2011 in Review

As I traveled home from Alberta today I listened to a bunch of programs on the radio that were basically a review of this past year's events. I thought I'd maybe share a few of the "highlights" of my year.

In April I finished my first year of post-secondary education and headed out East to sing with my choir. With a head full of knowledge about God it took a pretty intense 2 weeks of singing and celebrating Easter to teach me how to worship this God whom I thought i 'knew'.

After that I headed home to work on my parent's farm for the summer. I learned a lot about contentment and finding pleasure in the small things, such as an honest day's work. I learned to appreciate the beauty of the land that I live in and am amazed at how the whole of creation seems to sing out the glories of God.

In July I became reacquainted with some old friends which lead me on an adventure down to Kansas City, Missouri where I had a really neat experience with God and received a sort of prophetic vision for my upcoming time as Mission's Rep on my school's Student Council. I saw how God is acting in a powerful way and wants to do more if we are willing to let him.

I returned to Providence in the fall and experienced a wonderful Joy in the Lord that nothing that the enemy through at me seemed to be able to shake. I was tired, sick for 2 months, prone to anxiety attacks and even found bedbugs in my dorm room, but nothing could shake the zealous joy that was constantly within me and practically shone from the faces of my closest friends.

I began attending morning prayer at 8:00 every morning, which, even though it cut into my sleeping time majorly (my first class started at 11) I was given just enough energy every day to accomplish everything. It was a beautiful way to refocus myself at the start of everyday and it was an amazing opportunity to get to know some of my professors.

It wasn't all roses though, I had many a struggle, especially within the last couple of months (or perhaps those are just the ones that are freshest on my mind). I learned the cost of discipleship yet again; when Christ says he wants every part of me, I guess that's exactly what he means. I struggled to write many of my papers and was actually reduced to tears a couple of times over them - not very manly I know- but I learned so much from them and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

God has definitely been shaping me a lot this past year, when I get too resistant he has to shake me up and stretch me out a little to continue forming me into his mold but I know that it is all for his Glory. I sincerely look forward to 2012 and all the twists and turns that this year is sure to hold. God bless you all and Happy New Year!

Memories of Home

I grew up in a small town that had some incredibly talented people living in it. The church I attended had some of the most talented musicians I have met to date and music was a huge part of my growing up. As a lad I took violin lessons from an old Ukrainian gentleman. I used to carpool to my lesson with a certain Chris Oakley, one of the most talented guitar players I've ever seen. The incredibly gifted friends that I had growing up shaped my love of music, taking me on an audio adventure through many different genres and good times. Chris Oakley, my talented carpool buddy, has had quite the performing career already, performing in such groups as, Silence Through Injustice, the Fortunate, and various other small folk bands. He has been recording some stuff of his own recently and I thought it would be nice to share. It instantly became my favorite song as soon as I heard it. Enjoy here!

Life's Little Lessons

I've learned a few things so far in life:

1) Things rarely turn out the way you expect them too; ironically enough.

2) When you plan to be productive, you probably won't be, productivity has a direct correlation to the imminence of a deadline.

3) Always hope, even when all your hopes are dashed, keep hoping.

4) It turns out God is always in control.

5) I rarely know what I'm doing, and I've noticed lots of other people only claim to know what they are doing.

6) Keeping silent is the best way to appear wise.

7) Honesty is always the best policy, however it is not always best to vocalize it.

8) Mustaches always make my generation look creepy.

9) Few people care about the answer to the question, "How's it going?" Hold on to those that do.

10) Loving God and loving people go hand in hand, it is quite impossible to do one without the other.

11) Disappointment is a fact of life, don't be surprised by it.

12) But in the end; "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen."

Why Jeremiah 29:11 should not be your favorite verse.

Probably about 75% of all Christians that I have met have claimed that Jeremiah 29:11 is their favorite verse, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." It is quite understandable that this would be a favorite verse for so many people; it's a nice feel good verse that promises us that everything is going to be ok! I wonder, however, if any of the people who claim this verse as their favorite understand it, or have even thought about the theological implications of this feel-good interpretation.

Unfortunately for every pseudospiritual Christian teenager out there, this verse is not for them. The downside about the Bible is that you have to read it in context, pulling out verses here and there to prove a point or to self-gratify is an abuse of Scripture and should be abhorrent to all Christians.

First off, if anybody ever bothered to read the rest of Jeremiah 29, which is quite good by the way, one would quickly realize that this verse is set in a very specific sociopolitical landscape. The group it addresses is the Israelites who are in exile in Babylon. The Lord is calling his people to continue to have faith in him, even in this time of exile, even in this time of punishment and exile, the Lord is continuing to honor his covenant with his people. This is a promise to the people of Israel to give them hope in their time of exile. It is interesting to note that much harm has already come to the people of Israel, their entire nation has been conquered and destroyed. Clearly there is a different sense of the word harm being used here; it is not referring to physical harm, rather ultimate destruction as a result of the covenant being dissolved. God is promising to be faithful to his covenant, even and especially at a time when Israel feels abandoned and alone.

Next, if anyone were to read the rest of the Bible, say the New Testament for example, one would quite easily be able to put this verse into context. A quick scan through the New Testament reveals a not-so-shocking theme about Christian living; suffering is a normal state of affairs for a confessing believer. Even if we somehow take the promise as pertaining to us and not to exilic-Jews, we need to take a broader understanding of the verse to fit with the atrocities that are almost guaranteed for us in this life. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (John 15:18) In other words, we should not be surprised, and in fact, we should probably expect that we will be on the receiving end of a lot of hatred and suffering at the hands of the powers and principalities of this world, just as Christ was. When the prophet writes, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future"; if we take that as being directed towards 21st century Christians, then it should be read as being addressed to the Church, just as it was directed to a group in its original context (i.e., the nation of Israel). The Lord will prosper his Church and ensure its future as the victorious and unblemished bride. No harm will come to the Church, in the sense that it will never be crushed or abandoned. To take it to mean that we will never experience persecution, which often comes in the form of physical/emotional/psychological harm, is to neglect Scripture and history.

