Love Stories

I have a difficult time learning to be present in the moment.  I have the Martha curse….I’m cannot sit very still because I find that I always looking for something to do.  It is very hard for me to sit and wait; however God is teaching me here.  Here is what I know – you are in trouble when you stop hearing your kids after they ask you the same question 3x!

Well, last week was great.   I didn’t leave the church till 1:30pm.  There were great conversations and interactions and stories with people.  Our family grabbed Subway, sat down; but only to realize that I needed to take my daughter Bryn into emerg.  As it turned out, I could have just sat there and been oblivious to the other people in the room.   This time it was different. 

I noticed a young girl with what looked to be a broken wrist from a soccer match

I noticed a young father struggling with infant daughter…as the baby bottle smashed to the ground and I was able to help out and the 3.5 hours flew by…well, almost. 

So, here we are talking about a new vision…  Our vision for Grace is new, but it’s not new

A time and a place where #love abounds.

Jesus even saw this as a new command…but surely the people had heard about love in the OT.

John 13:34,35   A new commandment that I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you.

What is new about the new commandment?

What is new?....as I have loved you.

The commandment to love one another is new because we are called to live out the love of Jesus.  The OT didn’t even have this challenge.  Jesus.  The pattern is new. 

It is new because it is live ON the love of Jesus.  The power of love is new.

We can’t do anything of any spiritual significance without abiding in Christ.  “Without me you can do nothing.”

I command you – love each other

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a person under authority.  Your life is guided by commands from Jesus who is my authority?

This is my self identity.

Jesus comes to you with more than just commands, but not less.

Love being loved by my Father!  Abide in His love. 

What in our experience corresponds -   to trust Him to meet all my needs and to be all my treasure

Resist the negative thoughts by faith…trust Him for what He wants to do through you today.

I’m not naturally a loving person, but I’m going to abide in the vine!

Love is the response that listens to the heart of another soul

1.       Love on The Vine

John 15:9-13

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

There is a key word here that is used in the greek (katameno) that the KJV captures as the word “abide”   I really like this word in particular as it relates to the kind of love we need to experience in order to love one another.

The word abide  can be translated dwell, remain, continue, or stay and we see that in the newer translations.  But what do those mean? We may hear those and think, “I must simply do nothing.” If you told a child, “Don’t move – stay right there!” you would expect the child to simply sit or stand there and do nothing. Stay might be thought of as inactivity.  After all, how do you really abide in Christ and for that matter Christ in you.

However inactivity is not what Jesus had in mind for us.  He wants us to understand what it means to live very closely to Him so that it our movement with Christ becomes very real to us.  Abiding in Christ means I want you to follow me wherever I go.  So in actuality it is activity not inactivity we are called to.

Jesus uses the symbiotic relationship between the vine and its branches SO…

In order for a branch to bear fruit it has to be in harmony with the fruit-bearing agenda of the vine. It has to be participating in the vine’s business of fruit production.

Abiding in Christ is a reference to the close continuum of a relationship with God in Christ.  The word abide calls  us to a place of vigilance so that we don’t allow our union with Him to be interrupted.  So, it is really a sustained conscious communion with God.

“To abide in Christ signifies the constant occupation of the heart with Him—a daily active faith in Him which, so to speak, maintains the dependency of the branch upon the vine, and the circulation of life and fatness of the vine in the branch.”  A W Pink

It is not just a heady concept, it was meant to be the real conscious experience of my union with Christ.  It is also an interaction that was meant to be burdensome; however it is not just automatic.

We are told in Hebrews 4:11 to make every effort to enter that rest

In order for the love producing fruit to be experienced in our life, we really need to practically live out “abiding in Christ”

Most Christians would look quizzically when you talk about remaining in Christ or dwelling in Him for that matter

It is not a religious formality that you can check off like you would in completing a degree in school.  It is not about doing some form of spiritual exercise in order for God to love you.

