Living Through Anger and Disappointment

It hasn't been a good week for our triathletes as we were confronted with the cries of Paula Findlay,  a medal contender going into the triathlon for Canada only to finish last in the event and then Simon Whitfield crashing out today.  We are all proud of them, but you can feel the disappointment knowing how hard they prepared and what it took to get them there. 

Now, it is one thing to be angry or upset with yourself; but how do you respond when someone is angry with God?

What creates a crisis of faith?

How do you respond to a crisis of faith?

There are times when you should say nothing, when you should simply be a listening ear.  It is an easy thing to say, but a lot harder to do.  It is hard to hear someone who is visibly upset and angry and if their anger is directed towards God, we want to defend Him naturally.

We want to say something positive and encouraging; however, there are times when we should stay with the feeling that is being expressed and simply be quiet and listen.

Like God did when Heman the Ezrahite poured out his anguish to the Lord in Psalm 88.

Psalm 88 is a maskil = It means understanding.  The verb form is to look at, to scrutinize, to look well into anything.  In the noun form, it means understanding arising from deep consideration

The writer clearly identifies what kind of a prayer this psalm is: It is a cry. More accurately, it is a wail, a sob expressing a pain so deep and a despair so wide that it consumes him day and night

As a cry of lament it is unique among the 150 psalms in the Bible “because of its gloom and unrelieved misery”.  Unlike other psalms of lament (i.e. 22 and 31), there is no resolution, no turning point.  There is no trusting or praising God. That makes it hard to read and even harder to appreciate.

This kind of wailing cry, however, has always had a place in Israel as a legitimate expression of overwhelming pain, of deep, long-term suffering for which there is no quick fix. That’s why the Old City of Jerusalem has a wailing wall.

The western wall is still a place not only to mourn the destruction of the Temple in the first century but also to grieve the disintegration of their national and personal dreams and hopes.  It was here that I stood and prayed three years ago while on a tour for the light of the glorious gospel to shine through all those crumpled up prayers that have been stuck in that wall.  May they know that Jesus, you are the Messiah!

Take a moment and consider what has been your crisis of faith?  Maybe you have had a few and possibly you are in one right now.

You may have been told that showing emotion or crying is a form of weakness.   You may have felt the need to apologize for shedding tears when emotional or hurt.  I grew up in a family with four older brothers and we seldom displayed raw emotion.  It wouldn’t be until four months after my father passed away, while on my honeymoon with Sharon that I finally sobbed with Sharon at my side feeling the true weight of my loss.

 Psalm 88 invites us to lament, and encourages us to express our pain “when your soul is full of trouble.”v3   In other words, permission granted to grieve.

 Dealing With Loss v3-9

Why was his soul so full of trouble that he cried day and night?  He grieved two losses.

·         Death v3-5

First, he was convinced that he was dying,  he spoke of “being near the grave’.

He could have been mortally wounded from battle, deathly sick or possibly dying of old age.

He speaks of being confined and unable to escape in v8 as well as having eyes that were dim with grief.  He is feeling the loss of his health.

If you have had a near death experience that has or been close to someone near death, you know how confining an experience like that can be.  It’s a hard place to be and even harder to visit especially for those to be reminded of their own mortality.

·         Lonliness v6-9

It had to just tear him apart inside knowing that his closest friends stayed away, unwilling to be with him in the time of his greatest need.  He felt like God had made him ‘repulsive’ to them.  He was grieving the loss of his friends.

These were his twin losses: health and friends. Certainly one of these is bad enough, but the writer is clearly dealing with both

Loss equals grief and it was grief that made his eyes dim (v.9).

The Stages of Grief  v6-18

We are aware of the stages of grief thanks to the famous book by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross “On Death and Dying.”

It is her insights that almost everyone now knows the stages of grief:

denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance.

We can identify three of these stages here in Psalm 88

·         Anger  v6-9, aimed at God: “You have put me in the lowest pit” (v.6). “You have overwhelmed me with all your waves” (v.7). “You have taken from me my closest friends” (v.8). You, you, you! You put. You overwhelmed. You took. You can almost see his finger shaking angrily at the heavens; feel his body shaking with frustration at God?  If this was a message in our world, it would be all CAPS!

·         Bargaining.   Notice the desperate bargaining in verses 10-12: “Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the place of oblivion?” In other words: Come on, God. I’m ready to praise you, to declare your wonders. But I can’t do that when I’m dead. So let me live and I’ll show you what a life of worship looks like.

·         Depression.  Finally, notice the deep depression in verses 13-18, the final six verses. It is all consuming – in the morning (v.13), all day long (v.17), in the darkness (v.18). It is constant suffering - rejection (v.14), affliction (v.15), terror (v.15), an engulfing flood (v.17). It is obsessively focused on one question: “Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?” (v.14) Isn’t that the most essential human cry? The question “Why?”

When you read this psalm at home you expect it to do what other psalms of laments do …you are looking for a shift to a note of praise.  It has been called a place of redefinition or a perspective change.