Finally, nobody who lives in North America can honestly say that they have truly suffered for their faith. Suffering in the Global North may seem significant for those experiencing it, but really, we have it pretty good. We should be the ones doing bringing a comforting message rather than needing to be comforted, but I digress, and really who am I to judge your suffering compared to those in Somalia.

In conclusion, this verse speaks only about the sovereignty of God, and that is something we can rejoice in, but it is not a feel-good verse about how God is going to solve all of your personal issues. It is questionable whether this verse even contains a promise for Christians, and if it does, it is almost certainly for the corporate Church, and not at all for the individual. Individualism is Western philosophy that has very little place in Christian theology and should not be used as a lens for reading scripture. After reading this, Jeremiah 29:11 probably should not be your favorite verse anymore, because, like the rest of the Bible, it only promises hope of salvation in Christ, it is not a guarantor of worldly prosperity.

The Sacrament of Suffering?

Pain and suffering are terrible and unfortunate realities of human existence. People are constantly struggling with the awful reality of suffering and are forever thwarted in their attempts to understand it. Some people try to justify the existence of suffering by various means; God wills it, naturalism, character building, etc. I think this is looking at the problem of suffering all wrong. It is a self-evident truth that suffering sucks, I mean, is not the definition of suffering, "A situation that sucks?" Well, maybe not quite, but a property of suffering is definitely its distinct lack of fun. 

Yet how does one maintain that suffering is an awful thing, and then rationalize Scripture that exhorts believers to rejoice in their suffering. Jesus suffered immensely on Calvary, and what he accomplished through his death and resurrection has brought saving grace to the world. Christ is the archetype of Christian behavior, we strive to be like him in all ways; this is made possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also lets us know that, just as the world hated him, so too will they hate us because we come from him. Suffering therefore should be an anticipated and familiar phenomena to Christians.

This still does not explain why Christians should necessarily rejoice in suffering. Here is a thought, perhaps suffering should be viewed as a sort of sacrament. When we suffer in the flesh we join together with the suffering of Christ, the apostles, and all of the various Christian martyrs throughout the ages. We participate in the suffering of Christ and thus also in the saving grace that came as a result of Christ's bloody work on the cross. This indeed is cause for rejoicing, we are participating in Christ's suffering and also becoming more Christ like. 

Viewing suffering as a sacrament makes it a lot easier for me to understand why I should rejoice in it. I was always raised with suffering be explained away as being for character building or some similar higher purpose, which always fostered a sort of, "grin and bear it" mentality in me. A sacramental understanding of suffering easily allows me to identify with the disciples who rejoiced for being found worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the gospel!

Choirs

A choir is the iconic symbol of humankind. The different sections represent the diversity yet perfect unity that God intended in the creation of humanity. The 4 major sections, Bass, Tenor, Alto and Soprano combine together to paint a perfect audio picture of humanity. Sometimes the sections clash, sometimes they blend beautifully, sometimes they overlap and sometimes they do their own thing, sometimes they sing unison, sometimes they sing their own parts; just as humanity interacts with itself.

(2010/2011 Providence Chamber Singers)

Choral music represents the most complete, perfect way to pray that humanity can possibly accomplish. Starting with the foundation of the Bass section, one hears the deep earthiness that is reminiscent of the gritty lowness of our human condition. Next come the Tenor and Alto parts, playfully intertwining with each other, sometimes carrying the main theme but always adding color and variety to the song. Finally the Soprano's high angelic voices fly above the rest of the song to reach up to the very throne room of God, carrying the rest of the sections up and presenting this outcry of praise and emotion to the composer and conductor of the songprayer. The prayer that flows from the lips of each member of a choir completely captures every aspect of human existence; conflict and unity, force and peace, love and hate, life and death. I can only imagine that when God hears the notes of choir rising into his throne room he leans back and with a smile says, "It is very good".

On Earth as it is in Heaven

“Not my will but yours be done”. I pray this prayer every single day and yet I can’t help but wonder if I am blatantly lying to God every time I do so. A more honest prayer would be, “If my will coincides with your will God, may it be done”.

I want more and more to just do what Gods wants me to, but I have all these desires and dreams for myself that I can’t seem to let go of. Up until now I have operated under the assumption that I can basically do what I want and God will work his will through me, it will all go according to his plan. I’m not so sure of that anymore. 

There are certain things that I have always assumed will be a part of my life, but what if God were to tell me I shouldn't have those things anymore. I gave up alpine ski racing for God, but it took a lot of pressure on a lot of different levels, doing it just for God wasn't enough to make me quit. I'm an exceedingly stubborn person, which God seems to know, and so when he really wants things to change, he applies a lot of pressure to make me change, knowing that I'm not going to make the tough decision until I am forced to it.

I have realized that I am very self-conscious; I strive for acceptance in the eyes of others, I want to be seen as "that guy that's following God's will". The paradox is, I actually want to be that guy on the one hand, but on the other hand I just want to be that guy so that other people will think well of me. The more I think about my motives, the more I realize that every good thing I do is corrupted by a desire for attention, truly, as Calvin said, I am totally depraved. No wonder Christ had to come die for us, even in doing good, my motives are impure and thus spoil the good deed. This Thanksgiving I am truly grateful for Grace and all of its abundant mercies.

And so I will continue to pray, "thy will be done" in hopes that slowly but surely, God will transform my heart's desires to that of his heart's desires.

