To those who read my blog,
So, I have a few ideas of what I want to write about in the next week or so, but the one main thing I want to talk about requires me to finish a book before actually talking about it (so that I can be sure I am not misquoting someone).
The thing I want to talk about right now is the importance of the meaning of words, specifically the word 'Christmas'.
Last year, I read a note posted on facebook from one of my friends. Here is the note:
* 'Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday !*
*I do not in anyway wish to force people into what to believe, I've reached a point where I'll settle with just equal rights! I want the right to say *Merry Christmas* just like those who say *happy Ramadan* or *Happy Quanza! Happy Halloween! Happy Hannakuh! Celebrate the Festival of Lights!* and more. Let's admit it. This note isn't gonna turn the heads of millions, nor will saying *Merry Christmas* shock someone beyond recovery scarring them for the rest of their lives. So let's just stop with the news articals, the school/workplace rules, and whatever else may be out there. Afterall, how are we promoting diversity by banning a holiday or belief? Merry Christmas all!*
Now what is wrong with this note? I mean, what’s wrong with wanting to say ‘Merry Christmas’ instead of ‘Happy Holiday’? Nothing. But here is where I get a little worried. The third and fourth line in read, “Not a Christian was praying, nor taking a stand”? That’s kind of arrogant, don’t you think? I mean, I’m praying. I pray every day! Also, what do we need to take a stand for? What is happening to us that we need to take a stand?
The note ends off with talking about equal treatment, and although I agree with equal treatment... shouldn’t we ask for that when it really matters? I mean, not being allowed to say ‘Merry Christmas’ is kind of lame (though in a few moments, I will argue that it’s not lame at all, and actually should be practiced more often) but shouldn’t equal rights be saved for when I am applying for a job and I don’t get one because I’m a Christian? I have no idea when that will ever come about and I doubt Canada will ever get to that point, but shouldn’t that be the point where I say, “Alright, I need to be treated like everyone else. Please don’t just not hire me because I am a Christian”. Why do we need to say these words to others around us?
Now here is my main problem with Christians wanting to say ‘Merry Christmas’. Even going to the extent to say that they need to say those words: in North America WE DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS! I mean, sure, we celebrate a holiday on the 25th of December, and some people call it Christmas, but North America on a whole does not celebrate the holiday known as Christmas.
Here is what Christmas is. It is the mass of Christ. A mass is a type of service held within the Church. So the Christ-mass is a service celebrating Christ, and more specifically, the birth of Christ.
I know, I know. Most of us Christians did in fact go to a Christmas service of some sort that celebrated the birth of Christ. That wasn’t the focal point though of the holidays. No the focus is gift giving. I use the word ‘gift’ loosely, because it’s not really ‘gift giving’. A gift is something you give without expecting any return. No, what we really did was do some fancy trading. Everyone made sure to give gifts to all their friends and in return, from all our friends we received gifts usually of equal value. In fact, sometimes we put a price cap on these gifts. “Ok, guys, we can only spend fifty dollars on one another. Nothing more, nothing less”. Why don’t both of us keep the fifty dollars and go get something we really want/need?
In our society, we spend a lot of energy trying to get the right gifts. Christmas is focussed then not around Christ’s birth, but fancy trading. Now I seem to remember that the Bible speaks out against materialism, and putting things before God. Well, when we take the focus off of Christ, and put it on gift-giving, then all of a sudden we are putting material objects before Christ.
To go further with this, what is the big event? Christmas dinner. We look forward to it. The fat bird, the amazing stuffing, the cranberry sauce, I love every moment of that food on my tongue. We eat until we are filled beyond our capacity and then we eat some more. Would you care to know what this is? I’s called gluttony! It is one of the biggest sins everyone (Christian and non-Christian alike) partake in here in North America.
So here it is. This is what Christmas has become. It is now a materialistic focussed holiday that concludes with gluttony. Is that really how Christ wants us to honour His birth? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all of those parts of Christmas (though the gift-giving is a bit I am not overly thrilled about) but I don’t want to call this Christmas. It’s not. It is not Christmas. Christmas is remembering that there was a time when we had to wait for the messiah, the Christ, to come down. Christmas is a time when we celebrate the fullness of God in the weakest of forms (a baby). Christmas is a time when we acknowledge that the messiah is coming back at some point. It is not a time to give into materialism and gluttony. So why do we fight so hard to say something that is incorrect to say?
