whom the high and exalted One, whose name is holy has taken up residence. It is absolutely amazing to me, and humbling and sobering to read in this passage of the truth that our Lord brought to culmination – the truth that God Himself, not some lessor being, but God Himself dwells within each believer’s body. It is the presence of the One which makes us righteous and keeps us walking uprightly.

July 4, 2018 - Suggested Reading Psalm 1 for July 8’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

    which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 1:3 (NIV) 

Here is a wonderful description of what it means to be a blessed person.

Can you imagine having this said of you?

“whatever they do prospers”

Don’t get uptight nor defensive for this is not the false teaching we call “prosperity gospel”, for this blessing comes to the person who refuses to take the path of the wicked, who refuses to stand with sinners, who refuses to sit with mockers BUT who delights in God’s laws and meditates day and night on God’s law. This psalm makes it crystal clear that this blessing is granted to those who order their lives according to the Words of God.

Let us not make the mistake of thinking that somehow, we can earn this blessing,

for that thinking has trapped many people into legalism and hypocrisy.

No let us realize that God’s grace gave us the law to guide us in good ways, God’s grace moved in our hearts to cause us to desire the law, God’s grace opens our minds that we might meditate on His law and God’s grace brings this blessing into our lives as we line our lives up with all He has taught us, so that whatever we do prospers!

The sceptic asks us to define prosper, ignoring the requirement of faith, and the reminder in this psalm of the last judgement, for there and there alone will the full definition of prosper be revealed. But let us not be sceptics, rather let us be people of faith who seek His Word, seek to know His Word and through the application of His Word in our daily lives find Him beside us.

Now that is a prosperity to be desired!

“But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”

One of the hardest words for us to understand in the Beatitudes is “meek”

Psalm 37:11 (NIV)

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Perhaps it is our self-seeking sin nature that makes it so hard for us to understand this word, or to even describe the characteristics of what a meek person looks like. Could it be that God has given us a list of characteristics of a meek person in the first 11 verses of Psalm 37?

Verse 1 & 2 a meek person does not fret when the wicked prosper nor envy them

Verse 3 a meek person trusts in the LORD and does good

Verse 4 a meek person takes delight in the LORD

Verse 5 & 6 a meek person commits their way to the LORD and trust Him for vindication

Verse 7 a meek person is still before the LORD and waits for Him and doesn’t fret

Verse 8 a meek person refrains from anger and wrath and doesn’t fret

Verse 9 a meek person hopes in the LORD

Verse 10 & 11 a meek person will outlast the wicked and will enjoy true peace and prosperity.

Even if we can’t define it, may God grant us the grace to live lives in meekness.

July 3, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1 Kings 8 for July 8’s message on Matthew 5:1-12 in our summer worship service at 10am

“then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.”

1 Kings 8:36 (NIV)

As we prepare to enter into three weeks of meditating on the Beatitudes,

I thought it would good to spend some time thinking about what being blessed means.

Surely the plain understanding of our Lord’s description of the people who are blessed is that our Lord is describing people who have been saved thru faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We as children of the LORD of Israel are blessed!

The people of Israel were blessed by God’s Presence dwelling among them.

We are blessed by God’s Presence dwelling among us.

The people of Israel were blessed by their king Solomon who sought to please God for a time.

We are blessed by our King Jesus who pleased God in all He did/does for all time.

The people of Israel were blessed by God teaching them the right way to live. 

Did you notice that teaching comes after forgiveness and before the restoration of the land in this verse? We must change our ways in order to see God restore, and God Himself teaches us the right way to live, and restores our fruitfulness as we apply His teaching.

We are doubly blessed in regards to teaching for our Lord Himself forgives us, teaches us and then makes us fruitful as we follow that teaching!

The beatitudes could open with “Blessed are you, to be able to hear me teach” for we are blessed for sure! God didn’t leave us alone, He came down to teach us how to live, He came down to bless us!

I love how 1 Kings 8 ends, everyone is joyful and glad in heart, blessing their king with their mouths.

May we bless our King Jesus this day, for His teaching us how to live!