Augen Zu

Music is the tongue of angels. Like any language it is message bearing. Like all language, that message is vulnerable to the interpretations of the listener. A friend of mine is a gifted songwriter and pianist and wrote this song a number of years ago. One night as I listened to it I was moved to "translate" if you will, the language of the music into the inadequate language of English. I'd encourage you to listen to the song while reading this next section, and since all my readers have her CD, I'm confident this won't be a problem. 

"Sitting crying bittersweet tears of nostalgia with a growing sense of anticipation, there is life ahead; something new is coming. Proclamation, the Lord has ordained new glories for my life. He is here. He has come down to earth Alellujah, I now have purpose. I will move forward. I am moving forward to the rest that God declared on the seventh day, a life of service for the Lord brings with it overwhelming peace. I can look back on a life filled with righteousness with no regrets, I am content as I hear my Master whisper, enter into my rest..."

Paul in a sentence.

"Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 28:31). 

What does that look like for your life?

Roses are Red?

My parents were telling me once upon a time that rose colors actually have a great deal of meaning; cool! Here is a helpful list of what roses mean.

Red – Love, Beauty, Courage and Respect, Romantic Love, Congratulations, "I Love You", "Job Well Done", Sincere Love, Respect, Courage & Passion          

Red (Dark) – Unconscious beauty

Red (Single) – “I Love You"

Deep Burgundy – Unconscious Beauty

White – Purity, Innocence, Silence, Secrecy, Reverence, Humility, Youthfulness,

"I am worthy of you", Heavenly

White (Bridal) – Happy love

Pink – Appreciation, "Thank you", Grace, Perfect Happiness, Admiration, Gentleness, "Please Believe Me"

Dark Pink – Appreciation, Gratitude, "Thank You"

Light Pink – Admiration, Sympathy, Gentleness, Grace, Gladness, Joy, Sweetness

Yellow – Joy, Gladness, Friendship, Delight, Promise of a new beginning, Welcome Back, Remember Me,  Jealousy, "I care"

Yellow with Red Tip – Friendship, Falling in Love

Orange – Desire, Enthusiasm

Red and White – Given together, these signify unity

Red and Yellow – Jovial and Happy Feelings

Peach – Appreciation, Closing the deal, Let's get together, Sincerity, Gratitude

Pale Peach – Modesty

Coral – Desire

Lavender – Love at first sight, Enchantment

Orange – Enthusiasm, Desire, Fascination

Black – Death, Farewell

Blue – The unattainable, the impossible

Single - any color – Simplicity, Gratitude

Red Rosebud – Symbolic of purity and loveliness

White Rosebud – Symbolic of girlhood

Thorn-less Rose – "Love at first sight"

Roses by the Numbers

A single rose of any colour depicts utmost devotion

Two roses entwined together communicate "Marry me"

Six Roses signify a need to be loved or cherished

Eleven roses assure the recipient they are truly and deeply loved

Thirteen roses indicate a secret admirer

(Taken from:http://www.rkdn.org/roses/colors.asp)

Consistency

"This is the reason that we see such ridicule in the lives of many people. Many people are strict when it comes to times and places of devotion, but when the service and the church is over, they life like those that seldom or never come there. In their way of life, their manner of spending their time and money, in their cares and fears, in their pleasure and indulgences, in their labors and diversions, they are like the rest of the world. This leads the world to make light of those who are devout because they see their devotion goes no further than their prayers. When their prayers are over, they stop living unto God until the next time they pray. In between they live with the same attitudes and desires as other people. This is the reason why they are scoffed at by worldly people, not because they are really devoted to God, but because they appear to have no other devotion than their occasional prayers." (William Law)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill." and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe  - and sudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works , and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is also dead.

- James 2:14-26

Am I going to Heaven?

This weekend I was at the Northwest Roundup and Exhibition in Swan River MB. One of the first things I saw upon entering the fair grounds was a booth with a sign that asked, "Are you going to heaven? Take our FREE two question survey to find out!" My friends and I kind of chuckled and carried on. Later we were bored so we decided to go and talk to the people at the booth. They asked the question, do you know if you are going to heaven, and of course we all answered yes. The discussion continued on and was both humorous and thought provoking. I spent the better part of the rest of the day thinking about the experience.

It seems that I have many times been asked if I know if I am going to heaven, and the question has never sat right with me. Here is why; I don't think we can ever have 100% epistemic certainty about matters of faith. The very definition of faith is putting your belief in something that you aren't completely certain of. So to claim knowledge in regards to a matter of faith like going to heaven. Basically I reject this question as being ill-conceived and generally ignorant. We cannot know, we can only believe, we can even believe with a high degree of certainty, in fact, it is only smart to believe in things that we have reasonable evidence to believe, but that does not mean we have stumbled upon complete certainty. So for the sake of reasonable faith, let's leave such ignorant guilt-bearing questions behind us.

Cows, Gardens, and Life.

So picture this, I'm just closing my Bible, shutting off my light and crawling into bed when all of a sudden I hear outside my window a bunch of stampeding cows and a mooing and bellowing like you never did hear. A moment  later my mother calls up the stairs, "Boys, the cows are out!" and off we go into the night to try and chase around 200 cow/calf pairs back into some sort of fenced in area.

As I was finishing my devotions and getting ready for sleep, I had been struck with a revelation of how my garden is a very accurate reflection of my life. From a distance it looks quite good, all the vegetables are doing well and everything is looking like it is going to yield a bountiful harvest. It appears that there are few weeds or rocks and the soil is rich, dark and loose. Closer inspection, however, reveals a different picture. The walkways between the rows are mostly void of weeds, however a few small things have cropped up that need to be dealt with swiftly before they become too big of a problem. The seemingly nice clear borders of the garden from the lawn are not quite as clear cut as they looked from a distance, there is a bit of a blurred zone that can roughly be described as the edge. There are a few rows that instead of being kept free of weeds, have instead been covered with lawn clippings, underneath this neat covering the soil is infested with weeds and a few have become so big that they have pushed through the clippings and dominate their immediate garden space, it is too much effort however to move the clippings to remove the weeds so the problem is just left to fester. The worst part of the garden however only comes to light under intense scrutiny of the rows themselves. In among the vegetable plants, sneaky weeds have grown up and are so intertwined with the crop that if they were to be removed, the vegetables would also be uprooted and perish.