Speaking of fighting, this brings up something ironic. Don’t you find it funny that one of the things Jesus did by coming into this world was bring peace, and yet we disturb the peace by raising our voices and trying to get people to say a silly little saying that has none of the original meaning anymore? Why would we go against what Christ wants by fighting for something that’s just not worth it?
I am sorry, but this is not the hill we as Christians should die on. There are way more important issues at hand.
-Joshua
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
I Am A Pastor
To those who read my blog,
About a week or two ago, I was in my room, writing a sermon for Church. Correction, I was TRYING to write a sermon for Church. It was not going too well. I was stressed out all day and I was focussing on a few of the more embarrassing moments from the day. There was also exams, papers, and personal things on my mind. I couldn’t get past this that easily at all. Luckily, I had Josh Jacobs there. He came in and basically told me the hard truth that I needed to hear: beating down on yourself was not going to solve anything.
He then said something quite interesting. He told me that I wasn’t my mistakes but that I was a pastor. It never really occurred to me in the past, but my identity is wrapped up in this calling known as pastor. I am not training to be a pastor, I am not hoping to be a pastor one day. I am a pastor. Right here, right now, and even before this. No matter what happens in the future, no matter what job I take to pay the bills, I am a pastor.
This is not to say that I am not my own person and that I have no personality. It is to say that because of my life experiences and the calling that I chose to accept, I have been formed into this type of person called ‘pastor’ and there is no way for me to avoid it. I am a pastor. That is where my identity is anchored.
Now saying this, I am also saying that ‘pastor’ is not a professional choice. It is a lifestyle choice. It is the choice to go to the hospital at 1am to visit a dying man. It is the choice to go see a person in jail even if you detest what they did to deserve that. It is the choice to sacrifice every moment of your life to the glory of God (sometimes that does mean honouring your family and spending time with them. One cannot be a pastor and ditch those who are closest to him).
Now to define what a pastor is exactly would be a whole blog post on its own. If I were to skim it down, it would be something like a person whose deepest desire is to see the Church grow and helps lead it in that direction. There’s a lot more to it than that but I suppose as a simple explanation, it will do.
What does this mean for my life? Well, if I am bound to this identity and if it is bound to me, then it means I have to be careful about who I let into my life, and also disregard safety in that same matter. For example, I need to be quite careful about who it is that I pursue for marriage, because she must know about the struggles of a pastor and will also have to deal with the responsibilities of a pastors wife. In the same breath, I can’t be too picky about friendships. I have to live out love to everyone I can and speak love into many people’s lives. That means that I shouldn’t turn someone away from the start just because we don’t fully get along. All deserve love and I should be available for as many people as possible.
I don’t know if this blog post will help anyone, but at least I’ve articulated what I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of days.
Many blessings to you all.
Sincerely,
Joshua
About a week or two ago, I was in my room, writing a sermon for Church. Correction, I was TRYING to write a sermon for Church. It was not going too well. I was stressed out all day and I was focussing on a few of the more embarrassing moments from the day. There was also exams, papers, and personal things on my mind. I couldn’t get past this that easily at all. Luckily, I had Josh Jacobs there. He came in and basically told me the hard truth that I needed to hear: beating down on yourself was not going to solve anything.
He then said something quite interesting. He told me that I wasn’t my mistakes but that I was a pastor. It never really occurred to me in the past, but my identity is wrapped up in this calling known as pastor. I am not training to be a pastor, I am not hoping to be a pastor one day. I am a pastor. Right here, right now, and even before this. No matter what happens in the future, no matter what job I take to pay the bills, I am a pastor.
This is not to say that I am not my own person and that I have no personality. It is to say that because of my life experiences and the calling that I chose to accept, I have been formed into this type of person called ‘pastor’ and there is no way for me to avoid it. I am a pastor. That is where my identity is anchored.
Now saying this, I am also saying that ‘pastor’ is not a professional choice. It is a lifestyle choice. It is the choice to go to the hospital at 1am to visit a dying man. It is the choice to go see a person in jail even if you detest what they did to deserve that. It is the choice to sacrifice every moment of your life to the glory of God (sometimes that does mean honouring your family and spending time with them. One cannot be a pastor and ditch those who are closest to him).
