from the firing line…

I have been blessed by a little volume by J.R. Miller. I trust it will be a blessing to you as well. Here is his devotional for February 5^th.

“Be thou there until I bring thee word.” Matthew 2:13

All our movements should be under the direction of God. In very olden times God guided his people by a pillar of fire and cloud, which lifted and moved when they were to move, showing them the way, and which rested and settled down when they were to halt. In these days of so much fuller revelation there is no need for any such visible token of guidance, yet the guidance is no less real and no less unmistakable.

It was an angel that brought to Joseph the bidding to flee into Egypt. Angels do not now appear to our eyes; but who will say that they do not whisper in our ears many a suggestion which we supposed to come from our own hearts? At least we know that in some way God will always tell us what to do; and if only we have ears to hear we shall never fail of guidance. We should always wait for God’s bidding before taking any step. Especially in times of danger, when we are moving under his guidance should we wait and not move until he brings us word.

It ought to give us great comfort and a wonderful sense of safety to know that God is caring for us so faithfully. Some people laugh at the simple faith of childlike believers in God, and say that it is all fancy that there is no one in heaven taking care of us. But we need not be worried by such sceptical ones. There is a God in heaven, and he is our Father. He never sleeps. He has charge of all the affairs of this universe, and is always “at the helm.” This should give us all confidence. Our whole duty is to be ready always to obey. Whenever the voice comes bidding us arise and depart, there is some reason for it, and we should not hesitate to obey. Wherever we are sent we should quietly stay till again God sends to call us away. The place of duty is always the place of safety, and we should never move until God brings us word.

Well, here we sit on January 1^st, 2010 – a new year and a new decade await us like fresh snow untraveled or marred. I love the start of a new year – getting a new calendar, placing the family birthdays, new scheduled events and wondering what unexpected things the next months hold in store if the Lord delays His coming yet another year.

It is a great blessing to face each year, not with a sense of dread, but of hope and the certain knowledge that whatever comes my way, God will still be God and will remain in my heart and at my side to see me through. I face the year with new dreams and aspirations, with new goals and yes, a few “resolutions,” too. I know I will need God’s help to reach those goals, but I also need a good dose of self-discipline and determination.

My greatest desire is to be used of God to help someone in their walk with the Lord, to point the lost to the Saviour, and to become more like Him in my attitude, holiness, and day to day life. I desire to be a better husband & father, to be more faithful to my Lord, to love others in a greater way. Big dreams, high hopes, but with God’s help – nothing is impossible.

As you ponder the road ahead, this new year of 2010, consider carefully your stewardship of the life entrusted to you by the Lord. With His help and an abundance of His grace, we can make a difference in our life and the lives of those around us. May God bless you as you seek to follow Him this year.

Micah 7:7
⁷ Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

from the firing line…

Pastor Gordon Conner

That is a common year-end saying and a suitable sentiment for forward thinking and forward looking people. I would surmise that most of us have some memory from the last twelve months that we are ready to toss out with the close of 2009. And it is good to move on from bad events, sad experiences, and negative thinking – unless there was a lesson to be learned in them.

Life is not always easy, the roads we travel not always smooth, but for the child of God – even the toughest of times have purpose and reason behind them. There is nothing that can come into my life or yours without the “permitting” hand of God. So when I sigh and mutter, “I am sure glad that’s over.” Maybe I would do well to reflect on the lessons God had for me in those times of trial, testing, or unpleasantness. Did the trials serve as God’s chastening? Was I brought into a closer relationship with the Lord? did my faith fail or grow stronger? Did the Lord desert me? God never left my side and here I am – a survivor of 2009. As someone once said many years ago, “The trials of life are meant to make us better, not bitter.”

So as we close out another year, we may be ready to let it all go… and that is okay. God’s mercies are new every morning, and we then, can look forward with fresh anticipation to the new year with all it holds in store for us. It is a fine balance we should embrace – learning from the tough times, but also not allowing them to rob us of a fresh future in 2010.

Philippians 3:13-14
¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This was sent to me and I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy!

by Pastor Al Hughes

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones

and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems

logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second.