Now, it doesn't take much thought as to how this can metaphorically apply to my own (or any other honest person's) life. I generally take care to present a good outward appearance to the world, sending an image that all is well with my life and I am doing ok. On closer inspection of my character however, problems start showing themselves. I tend to be lax about being constantly vigilant for new sins that pop up and usually wait until they are just beginning to be noticeable enough to ruin my good impression before dealing with them. I have allowed the border to become fuzzy between the sacred and profane, allowing myself a good deal of gray area on what I'm allowed to do and still remain within a "Christian" context. Some of my biggest sins I don't even bother to deal with, I just trust the old cover up that has worked for years, blind to the fact that some of my sin has grown so big that my facade is no longer working. But all is well right? I'm still producing a big harvest of "fruit" (in this case, veggies). But actually if I examine my motives for much of the righteous acts that I do, I find that they are inseparable from the sin that is so thoroughly intertwined with them at the root. I can't remove the impure motive without also destroying the act itself, so like the parable in Luke, I will have to wait until the harvest, gather the good fruit and burn the weeds.
Now, some of you may be wondering, oh that's all well and good, but why the heck did you mention your little rodeo adventure tonight, what possible relevance does this have to the above story? Well, recently I have been reading a book called, When the Kingdom Comes by Steve Gray, the pastor of World Revival Church in Kansas City. Some friends of mine attend that church and the power of the Spirit is apparently amazing there. I've been struggling with this idea of revival, I want it, but at the same time I don't; Paul's old flesh and spirit war I suppose. It's been slowly dawning on me, or rather, I have been remembering an old lesson, that to have revival one must be broken. We have been made alive in Christ, but often we allow a resurgence of the sinful nature and we sink back into a coma of apathy and sin. We must be revived by the Spirit and that can only happen when we have been broken of that sin nature that keeps striving for dominance. The last couple of days I have been getting to the point of brokenness but every time I'm coming close something in  me will fight to maintain my autonomy, this time it is quite the battle and I have been rather frustrated and yet at peace, so strange I know. Tonight's prison break of the cattle reminded me that sometimes situations arise that come and trample and break us. Those cows came and stampeded right through our garden, I couldn't seen the extent of the damage in the dark but the corn looked a little beat up and I could smell crushed onions in the air. In the morning (well, probably on Monday actually), one of us will go out there, clean things up and put that garden back into order, taking the time while we're at it to carefully weed the garden and getting it looking good again. Disasters will come, and only then, in that moment of brokenness are we open to revival, only then can the Spirit lift us up again, by no act of us, but all by the will of God.

Priorities; a lesson from Daniel and The Holy Men.

Some friends of mine have a wonderful little band called The Holy Men and the majority of their songs are drawn right from the book of Daniel. Daniel is a very interesting book, I haven't studied it in depth yet but from what I know, Christians consider it a book of prophecy, the Jews considered it as part of the Writings rather than prophecy. The genre of the book is apocalyptic so it uses some wonderful symbolism and crazy mythological beasts in the story telling. The thing that gets me excited about this book however is the main characters that can be safely classified as Holy Men. Now, I don't think my friends realized how apt a name their band has, especially considering their source material, but I'll chalk it up to the Spirit and leave it at that.

The setting of the book is in Babylon, basically, at least for Jews, the most worldly, profane (redundant I know) place ever (like, this place ranked right up there with Egypt on the Jewish no-fly zone list). A little background, the people of Israel had been given the Torah that told them how to live in covenant with Yahweh, basically it said, if you want to be my people act like this, not like all these other pagan nations. The Israelites liked the pagan ways however, hey, they were more fun, and everyone was doing it, so Yahweh gave them over (after repeated attempts to get them on the straight and narrow) to the desires of their hearts. He sent them to Babylon, the place where all the lusts of the sinful nature could be satisfied in full. This place had it all, money, great food, women, awesome architecture, power, prestige, etc etc. The Scriptures speak often of the remnant of the faithful, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and posit that there were quite a few Jews who enjoyed this new found "freedom" from the Torah and went to town on their lusts (I hate proof-texters but here I go, Daniel 1:3-5, 15).

There were some men however (and yes ladies, I'm sure there were some women, they just don't get mentioned in Daniel; Esther for example, although that comes a bit later after the Persians take over...) who loved Yahweh and desired to continue to be faithful to his ways. Here is where I finally get to the point of my post, these Holy Men, made Yahweh a PRIORITY in their lives. In fact, he came first before all else, including jobs, social status, wealth etc. A couple of famous stories are of course Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their fiery exploits, and Daniel and the Den of Lions. These men in these stories decided to put Yahweh first when there very lives were on the line, they were offered the world but chose the Lord and obedience to Him over that.

Today, even among Christians, we are taught to attain security first then figure out God stuff wherever we can fit it in. Get a good paying job, a house, a car, a family and then take it all to church and Christianize it. How contrary to pretty much everything the Bible teaches, and especially in light of this little excursion into the Book of Daniel. I am as guilty of this as the next person, even this summer I have turned down different opportunities because "I need to make money for school". This really hit home the other day in the tractor as I was trying to organize a Bible Study, something my friends and I have been trying to get going since we got home from school in May... (yes I know it's mid-July) And yet again, everyone was busy. Now I'm not condemning anyone for being busy, I'm just as guilty, but I think we need a major paradigm shift. Christ comes first in all that we do, and I mean that in the most literal way possible. Praying, reading our Bibles, tithing, serving, worshiping, ministering, all of these things need to take the highest positions in our lives, for Christ did say "Seek ye first the Kingdom and all these things shall be added to you as well" which means all of those issues of financial security, food, clothing, shelter, will be dealt with quite handily. Look at Daniel, he prayed every day, it became illegal to do so, he continued, he was thrown to the lions, God rescued him and raised him up to an exalted position in the empire. Notice the difference, Daniel didn't throw himself into his career and ask God for some help up along the way, he threw himself after God and was sustained through the bad times and blessed in the good times.