Now to define what a pastor is exactly would be a whole blog post on its own. If I were to skim it down, it would be something like a person whose deepest desire is to see the Church grow and helps lead it in that direction. There’s a lot more to it than that but I suppose as a simple explanation, it will do.
What does this mean for my life? Well, if I am bound to this identity and if it is bound to me, then it means I have to be careful about who I let into my life, and also disregard safety in that same matter. For example, I need to be quite careful about who it is that I pursue for marriage, because she must know about the struggles of a pastor and will also have to deal with the responsibilities of a pastors wife. In the same breath, I can’t be too picky about friendships. I have to live out love to everyone I can and speak love into many people’s lives. That means that I shouldn’t turn someone away from the start just because we don’t fully get along. All deserve love and I should be available for as many people as possible.
I don’t know if this blog post will help anyone, but at least I’ve articulated what I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of days.
Many blessings to you all.
Sincerely,
Joshua
Monday, November 30, 2009
Don't You Remember?
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Don’t You Remember?
By: Joshua T. Aitkenhead
Can you recall a time in your life when you were down and out. Nothing was going your way. You had God, family, and you had friends, but you did not have much else and all three of them seemed to get more and more distant as you became more and more aware of your own personal hell boiling into the very core of your being. Isn’t that a pleasant thought for the day? Before I go any further, I’m just letting you know that there will be a chance to respond after this sermon with an alter call. I will be up here and available for you to pray with along with some other people that I have already asked to help me with this. Ok, on with the sermon! I can tell you of a time from my life that happened just before I came to this Church.
I mentioned in my last sermon that I am not from around here. I am actually from Ontario, so I am a long ways away from my family. It’s tough being away from your family, I don’t know how many of you have done it. The thing is, your family changes and grows. I have two nieces, one of which I have not seen yet, and the other is starting to speak. I miss my sisters, I miss my brother in laws, and I miss my parents a lot. It is hard sometimes being so separated by people who have influenced your life so much. So, I am separated from my family.
I have another tale of woe for you. You see, I used to go to another Church here in Calgary. I’m not going to tell you the name of the church, but you’d probably be able to guess the name once I’ve been here for a bit longer. It is a Vietnamese Church in the North East, and I loved the people there a lot. What I didn’t love was the ministry I was involved with there. It got so bad for me, that I had to leave the Church. Now let me set the record straight, it is a good Church with dedicated Christ-followers, but it was not good for me to be there. My vision for the Church, and the church’s vision for itself did not line up. So I am separated from my family, and now I lost my Church family.
For Christmas’ I go to my mentor’s house. He has been like an older brother to me and his family helped me out a lot when I came to Alberta. This year, him and I fell apart. We were a bit at odds with one another, and while I have had the best Christmas’ of my life at his house, this year was different. I felt disconnected and an outsider. I felt like I did not belong. So now I’m separated from my family, I have no Church family, and I am at odds with a person who once was so close to me.
It does not end there, unfortunately. My roommate in first semester tells me it’s too hard for him to be living in the NE, but go to school in the SW, so he says he wants to move. Here’s the issue with that. The apartment we were in had become my home. I loved it and I did not want to leave it before I was done schooling, but I knew that I would not be able to afford the rent on my own, so I leave. I’m separated from my family, I have no Church family, and I am at odds with a person who once was so close to me and now I have left the one place I had known as home here in Calgary.
I was depressed and I felt there was nowhere for me to go. I felt like there was no family for me. No one was looking out for me and I had no one to look out for either. I had nothing but a broken heart and a skewed view of myself. I doubted my calling to be a pastor, I’ve doubted my salvation from God, and I doubted that life was worth living. I will talk more about this doubt later on.
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt lost and without direction of any kind? I hope not but I have a feeling most of you have felt that way or are feeling that way right now. Well, brother’s and Sister’s, let’s see what God has to say about this hopelessness.
I’m going to talk about three things in this passage:
1. Why do we experience hardships in our lives? Do they serve a purpose?
2. How should we approach God, when these things happen? How will he treat us?
3. How can we overcome these hardships? Will we ever find a way to come out of these situations?
This passage opens with a greeting from James. He is addressing the 12 tribes scattered among the nations. Now there is some speculation as to who exactly the 12 tribes are (they could be the Jews themselves, or the Christians), but because the book of James seems to reference the Old Testament more than the new, I will say that James is talking to the Jews. I want you to keep this in mind as it is very important.
