Oct 31, 2017- 2nd Service Suggested Reading Psalm 46

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Psalm 46:4 (NIV)

What a wonderful description of the city of God. God will dwell with humans on the face of the earth! Do you doubt this friend? Read Genesis 1&2, read Exodus 40, read 2 Chronicles 7, read John 14, read Romans 8, read 1 Corinthians 3, and then read Revelation 21&22, and rejoice that God’s desire is to be with His people, in His people around His people, blessing them with all of His goodness in Himself and in His creation. God created what is out of what was not, He created the visible to reveal the glory of the invisible God - His character and His goodness, so that all of creation might glorify His Name! In the place that God dwells, there is a river, a wonderful river, a river that is grace, a river filled with the water of life.

You can’t stop a river, you can pool it with a dam, but you can’t stop it. So it is with God’s grace- you can’t stop it, it will overflow, it just keeps coming and coming and coming. Don’t miss the truth in these scriptures that God’s grace comes to us in river power thru His city, His church. You can find sprinkles of grace by yourself, but the river of grace comes from His dwelling place with humans- in this age of grace that city of God is the local church!

O Father draw us to your church that the river may flow!

Oct 31, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading Job 38

"Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:"

Job 38:1 (NIV)

If we must ask WHY- we should ask- WHY does it take a storm for God to get our attention? The LORD spoke to Moses out of a storm, to Elijah out of a storm, to the disciples in the boat, AND to Job in the worst storm of all- a storm of affliction, of rejection, of misery, of loss. Oh, may we pay attention to God’s Words to Job, that we may learn without the storm. Listen to some of the questions God gives Job-

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?
Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

- and then be still and know that He is God, ponder at His greatness, ponder at His love, YES ponder that He cares for you enough to speak Words of grace in your ears. Oh, friend when there is no answer there is still faith. Trust and Obey Him!

Oct 30, 2017- 2nd Service Suggested Reading Joshua 6

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

1 Kings 16:34 (NIV)

https://christianpublishinghouse.co/2017/06/02/the-walls-of-jericho/

I fear that I have told the story of Jericho so often that I have lost my understanding of the terrible character of this first city to fall to Joshua. It is an amazing example of the foolishness of God being power unto salvation, and it is a wonderful example of salvation thru complete obedience, but we get a sense of the character of this city when we read Joshua’s curse on anyone who rebuilds the city. It is a dreadful curse- not that the man responsible would die, but that his firstborn and lastborn sons would die- proof we think of Joshua’s hatred of the city. Then we read 1 Kings 16:34 and realize that the LORD was speaking thru Joshua, that this curse was a prophecy that came true in the spiritually dark times of Ahab. Did Heil have no faith? What possessed him to rebuild this city at the price of his sons? As we go thru Nehemiah and discover the truths about Jerusalem, the city of God let us never forget that the price of laying the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem was God’s Son. That Christ Jesus was the cost and is the foundation of the city of the great King, the place of eternal life and peace for the servants of God.

“To God be the glory, great things He hath done,

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life our redemption to win,

And opened the life-gate that all may go in.”

Oct 30, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading Deuteronomy 29

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? Humans always want to know WHY. As parents we train our kids to ask WHY- we understand asking the question WHY is part of learning and a healthy outlook on life EXCEPT when they ask WHY after being instructed to do something by us- the discerning parent understands that WHY is a form or beginning of rebellion, and deals with it by not answering the WHY but by reminding our children that they have a responsibility to do what they have been instructed to do without fully understanding it. Children by definition are not up to speed yet- that is why we call them children and don’t hold them responsible for their actions until they reach a certain age. The children of God ask WHY a lot. Life happens - and we want to know WHY as if somehow if we only knew the WHY things would be better. In Deuteronomy 29 it is clear that God doesn’t answer the WHY, instead He reminds us that we have a responsibility to do what we have been instructed to do. Verse 4 prompts a better prayer than the question WHY!

O Heavenly Father- Please give us ears to hear what You say, eyes to see Your glory everywhere, a mind that understands to obey is better, feet that go where You want them to go, hands that do what You want them to do, and give me a mouth that says what You want it to say. In Jesus’ name Amen.