However there are no  answers in Psalm 88; it doesn’t relent and its eighteen verses end with sadness:

 “The darkness is my closest friend.” (Psalm 88:18).The writer of this psalm appeared to be light years away from the final stage: acceptance.

So, what do we do with such a consistent and depressing psalm?  What are the takeaways that we can take for our lives?

It reminds us that other people have been right where we are or right where our friend is.  They have gone through the dark night of their soul.

"What is so wonderful about the psalms is the kind of companionship they offer. There is a rainbow of human emotion in the psalms. The psalms help you realize that no matter what happens, other people have been through this. The psalms are an incredible benefit to the human soul."

James Schaap

For those  who are depressed or dealing with long term illness, for those who feel like they are dying on the inside, this psalm SPEAKS!   This psalm tells you it is OK to lament, to tell God exactly what you are feeling in this moment.  Sometimes it can just suck the life right out of you!

God can handle it.  He will walk with you through it.  Jesus has been there. 

It reminds us often that we just need to be heard or the people in our lives just need us to listen.  Stop trying to fix it and just BE in that place, that moment, that life.  The Spirit will tell you when and what to say if anything at all.

What do sad, grieving people not need? They don’t need explanations for what we think is wrong in their lives. They don’t need solutions for what we perceive to be their problems. They don’t need condescending advice based on what worked for us in a very different situation. They don’t need impatience with their slow progress or even backsliding. And they don’t need relentless optimism, which only makes their despair feel worse.

It is the honesty to say, “How are you REALLY doing?” and being ready for whatever may come.

We also need to remember that while the writer is extremely depressed by life, disappointed by people and even despairing of God, his faith is shown in the realization that this psalm is a CRY.  He is still a person of prayer.  Heman and God are still talking and that brings hope.

The psalm also begs us to hope.  It may appear to be a tragic play that fails to deliver a happy ending, but it desperately pursues it.  As one writer wrote, ‘it pushes us to search for what is missing’.  We can’t stay here.  There must be a new beginning.

It is the same truth that Paul reminded us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 that we do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope…NO, our hope is in the belief that Jesus died and rose again.

We shouldn’t skip a psalm like this even though it is tough reading.  It is a real authentic expression of our broken world and it does have the power to drive us into the loving arms of our Abba Father.

The Parallels

For Jesus, it was Psalm 22:1,2 from where he quoted from during  his darkest moment  close to the end of His earthly life when he felt the excruciating absence of the presence of God as he cried out,  ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

For the Israelites, their first crisis of faith following the Exodus came in swift fashion.

Exodus 14:10-12  states that they were terrified.  They were in despair and felt trapped between the Rea Sea and the onslaught of the coming Egyptian army. 

The complaints are rattled off:

·         Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that we will not rot out and die.

·         You should have just left us alone, we were better serving the Egyptians

However it is that moment when there is nowhere else to turn that we experience the God of salvation.

Anne Graham Lotz writes:

"We may intellectually grasp the truth that God's power is adequate but we can never know that by experience if we stay in our comfort zone.  If all you ever attempt is what you know you can do yourself, if all your needs seem to be met through someone or something other than God, if you never have any difficulties that are greater than you can bear - how will you know the awesome greatness and personal availability of His infinite power?  It's when the Red Sea is before you, the mountains are on one side of you, the desert is on the other side, and you feel the Egyptian army closing in from behind that you experience His power to open up an escape route.  Power to do the supernatural, the unthinkable, the impossible."  

God shows up, they are called to stand firm

V14 The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.

It is a promise that they would have to wait for with patient endurance with the tenacity expressed in Hebrews 6:11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Waiting is not sitting around hoping my circumstances will change.  It is not an escape from reality, it doesn’t leave us idle, it will put us in gear!  It will force us to make changes.

The Takeaway

There is a place OF LIVING HOPE where Psalm 88 ends and Psalm 89 begins. I t is a new chapter and that is why another Ezrahite, Ethan, begins with v1 singing of the LORD’s great love forever.  It is the same place where the Israelites despair turns to deliverance.  It is that place where a lament gives birth to a new song.

We were at The Cry last week with a van load that came with us from Grace and it was while we were there during a time of personal repentance that God moved powerfully.  One lady began to weep and it brought many of us to our knees as we repented not only for ourselves, but for our nation.  I really don't know how long it lasted, but it was awhile and then the heaviness lifted and it was time to "rise up" and we sang songs of victory to our Lord, let it rain, and for the moving of the Spirit to birth a new awakening in our land!

Never give up in praying to God.  He can handle it.  He can take your most desperate and dark prayers better than anyone.

Pray with a clean mind and with faith. When praying, always rejoice in hope that the thing you are praying for be answered, patient in time of tribulation and never stop praying to God.

There can be significant crisis of faith that we are called to walk through and it in this moments that we truly understand the incredible battle that we are in.

A living hope will change how you see ourselves, it reminds us that we are aliens and strangers.  1 Peter 2:11  We aren’t living for and chasing after this world. 

