Pressing On!

 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on 

to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider 

myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and 

straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which 

God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 3:12-14 

One of my favourite movies is called, "A Knights Tale".  One particular scene has the main characters travelling down a lonely road, when they come upon Geoffrey Chaucer walking past them.  Chaucer is not wearing any clothes* because he has lost them all gambling. They ask him what he is doing and he responds that he is "trudging".  They don't seem to understand what he is saying so he clarifies it for them by defining it, "To trudge:  the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to soldier on."

 Have you ever had a day you were trudging through?  I know I have. Sometimes life can be difficult and hard.  There are certain circumstances that you hope when you wake up the next morning they won't be there. It could be a health issue, a loss, or a difficult life situation, but most times although we want them to go away, they remain.  

I think the Apostle Paul did as well, except he didn't the trudge days, he would have called them "Pressing On" days.  They are similar, but with a couple marked differences.  Paul was the one who wrote the above words in Philippians, and from what I have read about him, his "pressing on" days they were pretty extreme.  Listen to what he says in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches."  

  If I was him, I  would have been picking up my toys and going home.  Paul was not merely trudging or soldiering on, he was determining to press on.  I have often thought if there was a person I would like to interview or chat with it would be Paul.  I'd want to talk to him about his hardships and whether it ever crossed his mind to just pack it in.  In some regards, these verses in Philippians are that interview. I want to take a little bit of literary license and do that interview.

John: I'm so please to be speaking to the Apostle Paul today.  A man who formally persecuted the church, who miraculously came to faith and believe in Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and now is the father of missions to the Gentiles in the known world.  It's great to have you with us.

Paul:  Thanks for having me, we've been praying that God would give us some open doors for Christ's message.

John: I thought we'd talk a little bit today about some of the difficulties you have endured.  I know if I would have went though any of the stuff you have gone through I would have packed it in.  How do you do it?

Paul:  First, it's not me at all, I can only do anything because of Christ's strength working through me. Sometimes people look at me and think because of all the stuff I've been through that I am somehow a Super Follower of Christ.  Last time I checked I don't have an "S" on my chest.  I am on a journey just like them.  I am not perfect, I have not arrived.  Everyday I get up and I put my cloak on like everyone else.  Everyday is a new day, but the great thing is that God's grace is sufficient for me and you.

John:  But it must be hard, when you have run into so many difficulties...

Paul:  Of course it is, There were some circumstances that I thought this is more than I can handle.  My colleagues and I were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  In our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened for a specific reason, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God.

John:  So instead of caving in, you learned to depend on God?

Paul: I learned this lesson a long time ago, when I am at the end of my strength and resources, that's when God shows up in power.  When I am weak - then He is strong.  I'm not going to lie to you, I have some really good ministry skills.  God has equipped me with lots of great tools and competencies in order to do what I do, but I consider all that stuff garbage in comparison to knowing Christ and having his power.

John: So, what's your word to people who are at the end of their resources?

Paul: Press on!  Keep pressing on!  You will reap a harvest if you don't give up.  Your work and your labour is not in vain, but you have to keep pressing on.  You will truly be amazed at what is available to you if you just keep straining ahead.  I have found joy unspeakable, peace that passes understanding, sufficient grace, strength in time of need, a God who is faithful and so much more.

John: What would be your final words of advice?

Paul:  I always love using the imagery of athletics, because most of us can relate to it.  In order to win in sport it takes incredible focus. Training can be arduous and it takes discipline,  and when you don't feel like doing it, do it any way. Press on!  In life and ministry I want to run to win and there are many days you just want to give up.  Don't!  There is incredible power in focus.  Fix your gaze on Jesus and this one thing you need to do - forget what is behind and strain ahead.  Press on!

I need to be reminded of this daily.  I love the words of Bob Dylan's song "Pressing On" off of his "Saved" album.  I'm not sure if he is still following the words of his song, but I know I want to.

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind
Say, "Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign"
What kind of sign they need, when it all comes from within
When what's lost has been found , what's to come has already been?

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Shake the dust off of your feet, don't look back
Nothing can hold you down, nothing that you lack
Temptations not an easy thing, Adam given the devil reign
Because he sinned I got no choice, it runs in my vein.

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Pastor John

* Note: in this scene of the movie there is some nudity, so viewer discretion advised.