 You are not loved for what you do.  You are a loved child of God (period)!  However, if you ask a fellow Christian, ‘how is your walk with God?’  99% of the time people will define it by whether they are having a ‘quiet time’

More than anything, we need  to pay attention to what God is doing.  For many of us in our Western culture, we have a linear mindset…meaning if I spend  x amount of time with God, than y will happen.

My question is this, “how do we practically abide?”  My response is find the right atmosphere. 

It begins with repentance and that is a major player in our journey.  Repentance means that a change of mind is taking place in me that results in a change of behavior.

For me the right atmosphere of abiding begins with prayer on my knees.  It will also include a time of reading Scripture and ‘two way journalling’ where I write down what I sense God speaking to me about and also time for me to listen ask a very simple question, “LORD, what is it that you want me to know today.

Archbishop William Temple once said, “Your religion is what you do with your solitude.” In other words, the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.

If I’m honest, it is very easy for my thoughts to go to sports updates or checking my banking statements.

Don’t expect abiding to just happen like an app that you can download in just a minute or less.

Discover what it means for us to draw near to God and to enter into the holies of holy.

I’ve had people tell me in those times God has challenged them to very different things and this is where the love flows -

·         Some have felt led to take off their shoes and socks off and imagine themselves walking on holy ground

·         Some have used a empty chair to remind them that Abba Father is in the room

·         Some have spoken of the simple words that they have heard….love your wife…love your kids.

·         OR strong impressions…Bless this person with x amount of dollars

·         I will never forget a simple act of love that had a profound effect on me.  It was during the time that I was a student and attending a local church in London, ON.  Following the service, the pastor shook my hand, typical, yes, but then he took a moment to squeeze my shoulder.  In that moment I felt cared for.

The real treasure for us is the realization that life that emanates from His presence in us and through us.

As I shared…  Abide can be translated dwell, remain, continue,  and the end result is that there should be visible signs of the expression of that love.    Abiding isn’t just for our alone time with God, it is going to be seen by others!

When you get to see that fruit in another person’s life, it is very powerful.

 Love on the vine is made visible by its fruit!  The fruit of the expression of our lives will come in real tangible acts of love for one another

·         A family found a significant amount of money while on vacation this summer and knew right away that it wasn’t for them and they were able to bless Pastor James last Sunday in their home and actually matched themselves what they found.

·         I was also at Nathan and Julie’s home the other day and so blessed to see a home transformed because love paints

However before you get to see the fruit there are two more things that you need to see happening with this word abide in the previous chapter.

Abide speaks of our relationship with the Holy Spirit

In order to show this kind of love, you need to understand that abide is “being filled with the Spirit.”  “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth,  John 14:16,17  KJV Abide is the language of relationship, the language of interaction

To the extent that your heart and mind are yielded to the Spirit of God, you can trust your own thoughts in that place of abiding.

Abiding in truth is not just, moral principles and application. Does the Bible have them? Absolutely. But our hearts are not changed by the commands of the Law. Our hearts are changed when they overflow with love for the Savior. As we experience the grace of what God has done for us in Christ, our hearts are free to worship and obey.

Our ability to obey has to be grounded in the truth of the gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit who enables us to obey in love.

Abide also speaks of a “reveal” 

John 14:21, Jesus says the same thing, but He uses the word manifest. To abide in Christ is to have Christ manifested to you on an ongoing basis.

²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Love in The Dining Room

We had a powerful time with Pastor James in our home on Monday night as we had opportunity to pray over him and his wife.

Kerry’s love story 

Kerry this spring related her own story to us as a staff team.  We had the opportunity to visit with her and she was at the point where physically she felt like she could do nothin but lie on her couch as she battles with cancer.

She discovered in Jesus act of washing the disciples’ feet for it to be an act of pure love.

Jesus was at the point where there was nothing that he could physically do for his disciples.  He knew that the time of His death was coming and this is what He could do.

Kerry spoke with us about how through the process of coming to grips with cancer in her life that God first asked her to trust Chris with Him as an act of faith in literally being  willing to lay down her life.  She then spoke of how God asked her to trust Him with her children and be willing to place them in His hands.