It will change what we value.  Matthew 6:21; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

It affects what we do with our lives.  1 John 3:1-3  It purifies us

The Benefits.

A living hope gives us joy and peace  that you may abound in peace by the HS – Romans 15:13

A living hope protects us Psalm 33:18

It gives us strength, endurance and courage.  Psalm 31:24

It gives us confidence in the face of death.  1 Thessalonians 4:13

It gives us motivation in ministry to others  1 Tim. 4:10… fixed our hope on the living God, the Savior of all men.

Rise Up!

Soaking In The Psalms "Living With Expectant Hope"

The recent news this past week is our part of the world seems so meaningless.  We read about 12 people being shot to death at a movie theatre in Aurora, CO and 50 injured.  Earlier this week, it was closer to home in Scarborough, ON where 2 people were killed during a shooting at a block party and 23 injured.  There has been an increase of shooting violence of 32% in TO this year with 140 incidents to date.

Where is the hope?

It has been said that hope is a projection of the imagination; so is despair.  Despair all too readily embraces the ills it foresees; hope is an energy that arouses the mind to explore every possibility to combat them.  It is motivated to picture every possible issue, to try every door, to fit together the most difficult pieces of the puzzle and to see the fingerprints of God.

The word ‘hope’ has been given a bad rap over the years and has been put on the same level as wishful thinking as in it’s usage when someone says “I hope so”.  I’ll never forget my own kids jumping on Rylan after he prayed one time using the word hope.  However the true meaning of biblical hope is the certainty of expectation as it relates to being on a receiving system not an achieving one.

Biblical hope does the very same thing but in prayer.  It is a prayer that envisions that believes that when it seeks, it will find, that when it knocks, the door will be open, asks and it will be given.  Matthew 7:7,8. 

I’ll never forget my conversation with my cousin Ashraf shared about his muslim faith and what he said after all the five pillars to his faith,” I hope I will be accepted by Allah.”

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:2

One of my great longings is to see people enter into the new and living hope of life with Jesus.

Psalm 32 has been connected by many commentators to Psalm 33 and this is seen in the connection of similar metaphors and word usage from references to God’s unfailing love to the imagery of horses.  The living hope for King David was that he could finally put his past behind him and walk in newness of life.

Biblical hope is believing, expectant and persistent!  It is strong, confident and secure.

LORD  - all capitals in the Hebrew is a reference to Yahweh, the personal, covenanting God, it is a picture of Jesus.

The path to a living and vibrant hope is established IN PRAISE and WORSHIP.

1       A living hope is established in our praises v 1-3

·         It is fitting and skillful

In the Authorised Version, verse three reads "Play skillfully with a loud noise"! It is important that we have some noisy times in our worship together. Just as quietness expresses our intimacy with God, so loudness releases our passion and wholehearted commitment.

Am I in that category, am I part of the upright?  The passage answers this question.

When we are cynical, critical and negative are souls are not right.  We are called to praise God with all of our skill and artistry.

I love how Eugene Peterson writes this passage in the Message

Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising.

   Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!

      Play his praise on a grand piano!

   Invent your own new song to him;

      give him a trumpet fanfare.

It has been a joy for me to watch Rylan continue to gain skill as he learns to play the guitar thanks to Sharon and James Sabatini.  The song he is learning to play is “Come, Now Is The Time To Worship”.

·         It is new song

A new song is used in Scripture in relation to God’s deliverance.  We see this in Psalm 96 as well in relation to salvation = deliverance

It is also speak to the realization that His mercies are new every morning.  Lamentations 3:22,23

It is new.  How do you keep your worship of the LORD fresh?

·         It is confident! Shout for joy!!

2.       A living hope is built up through the confession of His Word v 4-19

God’s Word presents His perspective on reality.  It is true, right and reliable.  How quickly we appeal to our own wisdom or experience.

·         The LORD of creation

The affirmations of God’s sovereignty stand in stark contrast to those who continually seek out “the God particle”  In the latest issue of Macleans, the cover page is all about the Higgs boson particle = which has been compared to the moon landing as the scientific achievement of a generation.

I quote the article by Kate Lunau and Katie Engelhart

The Higgs particle tells us something very basic and fundamental about why we’re here. It is evidence of the Higgs field, an invisible force field that stretches across the universe, encasing us like a Jell-O mould, and giving mass to elementary particles within it: the stuff that makes up stars, planets, trees, buildings, animals and all of us. Without mass, electrons, protons and neutrons wouldn’t stick together to make atoms; atoms wouldn’t make molecules; none of us would exist.

But check out the discovery that David presents for us:

Genesis 1:3 It brings us back to Genesis and John 1 – by the word of the Lord.  That is the picture of Jesus Christ. We also see “by the breath of his mouth” and in the Hebrew the word breath also means Spirit so what we have in front of us is a beautiful picture of the Trinity active in creation.

·         The LORD of the nations

Arrogance and pride are the downfall of nations

Righteousness, truth and justice exalts a nation

Let me share with you about our forefathers who founded this country.  Sir William Tilley originally proposed the name, “The Dominion of Canada” in 1867 as he read Psalm 72:8 prior to a parliamentary meeting.  It would be there that the government decided the name of the new country and it would be formalized through confederation.