Now I don't have any suggestions for what that shift in priorities is going to look like for you readers, I know what changes I need to make, but putting God first is that subtle shift that is a necessary requirement to becoming Holy Men (and Women).

Blessings!

The Shield of St. Patrick

I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.

By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;

His baptism in the Jordan river;

His death on Cross for my salvation;

His bursting from the spicèd tomb;

His riding up the heavenly way;

His coming at the day of doom;*

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power

Of the great love of the cherubim;

The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,

The service of the seraphim,

Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,

The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,

All good deeds done unto the Lord,

And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the starlit heaven,

The glorious sun's life-giving ray,

The whiteness of the moon at even,

The flashing of the lightning free,

The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,

The stable earth, the deep salt sea,

Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today

The power of God to hold and lead,

His eye to watch, His might to stay,

His ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach,

His hand to guide, His shield to ward,

The word of God to give me speech,

His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

The vice that gives temptation force,

The natural lusts that war within,

The hostile men that mar my course;

Or few or many, far or nigh,

In every place and in all hours,

Against their fierce hostility,

I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,

Against false words of heresy,

Against the knowledge that defiles,

Against the heart's idolatry,

Against the wizard's evil craft,

Against the death wound and the burning,

The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,

Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity;

By invocation of the same.

The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Amen

And These Three Remain...

Today was long and awful, everyone has bad days, today it was my turn, but, praise God, for he is eternally good. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen!

I am thankful that I still have my faith, I can still hope, and God still loves me, these three do indeed remain.

The Who and the What

Is love the love of someone or the love of some thing? Do I love someone for the absolute singularity of who they are, I love you because you are you. Or do i love your qualities, your beauty, your intelligence? Does one love someone, or does one love something about someone? This is the question philosopher Jacques Derrida poses on the nature of love. These are some interesting thoughts and have really been on my mind this past while. Derrida says that love indeed begins and ends with a love of the what, which I think we can all agree to; it is the characteristics of the other that initially draw our affections. Our affections then end when we realize that the characteristic that drew our affections is not all that we thought it was. Love truly occurs when we love the absolute singularity of someone else. All of these things that Derrida notes are true. 

However, my question is, how do we define "the absolute singularity of someone"? It would seem that while a person is not defined by their characteristics, for example, somebody who is an alcoholic is not defined by alcoholism, rather we say that person is a person struggling with alcoholism. In the same way, a person is not "a schizophrenic" but rather, somebody who lives with schizophrenia. The individual characteristics of a person are not who the person is. I am a 19 year old, Caucasian, Christian, Canadian, male but not any single one of those characteristics define who I am. However, I think Derrida goes to far in his demarcation between the what and the who. It would seem that while we are not defined by any of our characteristics, and to simply make a list of all the different parts of another person is not the same as identifying the person, it is exactly those characteristics that define who we are. The singularity of the person that I am is the unique combination of every one of my characteristics bound together in my being.

Love should properly begin with the what, and as the what is explored, the who is uncovered and that should be the focal point of our love. The key is not to fixate on any one attribute or characteristic, or even a certain combination there-of. True love becomes a reality when one discovers, and embraces the characteristics of the other and realizes their limitations, yet still loves the other.

Awesome Tunes

It turns out that there are some musicians out there who simply love music and aren't just in it for the money. In fact they believe that music doesn't belong to anyone, it is a God given gift that needs to be shared. I'd like to feature two such musicians.

Anthony Sweet, a wonderfully mellow folk artist who played at Providence a couple times this past year. He has now moved to Quebec but thankfully he makes all of his beautiful music available for free online here.

Another wonderful musician is a guy named Peter Hochstedler. I've been listening to his stuff a lot this summer and the verbal imagery he uses is absolutely genius. His music is also available for free online here.

I hope you enjoy these tunes and may they bless you as they have me!

Cast Down Your Idols

Lately I have been quite frustrated and been quick to anger. I realized tonight that I have a lot of things that I put first in my life, and they are far from God. It's time for me to cast down some idols. Facebook, as I'm sure many of us can attest to, has become a huge addiction to me. I deleted my account once but re-activated it quite quickly after doing so. I was thinking about deleting it earlier today but decided the pros outweighed the cons of having it. Luckily for me, God decided to step in and help make my decision much easier. A recent status update of mine concerning my frustrations with Canada Post created some intense argumentation among friends with it climaxing with the suggestion that I commit suicide. Not going to lie, that hurt a lot, but I can see that it was exactly what I needed to free myself from that site. God remains good, all the time.

Just a thought, don't get so attached to something in your life that it requires some divine surgery to remove you from it. Self-control, my most favorite of the fruit's of the Spirit, perhaps now I will learn how to use it.

Ashamed of the Gospel?

As a college student, there are a couple of classic questions that I have to answer when talking to each and every adult I come in contact with. The first is, "So, what are you taking at college?"

To which I answer quite gleefully, "Biblical and Theological Studies!"

A glazed expression comes across the questioner's face at the mention of the word "theological" but they know enough about what the word "biblical" means to know that I am studying religion. I watch as they struggle to find words to say and inevitably the next question comes up, "Soooooo, what kind of job can that get you?"