Oct 27, 2017- 2nd Service Suggested Reading Luke 12

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

Luke 12:34 (NIV)

I don’t want to be a hypocrite(vs1) and I do want to be ready to appear before my Judge(vs 58), so I pay particular attention to the Lord’s warnings about greed in the middle of this chapter. He begins these warnings by saying “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”, tells us a story about a rich fool, tells us not to worry and to provide a heavenly purse for ourselves by selling our possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor. These all are very hard things for any of us to do, but His statement linking our treasure to our heart is the key. Our heart follows our treasure (money/possessions/work/properties). If I don’t want to be a hypocrite, if I want to be ready to meet my Judge, then I will be careful to purposefully spend/buy treasure in heaven. I will on purpose give God my first fruits, I will on purpose give when it hurts, as I do this, as I invest in God’s Kingdom thru His local church and other ministries, my mind will become preoccupied with God’s kingdom instead of my kingdom. Our mind only thinks about what heart directs it to!

Oct 27, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading 2 Corinthians 5

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.

2 Corinthians 5:11 (NIV)

Paul connects fear of the Lord with his activity of working to persuade people to be reconciled to God thru His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. He explains what he means by fear of the Lord in vs 9 & 10- his goal is to please God, knowing that our Lord will judge us for what we have done while we are alive. To fear the Lord is to live each day, each hour, each moment in the awareness that we will be judged by our Lord for what we do. So Paul works hard at sharing the gospel- so hard actually that he calls sharing the gospel persuading others- in order that he might please his Lord. Paul would not think very highly of the “frozen chosen” mentality that overtakes many of us modern Christians. More to the point our Lord does not think highly of the “frozen chosen” mentality that grips so many of us. Will the Lord as he reviews my life judge my efforts in sharing the gospel favourably or poorly. Do I fear the Lord enough to try to persuade my loved ones, my neighbours and strangers I meet to put their trust in the Lord? Or do I shiver like a little ice cube and stay in my place in the tray?

Oct 26, 2017- 2nd Service Suggested Reading Jeremiah 31

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Jeremiah 31:33 (NIV) 

I cannot read Jeremiah 31 without experiencing a yearning within my innermost parts for this passage to be true in my life and my family’s life. This is a passage of great promise, a passage that describes the restoration of the people of God, in terms of fellowship, fruitfulness and peace. These promises are based on the Person of YHWH who is the God of Creation – I love the taunt of verse 27- our scientists are going to great effort to measure the heavens- YHWH will not reject His people! He will restore us, He will accomplish this by working in our minds and our hearts. This is the Gospel, that God would put His Law in our minds, that He would write His Law on our hearts. This can only mean that God will “cause” us to follow His Way, as we surrender to Him. This is the kingdom of God, it is near to us, it is in our midst- Oh Heavenly father, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth (in my life) as it is in heaven.

Oct 26, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading 1 Thessalonians 1

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.

1 Thessalonians 1:4,5a (NIV)

There is no physical mark to identify someone as the chosen of God. We are marked but not with ink, not with a hot iron, nor with a knife. We are marked by our response to the Gospel. To most people the Gospel is only words, yadda yadda yadda – many people can repeat the Gospel message over and over again, but they are not chosen. No the chosen of God respond to the Gospel message by experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit moving thru the Words. This appears first as deep conviction, the knowledge that I must act, and I must act now. Then as I surrender my life to Jesus my Lord, the power appears -becomes evident -thru the changes that occur in my life. Friend is the power of God evident in your life? Are you being changed little by little as you surrender? What a wonderful thing to be loved by God so deeply, that He would cause His Spirit to move in power in our hearts. Oh Holy Spirit fall afresh on me, on my family, on our church, on our community.

Oct 25, 2017- 2nd Service Suggested Reading Proverbs 21

"Haughty eyes and a proud heart—  the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin."

Proverbs 21:4 (NIV)

Oh that I would remember that a proud heart is the result of me not plowing the field of my heart! Hosea 10 declares that I must plow, I must break up the ground, I must sow righteousness! This is my work to do. The Lord echoes Proverbs and Hosea when He taught us that our hearts are soil, we have hard soil, thin soil, thorny soil and good soil. Let us not make the mistake many do by believing that we have nothing to do with the condition of the soil of our heart. Am I sure my way is right? Wanda bought me a shirt years ago that read “Always right get used to it”, but the truth of scripture is that under my actions, under my thoughts is my heart that the LORD weighs. That doing what is right and just is more than actions or words on the outside. That sin is produced in my life by my slackness in plowing my proud heart. We pray for God to do His work, let us not forget to do our work. I threw that shirt out a long time ago, but my problem will be with me until I meet my Lord. Come Lord Jesus Come quickly!