This Saturday we are going to the CRY which is not an event or a concert, but a movement to pray for righteousness and justice to reign in our land.  The really neat unplanned things about this event is that it takes place on  0728…Psalm 72:8. 

Faytene shares

We were in awe when we discovered that July 28th is T'isha b'Av (the 9th of Av) on the Jewish calendar. This is a day that is marked on the Jewish calendar to fast, pray and seek God as a nation.

3     A living hope is experienced through His unfailing love v18-22

God’s love for us is not based on our perfection, merit, or accomplishments. He’s not counting how many times we pray each day, how much money we give to charity, or how much time we spend volunteering. Nor is He keeping score of how many people we’ve won to Christ, how many services we attended, or how well-behaved we’ve been under pressure.

We often don’t have trouble receiving His unfailing love when we feel worthy; however, if we have messed up, we feel unworthy to be in His presence and yet that is the first place He wants us to run.

Beth Moore wrote in Breaking Free,

“Oh, God, awake our souls to see—You are what we want, not just what we need. Yes, our life’s protection, but also our heart’s affection. Yes, our soul’s salvation, but also our heart’s exhilaration. Unfailing love. A love that will not let me go!” 

It’s a love that pull me out of the muck, out of the ditch and also puts a undeniable love for others within me.  He renovates my mind and my heart and changes my perspective from one of judgment of others to compassion for others.

A beautiful friend of mine, Ruth Bailey, passed away on Friday. She was 82 and we had a special connection at Southside.  She was a die-hard Leafs fan, but she was also deeply committed to seeing her family trust Jesus.  It ran deep especially for her husband, Bill, who was held in bitterness for so many years due to the drowning and death of two of their children when they were under 10.  When I visited, he would show me pictures and the tears would flow.  A few years ago, Bill took sick and I had the opportunity to pray for healing and faith with him and he prayed to trust Christ.  He still had his challenges and then when Ruth had her first stroke in May, the family came together.  As I sat by Ruth’s bedside she took hold of my hand with the one side of her body that was still able and prayed for me.  She spoke of how this is all worth it so the family who gathered with her could hear her express her faith.  She would have another stroke and pass away, but Ruth was a woman who knew God’s unfailing love!

The Takeaway!

·         Waiting in hope for the LORD

Who are the upright?

The upright are those who look to the Lord as their hope and shield.  It means that we trust in Him.

Hope is the godly use of the imagination to believe God that he can take every situation, every life, every dream, our nation and weave His glorious purposes through it.  It is that confident and expectant!

My hope is built on nothing less

            than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

            I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

            but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain:

            On Christ the solid rock I stand,

            all other ground is sinking sand;

            all other ground is sinking sand.

2.         When Darkness veils his lovely face,

            I rest on his unchanging grace.

            In every high and stormy gale,

            my anchor holds within the veil.

            (Refrain)

3.         His oath, his covenant, his blood

            supports me in the whelming flood.

            When all around my soul gives way,

            he then is all my hope and stay.

            (Refrain)

4.         When he shall come with trumpet sound,

            O may I then in him be found!

            Dressed in his righteousness alone,

            faultless to stand before the throne! 

Hit The Road Jack!

Final thoughts as we finish up our ministry with NAIM…

Last Monday started slow for us as we had a small number of children to begin with for “Kids Club”.  We walked around the road by the houses and had children invite children.  Rylan led games and did a great job.  He would later make up a great obstacle course with Addi.  Sharon, Brynley and Eden were busy making a huge amount of rice krispies squares.  After club was over, Rylan and I went to play baseball with some of the kids and Jayden showed up…he woke up at 4pm. I invited the older children over to our place in the evening.  A number of kids were out after supper and there was a toy rocket launch that was gathering kids.  Addi and I went to the playground to play volleyball afterwards and there were about 8 youth hanging out there.  We played ‘elimination’ with them and they began asking questions about us.  We then decided to play their favorite game which was “cops and robbers”…basically a great big game of chase around the buildings here.  Of course I was a cop and I ran with everything I had to catch the youth.  They soon realized I wasn’t giving up…well, after a lot of sweat and jailbreaks, we invited the youth and kids in to our center and played dice and apples to apples with them while Jordan put on “Lord of the Rings”.  I was able to get to know Tiena, Miles and Cameron and Jasmine and Jayden came in as well and it was great to have them back in the fold again.  Jasmine and Cameron took NTs with them so pray that God captures their hearts as they read!  It was about 12:30am when everyone left only to have a knock on the door around 1am when Zeb got a bad cut under his eye playing “cops and robbers” again.   

Anyways, we are super excited about the breakthrough with the youth and looking forward to getting to know them better. 