As you commit to abiding in Christ, I want you to complete one or more of the following exercises.

1.      Write a love letter to Jesus.  Begin with the following words.  Jesus, I love you because…     

2.      Ask the following question and listen for His still small voice.  Jesus, what do you want me to know about your love today?  (This is a step harder than exercise one as you need to trust the Spirit to give you a word or a Scripture or possibly even more as you sense a spontaneous flow or impression being revealed to you.

3.       Share with someone else what stood out most to you about Kerry’s love story.

4.       Set a coffee date with someone today and commit to sharing a “love story” with them of a time when you knew God’s love for you.

A Most Excellent Way!

A Most Excellent Way

A new vision for Grace.

I want to begin first by sharing about the journey.

·         A call to wait on the LORD

We began this fall with a series to “hurry up and wait on the LORD”    Hurry up defines our culture where we often want a response right away, but it also spoke to the fact that we needed to hear a fresh and anew from God.  We began with a day of prayer

Hurry up also is about our need to step into our calling, to discover and believe it. We initiate it by faith, embrace it with passion and commit to it with wholehearted devotion.

As pastors we all were experiencing different levels of dissatisfaction and for me personally, it kept me awake at night.  I went for sleep tests, blood tests and even got a new mattress!  The doctor confirmed I was healthy and didn’t have sleep apnea; however, I was still waking up with great restlessness in the night. I knew something had to change.  The question we couldn’t definitively answer was “where are we going as a church”.  I can remember being challenged on this question and not having a divinitive answer.  In fact, I went silent…there were many good things happening at Grace but where was it all moving us towards?

Our vision had become foggy as pastors.  We were doing good things all in our own little corners of Grace, but we were missing a real sense of connection to other.  Yes, we had started praying together more, but a shift needed to take place. 

·         A call to listen

As we left for Niagara-On-The-Lake all of us as pastors each were sent a text message from a member of Grace. 

It said, “have a great couple of days, rest in His presence, seek Him out and listen.  I am thinking this is weird to sent this but I have an impression that something that will be heard or said will be impactful.  The other thing is don’t look for it.”

As we walked together we began praying into that desire that God would lead us and our time together began with a real time of vulnerability where we became very transparent about the fears that we most succumb to whether that be rejection, embarrassment or inferiority.  What is fear anyways…it is false evidence appearing real!

·         A call to unity

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, members of our wise and very discerning leadership team  sat us down with us for the duration of the day of the Friday and we were able to speak with honesty about the issues that were front and center with each of us.  There was real openness and heart to heart conversation that took place coupled with prayer and I can say that we truly feel closer to each other than we ever have.  We realized the importance of showing greater trust and allegiance for each other as pastors.  We made commitments to moving forward with unity and the synergy that will result as we work more closely together.

With the rest of the leadership team, we prayed and reflected on the rebuilding themes of the temple and wall in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. It was so good. 

Thoughts included:

·         20 year olds were involved in the supervision of the work

·         They took time to celebrate when the foundation of the temple was completed, they didn’t wait till the temple was completed

·         They were all from diverse backgrounds but they came together as one person

·         There was a simple, clear vision… rebuild the temple, rebuild the wall

·         They had boldness, they knew what they were called to do and went for it

 We then did an exercise on identifying where our ministries fit into our overall plan and focus in the church.  It was through this process that we identified a clear pathway of growth for our church and it really was an ‘a ha’ moment for the whole team.

·         The way of love  

As we as pastors spent the afternoon together, it was John who sensed that we needed to begin with looking at Sunday, this is the hub for all that takes place and something had to change in this time together.  The atmosphere needed to change.

We prayed and we talked about what we have become and what we wanted to be in not in 5 years, not 3 years, but in the next 9 months?  Could there be a big enough shift that it could be noticed?  We became convinced that is was love…well, to be honest I was a late adopter.  It seemed to simple and yet the more we dwelled on it, it became more profound.  We were convinced that as a church we needed to love.  We wanted to envision love in a deeper way that we ever have before where there was real breakthrough and then the words that finally remained on the white board were:

A time and a place where love abounds

We are not shelving the strategic plan, but we have a holy and high calling to love at the center of it all.