At this point I am filled with shame. What I should do is confidently proclaim that I desire to enter into the ministry as a Missionary and proclaim the gospel around the world. What usually comes out instead is, "Well, I'm not too sure exactly, I think I want to be a missionary when I'm done, it would be sweet to help people and travel around the world and stuff..." To which the other person usually nods and tells me I seem to have it all figured out.

How pathetic is that? I know exactly what I want to do, I want to be a missionary, and I'm pretty sure I will be serving in South Africa, although that will be up to God. Why do I have such a hard time telling people what I want to do with my life? Is it because, this is a job that won't make me a lot of money? Is it because many of the people who ask me this don't believe in God and so I can tell they think I'm crazy to be dedicating my life to this cause?

If I am ashamed now, in a free country like Canada, to admit that I want to spend my life proclaiming the gospel, how in the world am I going to actually proclaim the gospel in a country that may not allow that sort of thing?

Just as the disciples were transformed into boldness by the power of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, I pray that I may be transformed into boldness and feel no shame of the gospel of Christ risen.

Worship is the Words?

Worship is a huge concept, but the focus of this post is in regards to worship music.

There is a large group of Christians today that believes this misconception that worship is the words. There is a constant battle in my church between the people who believe this and those who realize that perhaps the music adds something to the worship experience. This battle is carried out by the sound-men as they either try and mix all the sounds, which usually ends up creating an unpleasant sound for all parties involved.

First, let's look at what words actually are. Words are a social construct that we use to express thoughts. Worship is a thought, or impulse that we seek to release somehow, language is the most natural, easiest way to express ourselves. But is that the only way in which we can express ourselves? There are a huge array of media which humans can use to communicate or express their thoughts. Classical music is especially good at telling a story without words. A well written song can actually produce a visual image in the mind of the listener, it communicates a message by virtue of the notes alone.

What would happen, I wonder if Christian songwriters began to write songs that told a story of praise and thanksgiving to God that used a combination of words and music to worship. What if maybe, just maybe, the music itself became just as much a part of the worship experience as the words. Who are we to say that the music isn't as glorifying as the words? Scripture says to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" a joyful noise does not mean "words".

The Imago Dei Part I

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27). 

Human beings are ikons or image bearers of God, there is something about humanity that bears the likeness of God. For centuries theologians have struggled with what exactly this could mean, I don't intend to fully explore the full meaning of this idea, but I think I've stumbled upon a small insight in this regard.

A verse that caught my attention was Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I've always understood this verse to mean that whenever a few Christians gather together, Christ is present. But clearly Christ is always present, he is present in his Creation, in the Eucharist, in worship, in service, in everything. This can't be all that this verse means.

Often I have observed my friends and mentors and been encouraged or challenged in my faith. I see other people living holy lives and say to myself, hey I should do that. I then set my sights on the specific behavior of that person and try to emulate it. As you can imagine, this is often a disastrous exercise. 

Now, back to this idea of Imago Dei, as I was meditating on these things, I realized that part of being made in the image of God, is our ability to reflect godlike attributes. Metaphorically, people are windows through which we can catch a glimpse of God. I realized that to successfully engage in a holy, god-fearing lifestyle I must focus my sights on that which the window shows a glimpse of, not the window itself. In other words, I must look to God, the one who's Spirit transforms lives to reflect his glory, in order for my life to be transformed. To fixate myself on the actions of friends and colleagues in order to transform my life will always fail.

So to try and pull all of these strands together, I think that being image bearers of God has given us the ability to see him in the lives of our friends. We must be careful to not think that everyone is reflecting God perfectly, but when we are confronted with a behavior that is clearly affirmed in Scripture, we have seen an image of Christ. Therefore when Jesus proclaimed that when we gather together he is present, he was speaking in a quite physical, literal sense. When believers gather together we bring together a bunch of image bearers that ultimately present a picture of Christ.

Mutterings

A note about the following: this was inspired by the work of Kim Fabricius, the content is meant to make the reader think, the crassness and cynicism of it is for effect, and probably heavily influenced by the long day I spent battling mosquitoes and cattle while thinking about this stuff.

Defining what God can and can’t do and what he does indeed do are two completely different things. Using the retort, “Are you saying God can’t do that?” is always irrelevant.

Worship is not singing the newest Matt Maher song as passionately as you can and getting a happy feeling inside in return.

God is more than a feeling.

Happiness and joy have never been the same thing, why in the world would something as overwhelming as the Joy of the Lord have anything to do with putting a smile on?

The Catholic Church may need a bit of work, but Protestants, you’ve gone way too far.

The very gates of hell will not be able to prevail against the Church of Christ, never for a moment think that the Church is obsolete, this is only the beginning.

Every day millions of children die in a pile of shit, and you are more upset that I just used a swear word.

Even if God appeared to us and made it obvious that he is in total control and free will was obsolete, we would still look for a way to do our own thing, that’s the nature of sin.

The mystery of marriage is children, if we eliminate that aspect; nobody has grounds to reject gay marriage.

Falling in love with God is never enough, how many men have fallen in love with a woman yet continue to look at others, in that context it’s called adultery, in the context of God, it is idolatry.

If fear demonstrates a breakdown of faith, how are we ever to fear the Lord Our God?

It may be the work of loving hands that builds a beautiful cathedral, but a greater beauty is found in the feeding of the hungry.

Pessimism and optimism are both false, the truth lies in contentment.

Amen means "Let it be so" think about that before using it, ponder whether or not you really want whatever you are Amening to to happen.

God created the greatest piece of art for free and said, "It is good". Man charges thousands of dollars for a blank canvas and claims to be better than God.

Doubt is the consort of Faith.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12) The Truth is alway greeted by a raucous chorus of denial and slander.

Only when you realize the extent of your debauchery can you truly be filled with grace, a "righteous" man is graceless.

Mere Contentment?

Something that has been on my mind since coming home this summer is the concept of contentment. I want to truly embrace the moment that has been given me, not just tolerating an experience while frantically looking around for a distraction or casting my eyes ahead to the next new thing on the horizon.