Now there is one thing that you have to check for every night and that is ‘wood ticks’!  They basically can imbed themselves into you and suck your blood…not too fun.  We find them on the dogs always and sometimes, surprise, they crawl on you!  So, you have to check for them before bed and I found one last night that was on my thigh!   We also got out to the ‘Sweet Dreams’ motel this week for our weekly shower!  Sharon talked to the owner, Perry, who obliged us and just told us to tip his cleaning lady for the free showers so we could be all smelling good for the mosquitoes again!

The story on Wednesday was about sacrifice and how some brave Kokums (Cree grandmothers) sacrificed their lives so that the rest of their tribe including children could escape out to the Buffalo hunt with their fathers before Blackfoot warriors came and raided their camp only to find these women who they would kill.  It was a story of sacrifice and friendship that led to a talk on John 3:16 and John 15:13 where we read “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  It was there that 6 children prayed to receive Jesus including Camden, Leon, Tristin, Jayden, Rashawn and Laura.  They all received Gideons NT and we gave about 25 in total.  In the evening Sharon and I did check out Bingo and we were too late to play, but were there long enough to see that it is a big event twice a week here and sometimes there is midnight bingo as well!

On Thursday, I had Jordan tell the story of “Cutknife Hill” and he did a great job.  We would continue to have kids in throughout each evening coming over to play ‘dice’, ‘apples to apples’ and ‘mexican train’ which all became huge favorites to play!  It was that evening where we were invited over to spend time with a family in the church, Dickie and LeAnn.  They have a large farm with cattle and had us over for a BBQ.  We also had the opportunity to go horseback riding which was amazing.  Afterwards, Jordan and I tried out bull riding on a barrel!

Our final week at KAHK also turned into hockey week as we took the kids and youth to the school to play every day after our club.  It was here that we continued to bond with the older youth including Cameron, Dallas and Miles.  It turned out to be a great workout and we even had some parents check out what we were up to.   Also, not to be missed on the bench was Laura who was intently reading her Gideons NT and letting me know just how much she read!

As a number of the kids headed to the exhibition on Friday as part of a sponsored event by KAHK so we held off our final celebration till the next day.  On Saturday we pulled out all the stops as Brynley, Sharon and Addi went on a bakefest finishing all of our cookie and brownie mixes along with rice krispy squares.  We actually had kids turning down cookies by the end of our “Kids Club”.  They also received  jumbo cereal boxes full of popcorn to mow down on together.  Now, it was up to Jordan, Rylan and I to keep them entertained and we had a small slip and slide that turned into a mudslide down a hill in the playground along with water bombs and water balloon fights which were a hit.  Brynley took time to lead some of the games as well.  We did all their favorite games from ‘dragon tails’ to ‘electricity’ indoors and gathered them together for one final story and we had one of the mothers, Crystal, and her boyfriend join us and listen in as well.  We then managed to escape to a great local beach in the valley, Melville Beach on Crooked Lake, before returning for one last outing of hockey with the kids.  It would be there that Eden would pull off the shocker win in the shootout that we would finish off each night with. 

As we packed up Saturday night, we had some of the kids come back to say their goodbyes including Jasmine and Jayden which was really encouraging.  We have them as friends on facebook to keep in touch as well.

Sunday morning we finished packing up and headed out to Camp McKay where Jacob Bear church held an outdoor service and had lunch together with the people here.  We went fishing here and both Jordan and I caught ‘jacks’!  We hooked them too good in their gills that it took Damon (Dickie’s son) quite a while to set them free.  Jordan’s fish never survived so he will become supper.

In the afternoon we headed back out to Melville Beach, but not before stopping into Cowessess for ice-cream and chips that cost us $3.95 a bag!  After swimming and fun there, we went to Bird’s Point to enjoy dinner out at Chillys, a restaurant recommended to us and we were not disappointed as the food was amazing.  In the evening we had a campfire and then it was lights out.

Monday morning was time to relax and for Rylan and Addi, it was time to go fishing one last time and both of them caught ‘jackfish’ in Round Lake.  It was Addi’s first and she was thrilled until she realized she managed to hook her fish in the eye.  So, I had the fun of setting the one eyed jack free! The camp had great showers  was super and we were joined at lunch by some of the Jacob Bear families who were returning for their family camp.  Shortly after lunch we made our way back to Fort Qu’Appelle for our final debrief and shared stories and highlights of our time on the reserves over the past three weeks.  We also shared our own personal story and closed off the teaching session understanding the varying degrees of where people that we meet are on their journey toward Christ.

One of the leaders shared his own testimony of how after being here for a year had felt the frustration of wondering if he would ever bring someone to Christ.  It was at that point he really sensed God asking him, “When have I asked you to bring someone to me?  I want you to bring Christ to them.”

Early on before we began "kids club," one of the boys we met here named Landon asked Addi if our family was Christian.  She responded yes to which he replied, all the nice people that come here are Christians.  So, it is our hope that in the short three weeks here that we have continued to bring the presence of Jesus to the children and families here at KAHK and that the Spirit will continue to lead His children home.

a midway report by JACK from KAHK!