We are all here to minister to one another and have the Spirit work through us.

Vision leaks!  As I began to talk with ministry leaders and various people in the church, I discovered that everyone resonated with this new focus.

During one coffee meeting, it was Sue Wigston who shared, “When we are hurt our natural tendency as humans is to wait for love.  We live in a culture with a victim mentality.” 

Then there is Kerry M, who has every reason to wait for love teaching us pastors about an act of pure love!

There is a score, there are lives at stake.  There are hurting people who need our encouragement and there are people who are just bursting with a story to tell and bless others.  We want to hear those stories.  This is just the beginning.

We want to get to the place where people experience love that is far beyond what you experience out there!

Why are we excited about this vision?  Everyone can contribute.  A place where diversity is celebrated.

We just want to draw the lines and we want you to paint the picture with us and see yourself in the picture

If you really want to learn how to love each other, you’ll want to retain the teaching.

It is irresistible!

It is ‘on purpose’

We want to talk about it, share it, trend it for those who tweet #loveabounds and see where the journey takes us.  Sunday mornings are our laboratory!

As  pastors and leaders we talked about painting the picture of what this love might look like on a Sunday morning at Grace!

•          A time where people are looking for others to have over for lunch and if not looking to meet during the week for coffee, for dessert, for pizza, whatever, later in the week.

•          A place where people are putting their arm around each other and praying for each other after the service

•          A place where there are fresh muffins available to encourage conversation

•          A group of  people who are praying for those coming to our Sunday services

•          A community where you are known and where you are missed

•          A place where you can worship freely

•          A place where you can make friends easily

•          A people who look first to listen and understand

•          A place where you are accepted and belong

•          A time to receive comfort and encouragement

We are looking already ahead to Sunday November 25^th as a day that will we experience love in the form of “house churches” as this building gets taken over by ANIB.

We are going to be working with those who can help us measure our love quotient!  We plan to identify check points for us to hold us accountable to this kind of love.

As John spoke at the beginning of the month, God’s will is worth the wait.  It has truly become our food as pastors and nourished our conversations with anticipation of what God can do in this place as we seek His face.  It is the key to us glorifying God, living wisely and fulfillment for us as a body.  He taught us about the importance of a renewed mind and it will really take that for us to move forward in love!  Romans 12:2

A compelling vision    2 Corinthians 5:14,15

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  2 Corinthians 5:14,15

·         compels defined

compel means to be driven or to be controlled.  One way to illustrate this is by being caught in a strong current of water that carries you downstream.  It is a force that moves you into action. 

To be compelled is to be drawn in a powerful way.

It is Christ’s love for us that compels us to love one another.

Could we become a people that help create a new perception, could we start here and let our Sunday mornings together from the time we enter the parking lot to the time we leave become so compelling?  Can we show a genuine love that draws other people in?  As we conform to the image of Christ, could our expression of Christianity be seen as compelling and relevant and Christ and his Church seen as the hope of the world, a people who live in the way of Jesus and address the brokenness of this world with the power and love of the Kingdom?

Think about Jesus’ first miracle, the changing of water in 20-30 gallon ceremonial jugs into wine. It was a compelling act of extravagant love!

This is the way the early church operated, they lived it out and they gained favor with all the people (Acts 2:46). The witness of this love in their community was held in high regard in their culture for the pattern of their lives and for the great things God was doing in and through them to bring hope and healing to people’s lives.

The hymn writer George Matheson knew of this kind of constraining love when he penned the words "O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; / I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be."

It is also understood in the basic sense to hold something together so that it does not fall apart.

Love is our only agenda item and it will lead us…

·         from selfishness to selflessness

 It is a sacrificial, self-giving love.

When we look at the love of Jesus, he redefines love for us – “actively securing the good of another at cost to yourself without requiring merit or demanding payment.”   JR Vassar

Jesus laid down his life for us and calls us to a self sacrificial love for others.