Oct 25, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading Isaiah 7

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

Isaiah 7:9b (NIV)

Poor Ahaz- all he has to help him is human wisdom. I don’t know how people without faith deal with the terrible situations we as humans find ourselves in. Ahaz is in a terrible situation, he is facing ruin, he is terrified, he has lost heart and he is considering asking a wolf to help him with a dog. God sends His prophet to challenge him to courage, reminds him that his enemies are mere mortals subject to time, and that God calls us to a life of faith, to stand in faith. Now faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. We read God’s Words in the Bible and we believe that those Words apply to us, and that God has the power to make those Words become our future reality. Friend – will you have more faith than Ahaz today? Will you set your mind on the sign God gave Ahaz and us- the sign of Immanuel God with us. Will I seek God’s face, God’s Presence, God’s wisdom today? Or will I like poor Ahaz only seek human wisdom in all of its frailty- and follow him to destruction?

Oct 24, 2017 - 2nd Service Suggested Reading Psalm 51

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)

David knew how to confess sin to a Holy Holy Holy God. Notice that David does not use God’s personal name in this prayer- nor does he refer to Him as “my” God. O God, O God, O God, Lord (donay), O God - He feels separated by his sin from his God, and so he confesses his sin. Has my awareness of sin in my life- separated me from God? Use David’s prayer as your guide, and don’t stop with confession- pray the proactive prayer of verses 10 thru 12. Pray for God to work in my innermost being, the places we call our heart and our spirit. Pray for God to hold us tight in His Presence, not to cast us away nor to withhold His Spirit from us. Pray for God to restore joy, a pure heart, a steadfast and willing spirit. Do you notice David doesn’t speak of his mind? Our mind only thinks about what heart directs it to! The word “willing” connected to our spirit should convince us that we are more than just flesh and blood and electrical circuits. We are more that animals driven by instinct, breeding and training. We are complex individuals made in the image of God, made to worship Him in spirit and in truth. O Heavenly Father work in my innermost being that Christ might dwell in my heart thru faith.

Oct 24, 2017- 1st Service Suggested Reading Psalm 62

One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and,“You reward everyone according to what they have done.”

Psalm 62:11,12 (NIV)

It is relaxing to know from scripture that it is OK even GOOD to talk to yourself! David talks to himself- he tells his soul to find rest in God, he tells himself that God is his fortress, his rock, his salvation. He reminds himself that his salvation and HONOUR depend on God. What a wonderful truth to remind ourselves of- that I can’t save myself, nor can I protect my reputation- but that salvation and honour are completely dependent on God. David ends this psalm by reminding Himself of what he heard God say- that God is power and that with this power is unfailing love. Our world has a saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” – which seems to be true about humans but is absolutely false when it comes to God. God has absolute power and also has unfailing love, he is the opposite from corrupt- he is Holy Holy Holy. May I trust this God today with everything, my salvation and my honour- for He is POWER and He is LOVE!

October 22, 2017 - 2nd Service Suggested Reading Exodus 28

Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.

Exodus 28:30 (NIV)

Here we have the fascinating instructions concerning the clothes the man who represents God’s people must wear when He enters the Most Holy Presence of the Holy Holy Holy God. I cannot help but think of our Lord entering the true Holy of Holies- what does He wear as He intercedes continually in the Presence of our Heavenly Father? Aaron wore a breastplate of decision. We could take time and wonder at the meaning of the various stones that represented the 12 tribes, or time trying to understand what the Urim and Thummin are and how they work, and that time would be profitable time. But let us consider the placement of the breastplate on the man. The breastplate is worn over his heart! Note this place and remember that although we know the heart is the seat of our emotions, it is also the seat of our will. We know that our decisions are made in our mind - do we know that our mind only thinks on the things our heart directs it to? Oh heavenly Father move in our hearts as we approach you by ourselves in worship today- may our hearts be set on your kingdom, may our minds dwell on heavenly thoughts.

October 22, 2017 - 1st Service Suggested Reading Numbers 11

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 

Numbers 11:29 (NIV) 

Moses was discouraged by the people’s attitude towards God. They were grumbling - God was killing them - and Moses had enough! He says to God “Please kill me now! My task of leading your people is impossible!” The amazing response from the LORD (and the central point of this chapter) is to have Moses select 70 elders, gather them around the tent of meeting, and when God came down in the cloud to talk with Moses, the power of the Spirit transferred onto these men for a time. More questions then answers come from this chapter- but it seems pretty clear that Moses received the encouragement he needed to carry on as the leader of God’s people. The Lord was similarly encouraged when He heard reports of the Spirit’s power working thru the seventy He sent out. Here we are today in 2017 and Moses’ wish has come true! God has put His Spirit on all of us, every single Christian in our church has the Holy Spirit and the power of the Spirit- His Word is true, His people are all prophets, and what an encouragement it is to be a leader among the Spirit filled and led people of Parkdale.