We arrived at Fort Qu’Apelle on Sunday June 17^th and spent our first three days in training at Echo Lake Bible Camp.  One of the first lessons that you learn in ministry to First Nations in “be flexible”.  It is similar to what we experienced in Ensenada, MX in that the event starts when everyone arrives! We also learned about how many people that we would meet would think more in concrete fashion than in abstract ways.  We also had great teaching on culture and conscience in decision making as well as learning how to communicate indirectly. It was while there that Rylan made a serious fishing catch!!

We arrived at the Kahkewistahaw Reserve on Wednesday June 20^th and after about an 1hr and ½ they found the key to the ‘Elder/Senior Center’ where we would be making our home for 3 weeks.  We were set up with air mattresses and NAIM (North American Indigenous Ministries) supplied us with all our canned goods, powdered milk and even  a recipe book to know how to make good meals even with SPAM!  Jordan was quite excited to try SPAM, but wasn’t too impressed.  We’ve been told it tastes better fried.  At first we didn’t have hot water, so time was taken to boil water for dishes etc… We also had only one bathroom complete with no shower to accommodate the 6 of us .We also had to invest in a Coleman cooler that plugs in to work as a mini-fridge for us so we are basically camping out here.

Sleeping IN!

So, we learned that the children aren’t shy and our first night we were greeted by 9 of them as they joined us for a movie night and Sharon took care of making great popcorn for all of us.  Our second day was “Aboriginal Celebration Day” here at Kahk and we watched the festivities that included everything from baseball to the “Strongest Man” competition and go-cart races.  They actually first had to make their go-carts before racing them and that was a timed competition.  So we watched as wheels fell off, a few accidents, but lots of laughs as the night finished with fireworks.

The first thing you are told to do when you come is just observe.  So, we toured through their local school built in 2004 which is very impressive complete with ‘smart boards’ in every classroom.  The entrance has a waterfall and the school goes from JK to grade 12.  12 students graduated this year and we were able to put up posters for our ‘Kids Club’ here.  They also had an outdoor hockey rink behind the school where we would be able to play ball hockey with the kids as well.  We also would just show up in a field to play baseball or at the playground to play volleyball.

On the weekend we took in our first “Pow Wow” at the Sakimay reserve.  There are about four smaller reserves all pretty closely connected here by roads that map out like a square.  At the event we saw authentic tee-pees as well as colourful headdresses and outfits as close to 100 people participated in the grand entry.  We listened as men right in front of us pounded hard on a group drum and cried out in their native Cree.  We also listened as the leaders spoke of reconciliation and their desire to rediscover their roots as well as work through the hurt caused by residential schools, the last of which closed in 1988.

On Sunday, we attended the local church on the reserve, Jacob Bear, and Sharon upon arrival was asked to play the piano and did a great job for no practice!  After the service we were asked to lead the following week.

Last Monday we began our ‘Kids Club’  and we have had as many as 22 participate during the week.  I am using ‘A Mighty Warrior’ curriculum that was given to me by NAIM which tells the stories from Plains Cree History and ties in stories from the Bible much like what Paul did in Athens in Acts 17.  It has been great to have the Bibles that Tom Ward gave me from the Gideons so all the children can be on the same page.  They have all been so excited to receive a ‘Bible’ for themselves…even children who can’t read. 

One thing that we have noticed is that not much happens around here till after lunch so our kids program runs in the afternoon and then by Friday our numbers had trailed off and it was disappointing, but then by 9pm, a number of them showed up and we ended up running “Night Club” as one of the kids called it. So, there we were, wrapping up club at 11pm and sending them off with their Bibles.   One child, Caydence, forgot his Bible, but at 11:10pm there was a knock at the door and he was back to pick it up!  We take time to ask for prayer requests as well and we hear stories of an older sister who died because of alcohol / suicide as well as for family members with broken bones.  A number of the kids tell us that they get yelled at constantly and we see it as well.  We also had one crazy thunderstorm here that blew out the windows of a number of homes so there were prayers for families and children who were cut by glass as well.

We also have had a number of children through our new home during the day as well starting with Eden who we met on the first day.  She often comes here hungry.  There are some children who do arrive early and have joined us for family devotions.  One day we had Zeb here and he was playing a video game.  I told him that we were going to read the Bible and pray together and he could join us if he wanted.  He didn’t even hesitate to put the game down!

We also have older kids who have come here and bake cookies or rice krispies squares with Sharon and they are learning to crack eggs for the first time!   Sharon, Bryn and Addi are braiding their hair and again for the first time. They are learning to play Mexican Train with us as well as Apples to Apples and we do have a lot of fun with them.  Continue to pray for Jasmine and Jayden in particular.

We also have prayed for the opportunity to meet adults and midweek, a guy by the name of Chris saw me outside and asked me if we were “religious” which lead to a conversation about the difference between religion and relationship and then he came into the center. We first talked about great fishing holes and he mapped out the best fishing spots for me. He noticed one of the New Testaments and asked me about 3:16…He saw that number a lot and wondered what that verse was.  It led to a conversation about favorite verses and a great opportunity to share the gospel.  He was thrilled to take a Bible with him as he left.