He then goes into the first part of what I am talking about. Hardships, why do we experience them and what is their purpose? The first question as to why we experience them isn’t even in the question. It says ‘when’ you experience trials of various kinds. When, is the keyword. It is a fact of life, you will experience hardships. Expect them, because it will happen. We live in a world of sin. Our sin is caused when we don’t love one another with as God would have us love. I mean Jesus did say that the greatest commandment was love the LORD your God, with all your heart mind and soul, and to love one another as you would yourself. Because we don’t love one another, we have hardships. It happens.
I don’t want to talk any more on this because it’s pretty straightforward. We will experience hardships, so we have to be prepared for them. Now, what benefit do these hardships hold? Well, according to James, hardships build up our perseverance, so we are complete and not lacking anything. In other words, trials help us to be perfect.
During school, I was living in residence. In res, there were an abundant supply of movies, video games, and awesome people. I loved living in residence! There was a problem with me living in residence, though. The problem was that there were all these things at my fingertips ready for me to waste my time with! There were more than a few nights that I stayed up far too late in order to complete an assignment that I could have completed days in advance. You know, laziness is a sin. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have days when we’re just relaxing and having a good time, but if you have a job that needs to be done, then do it. It is your responsibility and Jesus does say ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no’. It’s one of those things I struggle with sometimes. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in this situation, but when I’ve spent the whole day playing video games or watching movies, I think to myself, ‘how can I be so dumb, wasting my time again’? I’m sure you all have at least one sin like that in your life where you wish it would just go away and stop bothering you. Even Paul had that one thing. He once said, ‘three times I prayed for this thorn to be removed from my flesh”, but it wasn’t removed. How awesome would it be if we did not have to struggle with that one reoccurring sin that we commit?
In this passage, it says we can be perfect, that it is attainable, but we just got to go through a lot of garbage first. Why do we have to go through this garbage? What is the benefit? Well, for that, let’s look at the word, ‘Persevere’. Actually, the Greek word probably more so resembles the word, ‘endurance’. Endurance means to last. It means to be able to last in tough situations. A track runner who runs the race on a 40 degree day while wearing weights has a lot of endurance if he is able to last through the entirety of the race. What this means for us is that for us to endure, we need to be able to last until the trial or hardship is over. This is a really hard task, but there is a way to do it. We need to learn what our mistakes were and try to avoid the things that tempt us. When I need to get down to an assignment, I turn off my computer and go to the Library. I cannot work near my computer seeing as it is more a source for fun than anything else. To endure, we need to separate us from what is keeping us from our goal, and in my case, it is my computer.
Another secret to enduring is encouragement. One time for a youth event, me and my youth group climbed Sulfur Mountain. Well, I’ve never climbed a mountain before, so this was tough for me. I was about to quit when I was almost at the top when my friends who were just before me shouted to me, ‘it’s only a bit further. You can do it’! At that, I sucked in a good amount of air and I hiked that mountain to the top! Friends, there is a reason the disciples went out by two’s. There is a reason the early Church were together almost 24/7. There is a reason why we meet at least twice a week, and sometimes more! We need one another. If we are going to endure trials and hardships, we need each other’s strength to pull us through! God put us together in community for this purpose.
Alright, so my first point, Trials will happen and they do serve a purpose. With trials we will get closer to perfection. We will cease doing the sins that we have done in the past. All we have to do to get to this reward of perfection is endure.
The second point, how should we approach God, when these things happen? How will he treat us? God asks us to approach Him. He wants us to question Him on this stuff. James puts it this way: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”. God knows you. God loves you. God even likes you and who you are. So because he loves you, He wants you to come to Him and ask for wisdom. He wants you to figure this stuff out! That’s the answer to the second question in this point, How will God treat us, but what about the first question? How should we approach Him? Well James says we need to approach Him without doubt! We should have faith that He will help us out. Where do we get this faith? Well, again, let’s look at who this letter is to. It is addressed to the Jews who are not in Israel. They are out of the Promised Land and are therefore without a home. I can relate to that. I know what it’s like to feel homeless. The Jews must have been going through a really tough time with all of this stuff. This isn’t the first time that this has happened to the Jews. In fact, I want to draw on something that Joshua from the Old Testament said to the Israelite community. When Joshua had taken the Promised Land with the rest of the Israelites, He gathered them together and told them about their dark history with the Egyptians, and reminded them of their time wandering in the desert. Even through all that, God was faithful! The Jewish history is filled with times of darkness and God being there to help His people out! In fact, I would describe the Old Testament as a love story between God and His people. He was always coming to the rescue! Did you ever hear the saying, to get respect you have to earn respect? Well God earned respect time and time again! Take a look at your own life. God’s rescued you, right? Has He acted in your life as powerfully as He has mine? God is the God of saving, can I get an amen on that? When you face trials and you approach God, remember what God has done for you in the past and know He will deliver you from what your experiencing now!