This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has

1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney,

fill the stocking, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever

snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move

on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the

earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations

we will accept), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total

trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us do at least

once every 31 hours, plus feeding, etc.

That means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3000 times

the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on

earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second – a

conventional reindeer can run, at tops 25-30 miles per hour.

The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming each child

gets nothing more than a medium sized LEGO set (2 Ibs), the sleigh is carrying

321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight.

On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting

the “flying reindeer” can pull TEN TIMES that normal amount, we cannot do the job

with eight, or even nine-we need 214,200 reindeer. This increased the payload, not

even counting the weight of the sleigh, to 353,430 tons. Again for comparison, this

is four times the weight of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance.

This will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the

earth’s atmosphere. The lead pair will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy

per second, each. In short, they will burst into flames almost instantaneously,

exposing the reindeer behind them, and creating a deafening sonic boom in their

wake.

The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second.

Santa meanwhile, will be subject to centrifugal forces of 17,500.06 times greater

than gravity. A 250 Ib. Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to

the back of the sleigh by a 4,315,015 pound force.

In conclusion, if Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he is now dead.

I have a small red-covered book written by J.R. Miller entitled Come Ye Apart. It is a little daily devotional book first published in 1890. I have enjoyed reading it from time to time, and finding important, helpful truth. I was looking at the preface the other day and was struck by the timeliness of his thoughts. I trust they will speak to your heart as they did mine.

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“Life is hard for most of us; at least, it is hard to live nobly, grandly, purely, Christianly. We can do so only by getting a great deal of help from Christ. We need, therefore, daily to heed His invitation, “Come ye apart.” In communion with Him we shall receive strength and blessing to enable us to fulfil our mission of obedience and ministry in His name. We shall rob ourselves, therefore, of Divine anointing, of Divine help if we do not make room in our busiest days for quiet retreats from noise and strife – apart with Christ, where we may sit at His feet to hear His words… to absorb His spirit, for the refreshing and transforming of our own lives.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May we each take that much needed time today – to come apart and be with Christ.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. John 12:24-25

We have our choice. We may live for self, take good care of our lives, not exposing them to danger, not making sacrifices, looking out for our own interests, and we may prosper in the world. People will commend our good sense and congratulate us on our success. We may reach old age healthy and well preserved, and greatly enjoy our accumulated honours and possessions. This is one way of living. There seems to be something pleasant about such a life, but really it is only the grain of wheat preserved in the barn and kept from falling into the ground. The life abides alone, well enough kept, perhaps, but with no increase. It has been no blessing in the world. It has done nothing for the glory of God. It has fed no hunger, shared no good news, it has won no reward. That is the whole outcome of selfishness. He that loveth his life, shall lose it.

The other way is to forget self; not to think of, nor care for one’s own life, but to throw it away in obedience to God and in unselfish service. People will say you are foolish to waste your life, to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others in Christ’s cause. But was the Lord Jesus foolish when He went to the cross? Let those of us who are redeemed be the answer. Were the early church martyrs foolish when they stood boldly for the truth – were such lives wasted and thrown away? Are missionaries who leave family and home and travel to distant lands foolish in their cause? Is any life that is willingly given to fall into the ground and die a wasted and worthless life?

The way to make nothing of our lives is to be very careful with them. The way to make our lives eternal successes is to do with them, just what the Lord Jesus did with His.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.” – copied

Honestly, I can’t remember where I found this article, but I won’t let that ruin my attitude! I trust this will encourage you and help you to make the most of your day – for good and for God!

Pastor Gordon Conner

As I look out my cabin window, I see children sitting by themselves or in small groups with their counsellors, having a bit of quiet time with the Lord. “God and me” time we call it. Our desire is that children begin developing a habit of some daily time with God each and every day of their lives. Can there be anything more important than that? It is great to see them and to experience the bit of quiet that exists across the camp ground.