After 8 days here, we were invited over to Brian and Trish Fink’s, who serve with NAIM.  They lived just over an hour away and we got our first real showers, an amazing BBQ and an opportunity to do laundry.  While there I discovered that Jordan has some serious basketball talent as we played three on three.  Brian has two boys similar in age and we walked off the court with an 11-6 win…woo hoo!

We took a day off on Saturday to visit Yorkton and enjoy a waterpark there as well as the Yorkton Buffet!  Basically, you take gravel roads called ‘Grid Roads’ here and you head straight north until you hit pavement.  It was on that trip that our windshield got cracked and I noticed that my rear wiper may have just been used as a swing by one of the kids on the reserve so our van is a little worse for wear, but it was so worth it as we had a blast on the slides, rock climbing wall and wave pool!

Yesterday, we lead the service at Jacob Bear and it was a family affair as Sharon and the girls led in worship, Rylan and Jordan took up the offering which Rylan didn’t hesitate to count and I spoke on the Holy Spirit.  Afterwards, we were tipped off to a local beach in the valley, Bird’s Point for swimming and then we went from there to the Cowessess First Nations to take in the Canada Day festivities there for free burgers, watermelon, hot dogs by a campfire and really great ice cream.  We also participated in a friendship dance which basically is a big circle where you hold hands and shuffle around putting more weight on one of your feet as you listen to the drums and chanting.  They spared nothing for the fireworks and then we watched God’s light show light up the sky as the thunder and lightening came.

This week we are planning to take in Bingo which draws a lot of people together at the Complex across the road from us.  We will continue to run “Kids Club’ at whatever hour of the day and then we will participate in a Family Camp for a few days with Jacob Bear church before heading back to Fort Qu’Appelle for our final debriefing. 

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Jesus Celebration!

I am struck by the one clear picture that the Scriptures present when Jesus celebrated!  It was when he sent 72 of his followers out on a short term missions trip that took place in Luke 10. It was the goal of these followers of Jesus to travel in pairs and minister in the cities and countryside of Jordan and Judea and prepare Israel for the official offer of her King.  So, what was the offer?  Jesus was offering them the opportunity to become part of His kingdom, for Jesus to be their Lord!  This preparation would pave the way for His triumphal entry that was only a few months away.  Unfortunately, the plans for His spiritual kingship would not turn out for what many had thought He came to bring.  They were looking for a political deliverer and He came to inaugurate His rule and reign on the throne of our lives.

A Ministry of Multiplication

Luke 10:1,2

Jesus driving passion was to birth a movement of multiplication of followers who were experiencing Christ in them and taking it to their world.  Pete Grieg

He challenged his followers about the incredible opportunities that await those who look to bring people to Jesus.  There was no shortage of work to be done; however so few really take Jesus up on his offer as we see in his words, ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few’.

He then tells them to realize the kind of spiritual battle that they were in by saying they would be lambs among wolves.  Don’t be oblivious to what is awaiting you out there!

A Ministry of Simplicity

Luke 10:4-16

There was a real sense that they were to trust God for each day of ministry that the Lord put in front of them and no they weren’t going barefoot J.  Jesus didn’t want any ‘carry on baggage’ and he just told them simply to ‘travel light!’  To travel light means we rely more on the presence of God and the leading of the Spirit than we do on our methods and plans.

Our family leaves on a road trip this week to Saskatchewan where we will be living on a First Nations reserve for 3 weeks.  When you get 6 people in a van and their sleeping gear, there won’t be much room for anything else!  So, we will really are planning for a ministry of simplicity where it is our desire to bless and pray with the people we meet.

I think it is interesting to note here that they weren’t supposed to greet anyone along the road.  Jesus had given them a single minded focus for them to follow and they weren’t supposed to get distracted from that plan.

V5,6 - Bless Them - Pray for peace

Pray for peace for these houses and the people who live in them.

PEACE: "shalom" - absence of strife, "well being," "welfare" completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment. Safety, good relationships, prosperity

"Implicit in shalom is the idea of unimpaired relationships with others and fulfillment in one’s undertakings"

Pray these things for your neighbours.

If you don’t want to think too hard, just say, as Jesus tells his disciples

“Peace to this house!”

Or, memorize Numbers 6:24-26:

The Lord bless you and keep you

the Lord make his face to shine upon you

the Lord lift his continence upon you,

and give you peace

Bless you neighbour!

7-8 - fellowship -develop relationships.  Jesus challenged them to ‘remain there’

"Barbeque First!" Before you try to introduce someone to the Gospel, get to know them! Recreate with them, find areas of commonality, and do stuff together, eat together, have coffee! Get outside when your neighbour is outside.

As the weather gets warmer, people so down and are more open to renewing relationships with us. We need to take these opportunities to eat and drink with people who God may be leading us into relationship with.