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Jesus, Love and Social Media

Social Media and the Internet in general is an interesting place.  We have access to a plethora of  information.  We also have available to us more opinions on that information than we know what to do with. Particularly Social Media gives everyone a soapbox.  Currently, I am trying to establish my own little soapbox through this blog.  I am trying to guard it from becoming a place where I spew venom and hate.  It is easy to focus on the negative.  I had this epiphany moment the other day.  I was picking up a wet towel off the floor, that one of my teenagers had left stuffed behind the door in the bathroom.  I usually yell at whoever I think is the guilty party and tell them to pick it up and couple it with the phrase that they never pick up after themselves.  Sometimes, they blame me for their lack of follow through.  The will say something like, "I hung it up yesterday and you never noticed." And so they conclude why bother.  As I hung up the towel, I thought to myself, "why don't I notice good behaviour more?" I concluded that good behaviour is harder to notice, because for the most part we think it should be the norm.  The negative, in contrast, screams out for attention.  It is much easier to point out the negative than it is to lovingly respond to a situation.

  It is easy to be a hater.  There is lots in our society to hate and be mad at.  Social Media gives you an opportunity to express your opinion forcefully to anyone and everyone who will listen.  You can do it very simply as well, for the most part you don't even have to think.  I find someone else, who has expressed my opinion and I share it,  Click, click and it's done. You can spout off opinions on current movies, you can vilify non-vaccinators, you can say we need to wipe out the infidels before they wipe us out, and on and on.  You may even think that your opinion is right and you might be.  The problem is that even truth, if it is not expressed within the context of love can be hurtful, divisive and judgemental.  

  There were a couple groups of people in scripture deeply committed to discovering and living out truth.  They were the teacher's of the law (Jewish) and Pharisees.  They were both groups that very serious about sin and holiness, but Jesus recognized their potential to become haters.  John chapter 8, in the Bible, tells of an interaction that Jesus has with them.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 
11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

  In this passage of scripture Jesus interacting with some haters.  They wouldn't have considered themselves to be such.  They would have thought themselves to be concerned about the well-being of society.  Whatever the case, the mob had formed, and they had all grabbed their stones.  I always think it is funny that they only bring one individual to Jesus for the sin of adultery, a sin you can't commit by yourself,  but that is a story for another day. From a scriptural standpoint, the crowd is right.  Adultery is a sin, punishable by death by stoning; that was the truth.  So, they  had picked up there stones of  judgement and were ready to let them fly.  They are just waiting for the word, but Jesus is interested in something different, something deeper.  He desires to express love in this instance. He sees what is truly important and valuable.

  In a moment of sheer brilliance, he shifts the crowds focus away from the woman and the crime, to their own behaviour and personal responsibility.    He tells the crowd, after doodling in the sand, that if they have no sin they can throw the stones.  Thankfully they all realized , that no one then has the right to throw a rock.  Jesus then steps in and helps minister to a person, a real human being with real feelings ,emotions and needs.

 Social media posts can be like rocks.  They can be full of judgement, often times mixed with hate and/or indifference.  The individuals who receive these posts are real people, with real needs.  Jesus taught that are guiding principle was to be love.  Our words and actions are to be loving.  So much so, that the world should know that we are followers of Jesus, by our love for one another.

So before you post that article, before you share that opinion or before you express that thought, ask yourself this question is that a stone in your hand or is that love in your heart?

   

I am Learning

I have often said, "I wish I knew as much as I thought I did when I was 19".  If we were to go back and time and meet with that younger version of me.  He would probably tell you that the 50 year old version of himself,  will be fully mature, a spiritual giant, and a world changer.  I think the other thing he would have said is that he would have arrived.  He was wrong.

  The more I moved along the spiritual journey,  the more I realized how much further I had to go.  I had not arrived.  In many regards the destination seemed a greater distance away.  It was like someone had flipped the telescope and everything seemed a little more out of reach.

  A number of years ago I read Larry Crabb's book, Inside Out.  I don't remember much about the book except for one idea.  He expressed the idea that spiritual maturity is not so much about arriving at a destination, but about the process or the journey.  His key idea, or at least it was to me, was that along the path of maturity is often just a deeper awareness of how much further you need to go.

As we have gone through this series of messages on the Way of Jesus, all the statements have an "ing" word in them like - following, being, learning, helping and participating.  It's interesting to note that three of the seven statements have the word learning.  We are to be life-long learners.

Charles Swindoll tells a story of being picked up at the airport on one of his many speaking engagements.  His driver that day was an older man that he had known for years. Chuck was making pleasantries and asked the man how he was doing.  He was expecting some of the typical answers that people give like: "I'm fine, how about you?" or "Good, thanks for asking".  But the elderly man's response surprised him, it was, "I'm learning and growing".