So point 2: Ask God with full faith that He will help you, and He will help you! At this point I want to say something else. Just because He will help you endure, and just because He will give you wisdom, it does not mean He will deliver you from the hardship. Remember, the hardship serves a purpose. It gives you endurance which is used to make us perfect!
Point three: How can we overcome these hardships? Will we ever find a way to come out of these situations? Guess what? I’ve already answered this question in point one and two! To overcome hardships, you need to endure. Two good ways to endure is to separate yourself from what causes you to stumble, and also to surround yourself with people who will help you out! The other way to overcome hardships is to ask God for help. When you ask God for help, you need to first believe that He can and will help you! To help your unbelief, look into your past. What has God done for you in the past to save you, and how will He deliver you now?
Now I mentioned a story from a few months ago where I felt like I had no family and no way of coping with my disastrous life. Do you remember the story? Well, I failed to mention a few things. You see, even though this hard time was upon me I was practicing what James taught. I endured, and I endured by separating myself from the thoughts that were bringing me down by confronting some of the people bringing me down. I surrounded myself with people who built into my life and were willing to help me out. I remembered all the things God had done for me in the past. In fact, whenever doubt entered my mind, I would pray, ‘but God, you brought me to Calgary and you have brought me through tough times, will you help me out again?’ Friends, I will tell you this, God wants you and wants you to live life through the fullest. Just because you will go through tough times, it does not mean God wants you to stay like that. Now I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon that there would be an alter call, and so I’m asking the worship band to come up and play one more song, and I am also asking a few people to come up to pray. What’s your story like this morning? Are you going through your own personal hell? Are you faced with problems to big to deal with on your own? Are you scarred? If you want, we can pray for you! Please, come forward for prayer. We are the community of Christ, and we need to be here for one another, so don’t be shy. If you want to come up, then please do!
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Don’t You Remember?
By: Joshua T. Aitkenhead
Can you recall a time in your life when you were down and out. Nothing was going your way. You had God, family, and you had friends, but you did not have much else and all three of them seemed to get more and more distant as you became more and more aware of your own personal hell boiling into the very core of your being. Isn’t that a pleasant thought for the day? Before I go any further, I’m just letting you know that there will be a chance to respond after this sermon with an alter call. I will be up here and available for you to pray with along with some other people that I have already asked to help me with this. Ok, on with the sermon! I can tell you of a time from my life that happened just before I came to this Church.
I mentioned in my last sermon that I am not from around here. I am actually from Ontario, so I am a long ways away from my family. It’s tough being away from your family, I don’t know how many of you have done it. The thing is, your family changes and grows. I have two nieces, one of which I have not seen yet, and the other is starting to speak. I miss my sisters, I miss my brother in laws, and I miss my parents a lot. It is hard sometimes being so separated by people who have influenced your life so much. So, I am separated from my family.
I have another tale of woe for you. You see, I used to go to another Church here in Calgary. I’m not going to tell you the name of the church, but you’d probably be able to guess the name once I’ve been here for a bit longer. It is a Vietnamese Church in the North East, and I loved the people there a lot. What I didn’t love was the ministry I was involved with there. It got so bad for me, that I had to leave the Church. Now let me set the record straight, it is a good Church with dedicated Christ-followers, but it was not good for me to be there. My vision for the Church, and the church’s vision for itself did not line up. So I am separated from my family, and now I lost my Church family.
For Christmas’ I go to my mentor’s house. He has been like an older brother to me and his family helped me out a lot when I came to Alberta. This year, him and I fell apart. We were a bit at odds with one another, and while I have had the best Christmas’ of my life at his house, this year was different. I felt disconnected and an outsider. I felt like I did not belong. So now I’m separated from my family, I have no Church family, and I am at odds with a person who once was so close to me.