Jesus spent more time building relationship - eating and drinking with people than anything else! We need to follow his lead! You may be able to work on only a few at a time

Spirituality is a very personal and intimate topic.  You would never just meet a person and then ask the how their marriage is going - any fights lately? Getting along with the in-laws? But we think it is completely appropriate to ask the same questions about someone’s relationship with God – we need to be sensitive to His leading.

It isn’t that we hide our faith from our neighbours so we can ambush them later, we need to be open about our relationship with Jesus, but we don’t invite them into our house only to trap them with a gospel presentation! We need to be open and honest and loving to our neighbours.

We as Christians need to be normal - and to do normal things with our neighbours to get to know them!

9a - heal the sick, the kingdom of God is near!

As we get to know our neighbours better, and as they come to trust us, and fell the blessing that we are sending their way, they may share some need in their life - whether it be an illness, a loss, something in their family or their job. And at that time the most compassionate thing that we can do for them is to pray for them. They may allow us to pray for them right there in person! But even if they don’t we can let them know that we will pray for them!

Our desire for our neighbours is that they will have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, they can’t do this unless we introduce them! The only way to introduce them is through prayer –  Prayer can really open up people’s minds and hearts and you can’t argue you with a prayer!

Ed Silvoso - "Prayer is the most tangible trace of eternity in the person’s heart" By praying for people in person, God touches their heart through us!

I had the opportunity to pray for my neighbour last week.  He is Sikh, but he quick to point out to me that he is not baptized Sikh so therefore no turban or beard for him.  He often just sits out on his porch and is always ready to have a conversation.  I was going to get my mail and with some encouragement from Sharon, I took the time to get to know him more.  He has gone through a lot of physical illness, unemployment and personal challenges, but he wants to go back to school to help others who are going through exactly what he is dealing with.  After giving me ‘cherry bombs,’ I just felt led to ask if I could pray for him and he was really open to it.  So I prayed, finished and then he exclaims, “AMEN”!  It was great.

One of our greatest fears about praying in person for our non-Christian friends is that God will not answer. "If we pray and God doesn’t answer, then they will have even more reason not to come to faith!"

But God seems to love answering prayers for those who have not yet come to faith. In fact Jesus expects people to need miracles in their lives so that they will believe in him.

Even if God does not perform a miracle through our prayers, people are usually touched deeply that we would care for them enough to pray for them.

Prayer touches the hearts of people - all the arguments in the world may not touch a person’s heart, but personal prayer will.

When we pray for people, the first thing that we should do is to invite the Holy Spirit to come and touch them.  The Holy Spirit can touch them and when He does, they can  really  experience the presence of God.

We can debate and talk with people all we want.  Here’s thing thing - you cannot argue them into that type of experience.  If they are open, God can meet them profoundly.

This is why we need to be connected to God ourselves –we can have a thousand great words for a person , but if God isn’t in it,  they will just brush off the person like water off a duck’s back.

We can also read the signs and if their eyes are glazing over as we speak, then we are probably speaking too much!  God knows the words, and the actions for that matter  that will go to someone’s heart.

Sharing our faith is about listening to see where people are at first before we open our mouth, but it is also about listening to God for them, to hear what he is saying to them.

9b - preach the Gospel

The greatest celebration in heaven

Luke 15:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Most of us are not called to preach to a whole city or towns; however, it is so important to remember the spiritual principle that stays the same: "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me." (Luke 10:16.)

A Ministry that makes Jesus full of joy! 

Luke 10:17-23

3x when Jesus wept  - Lazarus death, over Jerusalem and in the garden

1x when Jesus was filled with joy – Luke 10:21 it was after the 72 returned and experienced the power and presence of Jesus as they ministered. 

Just as Jesus 2000 years ago spent His time at parties, engaging with the disreputable and apparently non-religious, so today He seems surprisingly comfortable among the crowd of partygoers, the non-religious pilgrims of our time. Perhaps He longs that we would vacate our buildings from time to time, that we would turn our temples into tabernacles, that we would become like Him, the friend of sinners  (and wear it as a badge of honor)  We are the light of the world, but no one wants to stare at the bulb.  We are the salt of the earth, but a whole plate of the stuff will make you sick.  The people of God are called to scatter and mix, to mingle and move, to influence from a position of weakness, like a small child in a large family, like yeast in a loaf, like a mustard seed beneath a pavement. 

Pete Grieg in Red Moon Rising

We are called to be a true reflection of His glory.

Remember!

He is able to do more than you ask or imagine!

According to the power that is at work within you

To Him be the glory in the church!!

What is the dream that God has placed in your heart for His kingdom?  Don’t let it die, pursue it with all your heart!

God is continually doing a new thing! He loves to surprise us and work through us.  He provides us with  incredible opportunities and challenges us to break new ground!  Hosea 10:12  “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”  It was a promise God had given his people, but the sad reality was that they chose to depend on their own strength. 

My prayer is that God will use us to break new ground as we step out in faith and do a new thing.  Pray, seek the Lord and ask that He will shower His righteousness on us.  He is doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:19). We need to remember that the message of love, life, hope and forgiveness in Jesus will never change, but the way that we reach people will constantly change.