Sunday BEST!

A complete new Sunday wardrobe!  Colossians 3:12-14

I remember growing up in a church culture where we dressed up in our “Sunday best” for church.  The rationale?  Well, how would you dress if the queen of England showed up.  So, this is how I dressed for church 20 years ago….we have come along way!

·         clothe yourselves with

compassion – love’s acts of mercy that sees those who others pass by.  It is a direct affront to the bystander affect which ignores the needs of others.

kindness  - love’s tangible expressions that bring joy

humility -  love’s attitude, it is done with a higher view of another.

gentleness – love’s power under control

patience – love’s ability to wait

forgiveness  - love’s covering.  A love that covers a multitude of sins.  We treat people as if the offence did not happen in the first place.

·         your new outerwear        LOVE!  All of these acts must be done in love or they have no lasting weight or meaning in the life of another.  Love is our highest motivation.  It is what compels us to action.  It truly holds all the other virtues together.

I have been reading, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ and on the 9^th Tuesday, Morrie tells Mitch, “I believe in being fully present.”  “That means you should be with the person you’re with.  When I’m talking to you now; Mitch, I try to keep focused only on what is going on between us. 

Love listens to the heart of another soul without trying to figure out what to tell them.  My heart’s desire is that this love would really listen both to the person and to the Holy Spirit who gives those promptings, a clear word of encouragement, maybe just the faith to carry on.

We need to have a love in this place that has eyes to see the people that God wants us to see to the exclusion of all else.  So, please don’t feel snubbed when I learn to love a person and not feel compelled to acknowledge anyone else around me.

The Take IN

Write a love note of encouragement to someone right now that God is laying on your heart.  Don’t delay!

We are believing God to change the atmosphere here at Grace and also to trust the Spirit to lead us and give us words of affirmation and love for one another.

Pray with me that we would push on the limitations that keep us in the status quo.  Create a lifestyle of prayer and fasting for this.  Take time to even use your hands as a cup and hold them to God in an act of faith asking him to fill you with His love overflowing!

The Table of Thanksgiving!

I am an incredibly blessed dad to have two amazing daughters who love each other as you can clearly see!  

At Grace, we take time each month to reflect on our Lord’s death through the  “breaking of bread” which is familiar to those from a Brethren background.  In some other traditions, this time together is referred to as “communion” or the “Lord’s Table”  and if you are from a more liturgical background, this table is called “Eucharist”   and that referring to the very presence of the LORD

Everyday we are called to follow Christ to the table of “eucharisteo” meaning to show gratitude, to feel grateful and give thanks.

Pride slays thanksgiving.  A proud man is seldom a thankful man for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.  Henry Ward Beecher.

Psalm 136:3-7

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His faithful love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.

His faithful love endures forever.

5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.

His faithful love endures forever.

Giving thanks is at the very core of Christianity.  “The  foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness” Brennan Manning

It is in giving thanks that we are led to completely trust and believe.   All gratitude and remembrance in everyday life and moments that God gives us is an accepting of His will, His goodness and His faithfulness.  It is in the remembering of His death that we are brought low and He is raised on high!

Philippians 2: 8  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Dying to self demands that I might gratefully receive what is better.  To follow Christ to the table of thanksgiving is to come to to the table of surrender.  It is here that I learn that I am not self-made, it is here that I learn humility, it is here that I stop trying to earn my own way and receive forgiveness.

No words can describe the depth of this necessity to surrender our created wills to the divine will of the Creator. Where, where can we obtain the courage we need to make this self-surrender? Where, except from the God who died on the Cross for our salvation  John Hardon

I think of the end of His earthly life.  Jesus Himself bends the knee in a garden and weeps His own song: “Father, if you are willing; take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  Luke 22:42  He opens wide His mouth and accepts: He will drink this cup of suffering too.  Why?  For the greater joy.  Joy now, joy forever.  Conceived in grateful humility.    Ann Voskamp in “One Thousand Gifts”

I want to challenge you with journaling 10 to the LORD that you can feel gratitude for today!