The other day I was reading a blog and one of the comments used the phrase, "mere contentment"; I have to admit, I was quite startled. Mere contentment, I thought, wow, this must be a really easy thing, am I a complete failure for not achieving it yet, or is there perhaps more to it than is commonly believed.

Ecclesiastes has a lot to say on the subject, actually, the entire book could be summed up with the idea that it is good to find contentment in the work of your hands and the food on your table, don't stress, just live life. Crazy enough, Jesus echoes these same sentiments when he points to the lilies of the field and explains how the Father provides arraignment finer than Solomon's attire. He points out the birds of the air and how they never lack for food, because the Father provides for them, how much more will he provide for our needs?

Contentment is more than just positive thinking, it is seeing the beauty of the reality of a situation and glorying in the idea that God created it just the way that it is. This is incredibly hard to do, and I often fail, but seeing each day as a gift, instead of a right, is the first step on the path to contentment. "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people..." (Ephesians 6:8) If we are serving the Lord wholeheartedly we will find contentment because we are giving back to the one who gave us all we have.

Crying

The tear, possibly the most perfect expression of emotion available to humanity. Tears are the natural overflow of an intense emotional experience, joy, relief, pain, sadness, humiliation, etc. Unfortunately crying has become a sign of weakness, especially for men. A man who cannot control his emotions and present a stoic exterior to the world is deemed a failure. Recent attempts have been made by the feminist movement to encourage men to express their emotional side, yet I have witnessed the natural recoil of those same advocates of emotional expressiveness when confronted by a weeping man.

As men we are presented with this conflicting dichotomy, freedom to express our emotions openly and let the tears flow, and an unspoken rule that says men can not cry. Everyone will give voice to the first and strongly support it, but almost without exception, those same people will, with their body language, condemn the man that dares to cry.

As a result, men in our culture struggle with giving the appropriate emotional response in a given situation. I often find myself half crying, filled to overflow with intense emotion, not necessarily sadness, often worship or joy, yet having no source of release. The result is a tearing up of the eyes and otherwise stoic features. The only clue to my true feelings lay in my eyes, a quick blink or two, a moistness around the lashes.

The suppression of strong emotion at times when it threatens to overwhelm me has led to the inability to experience proper emotions, for example, at a time where tears of sadness are the appropriate response, I feel nothing, I convince myself to feel sorrowful to the point where I can muster up a few sniffles to look like a caring human being.

There is a balance to be maintained however. Emotions should not have complete control over our actions, self-control is key in every aspect of our lives, it simply would not do to have people burst into sobbing fits on a whim, neither would hysterical laughter be an appropriate response.  I rather enjoy the awkward half crying that sometimes overtakes me, even though it is a symptom of the dysfunctional nature of our society, I embrace it and revel in the release of emotion that is so raw and powerful.

"Jesus wept," one of the shortest verses in the Bible, yet it speaks volumes. Jesus broke down, opened himself up for public humiliation and let go of his emotions when confronted by the death of his friend. There is no shame in crying, but remember, everything in moderation.

Doubting Thomas

Doubt, that insidiously gnawing tendril of fear and insecurity. It eats away at your conscience, tormenting your very soul, mind and being. Constantly I am beset with doubts; I have a hunger to learn more and more, and yet with every new thing I learn I am sent back to square one to try and systematically fit everything together into some sort of a coherent whole. This past year at college my little world was rocked almost daily as I learned new and wonderful things about God, the Bible and humanity, it was scary, amazing and beautiful all at once. Through it all doubt was my constant companion, a healthy counterpart for faith I think.

A couple weeks ago my pastor said something that blew my mind and sent me into a mini spiral of despair. He announced that he has never doubted his faith in Christ and in his salvation. Immediately I began to panic as he declared that we need not ever doubt all of our good Christian heritage, the Scriptures, or the assurance of our salvation. What kind of Christian am I, I thought, surely I must not truly be a believer if I am so constantly plagued with doubts, why am I not one hundred percent confident in my beliefs at all times?

I cast my mind back to the gospel accounts, if you read carefully, you'll notice that not only did the apostles not really understand what was going on, they were afflicted with some pretty severe doubts, and unlike us, they did not have millenia of tradition and writings to fall back on for reassurance.

I started thinking about what faith was, I think 1 Peter 1:8 sums it up very well, "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy." Faith is a journey we embark on without knowing exactly where we are going, we don't know all the little details, nor do we always need to. Faith is realizing that you don't know where you are going, second guessing, doubting, fearing, but persevering. Faith is continuing to walk in the direction you were shown even when you can't see your feet to be certain that you are still on the path. God is faithful, he will guide you along, but doubting isn't a testament against your faith, listening to your doubts and acting upon them is. It is healthy to doubt, and I believe anyone who is absolutely honest with themselves, if they have faced any trials of any kind, would admit to experiencing doubt.

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world" 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT). A mark of true faith is the faith that experiences trials and yet stands strong, I think an extension of that would be experiencing the paralyzing touch of doubt and yet carrying on; that is genuine faith, it has been tested and refined in the fires of heaven.

God Bless

Think about it...

This evening as I cruised around on Facebook I noticed a friend's status that read, "someone complained to Voltaire that life was hard. He replied compared to what?" - War Games by Linda Poleman..... Think about it" (thanks Mike). I immediately replied that it was easier to live for a cause than to die for one, which got me thinking. The message that we often get from movies and music is that the true demonstration of love is to die for someone. There are countless songs in which the singer claims that he would die for his true love, countless movies in which couples sacrifice themselves for love of the other person. We often see such examples and say, "wow that person really loved", or, "how romantic!" Unfortunately, I think that what we are seeing in such examples is base cowardice, immaturity, and fatalistic idealism.