Today is Wednesday, the mid-point of our camp week and always a time for mixed feelings. The week is passing fast, but is it fast enough… or maybe too fast? The Lord has been gracious to us in giving us wonderful weather, a great volunteer staff, good preaching, sweet spirits and for the most part, good kids. Junior Week at camp is always a challenge. Our desire is to see God work in their hearts, that they would come to know Christ, and if already saved, would make some important decisions that will impact their lives – not only down the road, but here and now.

Our preacher this week, Pastor Shawn Beliveau, is doing a great job of communicating with these kids and we are thankful for his preparation and energetic spirit. However, it is plain that the devil is also at work, trying his best to keep God’s truth from entering into young hearts and minds. I wonder if we fully comprehend the battle ground that exists for our children. A child’s life is worth so much to the Lord. He said, Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Mark 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me:

In ministry, it is easy to slip away from this truth. Yet, children are the most open of all harvest fields and a child who comes to know Christ has a lifetime – a full lifetime to live for the Lord and make a difference in a far greater way. I love camp – as tiring as it is at times. I can’t think of a better way to invest my life than in giving to minister to these precious souls for whom Christ died.

I sit on a plane bound for another city. My journey is not a planned one, nor is it one I really want to make. I go because of people – people that I love who are hurting terribly at this time. I don’t know that I can do or say anything at this moment that can alleviate their pain, but I want them to somehow know that I care for them. The difficult circumstances are not because of their doing, nor is it something that they could have somehow prevented. But it happened nonetheless and I am on my way to sit at their side and grieve with them at what I know will be a pain-filled, sorrowful funeral.

Death is never easy, even after a long and blessed life. It is more difficult when it comes in the prime of life, and oh, how so terribly difficult when the life is ended at one’s own hand. The news came by phone, the words shocking and stunning. I walked around the rest of an entire day – in a daze, feeling as if someone had kicked me in the chest. And I am only remotely connected – yes, it was a friend, a man I admired and highly respected, but I am not family, not a follower.

For those so close and so devastated by this uncaring act, and to an extent for myself, I ask: Where is God in all this? I have to answer: Where He has always been – close, ever present and caring deeply for His children. I don’t understand how this could ever happen, but God does. He saw every move away from Him – no matter how slight and unseen by anyone else. God looks at the heart and He knows the thoughts and intentions of us all. I am sure it will be many days, months, even years, that I will wrestle with the reality of all this. I fully expect that as long as I walk the path of this earth, I will not comprehend the truth of it all.

Except this, that God is here with us – we are not alone. In the most despairing and difficult of days, when the people of this earth fail us, disappoint us, even make us angry, God ever remains faithful and true. I am so glad for His Word and His promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…”

Tomorrow, I will make this same long journey in the direction of home. I will welcome the warm hugs of my wife and children, I know I will need those hugs of reassurance and love. Then next day, I will make my way to the pulpit I am blessed to stand behind each week and I will open God’s Word and try to make sense of this all to people who also will be confused and wondering. “Lord, help me to point us all to Thee and Your presence in the storms and trials of life.”

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Rejoice in the Lord! what a great thought. This may take a discipline of mind to accomplish, but once we understand its principle, it can do so very much to help us protect our thoughts. No matter how dark the circumstance, we as God’s children and find reason to rejoice in Him. William Jowett graphically illustrates this in the following: (from another time and era)

“Christian joy is a mood independent of our immediate circumstances. If it were dependent on our surroundings, then, indeed, it would be as uncertain as an unprotected candle burning on a gusty night. One moment the candle burns clear and steady, the next moment the blaze leaps to the very edge of the wick, and affords little or no light. But Christian joy has no relationship to the transient setting of the life, and therefore it is not the victim of the passing day. At one time my conditions arrange themselves like a sunny day in June; a little later they rearrange themselves like a gloomy day in November. One day I am at the wedding; the next day I stand by an open grave…Yes, the days are as changeable as the weather, and yet the Christian joy can be persistent. Where lies the secret of its glorious persistency? Here is the secret. ‘Lo! I am with you always.’ In all the changing days, ‘He changeth not, neither is weary.’”

May we remember the constant love and care of God to help us remain stedfast in our spirit and joy.

Pastor Conner