I like that.  It serves as a reminder to  me that as I am following Jesus and I am being sent to bless others, I am always learning.  Learning to be like Jesus.  Every morning when I wake up, class starts again, Jesus and His word are my teachers, The classroom is life, and the curriculum he uses is wide an expansive.  Jesus sends me lessons every day through people, and circumstances. If you were to ask me how I'm doing, the answer is "I am learning and growing."

Crashing Reality

I waited a week to write this post.  I wanted to be in a better frame of mind.  If I would have written it last week it would have been too raw and harsh.  Even as I reflect on last week, I can feel a heaviness returning to my chest. I have to breath more deeply to try and lift the weight, as if filling my lungs with air will some how relieve the pressure.  It doesn't.

  I left my office last Tuesday after writing my blog post and I know this is going to sound vain, but I thought it was pretty motivational.  I was excited about being a follower of Jesus and I was ready to follow Him (no turning back, no turning back).  Then I got home.  The sight of my garbage cans at the end of the driveway, sent a twinge of resentment in to my stomach.  I thought to myself, "Why can't anyone else bring the garbage cans in?"  As I dragged the garbage cans in, I started having a bad conversation with myself, then I walked in the door.  I was met with a horrible smell.  The unmistakable stench of popcorn that has been burnt in the microwave.  I know this smell well.  Once when the kids were younger we had left our kids with a babysitter and one of them had put a bag of popcorn in the microwave for 10 minutes.  By the time the babysitter discovered it, the smoke alarms had gone off and the bag had burst into flames.  I had to replace that microwave because the smell wouldn't go away.  It smelled similar to that time.

  On top of that, it was in the middle of exams, so all the kids were home and they have friends over.  The house is more of a disaster than normal.  I trip over all the coats, shoes and backpacks at the door.  I make my way to the kitchen, because I have my hands full of groceries so I can make supper that night.  I can't set them on the counter because it is completely covered in dirty dishes.  I start to get supper prepared and I also try and get some Christmas decorations that are in Rubbermaid bins out to the shed.  It is near the end of January and I still don't have my Christmas stuff away.  The kids watch me put the decorations away.  No one offers to help.  I am feeling very frustrated, angry and a general sense of pity for myself.  I  then go pick up my wife from work, while supper simmers on the stove.

  We come home and start to have supper.  One of the kids doesn't like what I've made and asks if there is something else they can eat.  I'm almost ready to pop and then, over dinner a huge argument breaks out.  Voices are raised.  Inappropriate words are spoken.  I want to run.

After supper as I reflect with a cup of coffee, I think about my now almost forgotten desire to follow Jesus.  Was it only 3 hours ago when I had so passionately committed myself to following Him?  I thought to myself, "What happened?"  I knew right away - life happened.  I call them "Crashing Realities". I think it's a term I came up with.  So, I guess I can define it the way I want.  A crashing reality is when your expectations come face to face with your reality. I found this picture which I think Canadians will understand that describes the dilemma so well.

I had a certain expectation of what following Jesus was going to be like and my reality seemed to be nothing like the image I had at all.  I'd like to tell you that at that moment I pulled out of it, I renewed my focus and all was good.  It wasn't.  I was depressed for the rest of the night.  It took me a couple of days to get back to some sense of normalcy.

  I am learning some things about following Jesus.  One of the key pieces is that it has to be real.  The anvil on which we will be working this stuff, is often in the not-so-pretty parts of our lives.  My temptation will be to quit, to run, to get depressed or overwhelmed.  At that point I need to remember  that, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3

God has given me the power to follow Him, even in the difficult times.  You may think my problems are petty and insignificant in comparison to yours and you are probably right.  Many people are walking through some storms that I can't even begin to fathom how hard it must be for you.  But the principle stays the same, no matter the magnitude of your difficulty.  God will help you to follow him, even in the hardest moments you encounter, in your "crashing realities."

  Maybe that's the point.  If we only follow Jesus when it is easy, convenient and when the sailing is smooth, is that really following Jesus at all?

 

Discover your Mission Now

I mentioned in my message a resource that would expand the principles that we learned on Sunday.  It is called "Discover Your Mission Now" by David Ferguson. It has a lot of helpful information in order to help us to BLESS those in our lives and community.

Here is the link to the reource

http://www.emcc.ca/upload/files/1/docs/site1/Event%20Documents/Discover%20Your%20Mission_V3.pdf