As mortals we put a lot of emphasis on our mortality. The thought of dying is terrifying to most, even those who have some belief in an afterlife are still periodically beset with fear or doubt, the reality is, we can have faith, but we don't have 100% guaranteed certainty of everything working out. Therefore, it would seem that overcoming that fear and uncertainty, willing to risk everything and possibly throw away the only shot at life we have for the sake of someone else is a huge sacrifice. I think this is quite probably one of the greatest lies our society has fallen for; the idea that it is harder to die than to live. 


We are all alive. We all know the cost of living, what it takes to have relationships with people, to maintain health, to struggle financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc. yet Christ calls us to pick up our cross daily and follow him. Wait a minute, what is our cross you may ask? I suggest that it is all of those above mentioned burdens, knowingly shouldering all of that potential pain and suffering, approaching it willingly and even cheerfully, daily. In the context of a romantic relationship this means living for the other person day by day, working to make the relationship stronger, accepting the struggles and hardships and sacrificing yourself every single day for the benefit of the other person. Personal rights get put aside in the interest of the best possible well-being of the other.


Some of you may be thinking, wait a minute, you mentioned picking up a cross, and that Christ guy, did he not sacrifice his very life for his bride, the Church? Yes, he surely did. So then what is so cowardly or lesser about being willing to give up your life in one great act that proves your love for the beloved? Simply this, Christ is Risen! Jesus lived from all eternity in communion with the Trinity. He forsook that to be incarnated as a man and he lived with us for years, daily laying aside his authority and rights as Creator of the universe, as is written in Philippians 2:6-8, "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Jesus started his sacrifice long before the moment of the crucifixion. He put up with living in a lowly human body, associated with sinners and prostitutes and showed love every day to those who would later applaud his death. When he died it was not as a cheap alternative to living out a life of sacrificial love, it was the culmination of a life of sacrificial love. And Christ has risen, he is alive and continues to live, showering his bride with love, constantly forgiving the many transgressions of his bride the Church, in order that he may present us blameless to his Father in Heaven.


So yes, while throwing one's life away in an all out moment of passion, allegedly proving one's love for another may appear flashy and extravagant, it pales in comparison to a life lived in sacrificial love, devoted to one's partner. In Ephesians chapter 5 we are given guidelines as to how to live as husband and wife, I believe that what this text is saying is that we are called to live a life of sacrificial love. Women are called to submit, i.e., lay aside their own rights and desires, and men are called to sacrifice, just as Christ sacrificed, living a life of sacrificial love with the willingness to give it all, not as a first option, but as a culmination.


I hope that when looking for a way to express your love, you would realize that the most meaningful way in which you could do so, is to lay down your life, by living.

Epiphany

Last night I attended my friend's grad recital. He is a music student majoring in composition and has been busy writing music like a fiend for the past year. Not going to lie, I was a little skeptical when I showed up because I'm not a huge fan of 20th Century style composition and I knew that the musicians had not had a whole lot of time to practice the pieces, as they had only been finished only weeks before. However, I was in for an amazing treat, there were some comical parts, some beautiful parts, and just some overall good times. The real treat however, came at the end of the concert when his thesis piece was played.

My friend had a lot of difficulty writing this piece, it caused him a ton of stress and frustration. It started playing, and I thought somebody was sitting there describing my friend to me. This piece was a perfect auditory portrait of my friend. It switched between two major themes; one theme was pretty chaotic and discordant and the other part was beautiful and soothing, the violin carried the melody above the clouds of confusion and pain and made my spirits soar like an eagle.

All of a sudden I had an epiphany, a sort of revelation if you will. A chill ran down my spine, and I felt as though the Holy Spirit was almost speaking audible words to me through this song. The song was called "Prone to Wander" and it told the classic tale of humankind. At times we go along in our lives trying to do it all on our own and descending further and further into madness and discord. Finally when we realize we cannot continue on our own we return to the Father and he lifts us above the mess of our sinful human nature and frees us to become Children of the Promise. All of a sudden my eyes were re-opened to the fact that we are all God's children, that he loves all of us, and yes, we are all messed up, ugly and hideous of ourselves, but He takes us and makes us so much more. We are reborn in Christ and made pure. Instantly I realized once again, how much worth each and every one of us has. The most beautiful thing is that our worth is not an intrinsic quality, not one of us can claim to be more worthy than another based on certain attributes. No, our worth comes from God and the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, and the work of the Spirit in our lives.

This song gave me a new hope for humanity, and that hope is realized in Jesus Christ, my Lord.

In the Beginning

Life is a series of beginnings and endings. At the end of every stage, I find myself at the beginning of another journey. I find it ironic that I am beginning this blog at the end of my freshman year, but, such is life. 

What to say, what to say... This blog may or may not be used often but what I do type I hope and pray that it will be both edifying to the reader and glorifying to God. 

I have entitled this blog, "And These Three Remain" in reference to 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And these three remain, faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love." There is much truth in that verse, for both religious and non-religious people. We all hope, we all place our faith in something, and we all desire to love and be loved, in fact I would argue that love is one of the most powerful forces in this world, a powerful force for good or evil, but a powerful force none the less.

As a Christian I have chosen to put my faith in Christ, my hope is in salvation through Him and it is all held together by His wonderful love for me. 

I am by no means perfect, I fully expect to make mistakes on here, I desire to learn and grow and mature, always seeking what is True. Pilate asked of Jesus, "What is truth?" and I think it is a question well worth asking. I tend to be rather cynical, a bit skeptical, and I am often plagued by doubt, but these things allow me to process my thoughts and come to clearer conclusions, allowing me to better understand and be stronger in what I believe. I am inspired by the message of 1 Corinthians 13:13, we need to have faith and hope and love in this world, love is the greatest of these three things, and love does not disappoint. 

Well that's all for now...