It does not end there, unfortunately. My roommate in first semester tells me it’s too hard for him to be living in the NE, but go to school in the SW, so he says he wants to move. Here’s the issue with that. The apartment we were in had become my home. I loved it and I did not want to leave it before I was done schooling, but I knew that I would not be able to afford the rent on my own, so I leave. I’m separated from my family, I have no Church family, and I am at odds with a person who once was so close to me and now I have left the one place I had known as home here in Calgary.
I was depressed and I felt there was nowhere for me to go. I felt like there was no family for me. No one was looking out for me and I had no one to look out for either. I had nothing but a broken heart and a skewed view of myself. I doubted my calling to be a pastor, I’ve doubted my salvation from God, and I doubted that life was worth living. I will talk more about this doubt later on.
Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt lost and without direction of any kind? I hope not but I have a feeling most of you have felt that way or are feeling that way right now. Well, brother’s and Sister’s, let’s see what God has to say about this hopelessness.
I’m going to talk about three things in this passage:
1. Why do we experience hardships in our lives? Do they serve a purpose?
2. How should we approach God, when these things happen? How will he treat us?
3. How can we overcome these hardships? Will we ever find a way to come out of these situations?
This passage opens with a greeting from James. He is addressing the 12 tribes scattered among the nations. Now there is some speculation as to who exactly the 12 tribes are (they could be the Jews themselves, or the Christians), but because the book of James seems to reference the Old Testament more than the new, I will say that James is talking to the Jews. I want you to keep this in mind as it is very important.
He then goes into the first part of what I am talking about. Hardships, why do we experience them and what is their purpose? The first question as to why we experience them isn’t even in the question. It says ‘when’ you experience trials of various kinds. When, is the keyword. It is a fact of life, you will experience hardships. Expect them, because it will happen. We live in a world of sin. Our sin is caused when we don’t love one another with as God would have us love. I mean Jesus did say that the greatest commandment was love the LORD your God, with all your heart mind and soul, and to love one another as you would yourself. Because we don’t love one another, we have hardships. It happens.
I don’t want to talk any more on this because it’s pretty straightforward. We will experience hardships, so we have to be prepared for them. Now, what benefit do these hardships hold? Well, according to James, hardships build up our perseverance, so we are complete and not lacking anything. In other words, trials help us to be perfect.
During school, I was living in residence. In res, there were an abundant supply of movies, video games, and awesome people. I loved living in residence! There was a problem with me living in residence, though. The problem was that there were all these things at my fingertips ready for me to waste my time with! There were more than a few nights that I stayed up far too late in order to complete an assignment that I could have completed days in advance. You know, laziness is a sin. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have days when we’re just relaxing and having a good time, but if you have a job that needs to be done, then do it. It is your responsibility and Jesus does say ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no’. It’s one of those things I struggle with sometimes. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in this situation, but when I’ve spent the whole day playing video games or watching movies, I think to myself, ‘how can I be so dumb, wasting my time again’? I’m sure you all have at least one sin like that in your life where you wish it would just go away and stop bothering you. Even Paul had that one thing. He once said, ‘three times I prayed for this thorn to be removed from my flesh”, but it wasn’t removed. How awesome would it be if we did not have to struggle with that one reoccurring sin that we commit?
In this passage, it says we can be perfect, that it is attainable, but we just got to go through a lot of garbage first. Why do we have to go through this garbage? What is the benefit? Well, for that, let’s look at the word, ‘Persevere’. Actually, the Greek word probably more so resembles the word, ‘endurance’. Endurance means to last. It means to be able to last in tough situations. A track runner who runs the race on a 40 degree day while wearing weights has a lot of endurance if he is able to last through the entirety of the race. What this means for us is that for us to endure, we need to be able to last until the trial or hardship is over. This is a really hard task, but there is a way to do it. We need to learn what our mistakes were and try to avoid the things that tempt us. When I need to get down to an assignment, I turn off my computer and go to the Library. I cannot work near my computer seeing as it is more a source for fun than anything else. To endure, we need to separate us from what is keeping us from our goal, and in my case, it is my computer.
Another secret to enduring is encouragement. One time for a youth event, me and my youth group climbed Sulfur Mountain. Well, I’ve never climbed a mountain before, so this was tough for me. I was about to quit when I was almost at the top when my friends who were just before me shouted to me, ‘it’s only a bit further. You can do it’! At that, I sucked in a good amount of air and I hiked that mountain to the top! Friends, there is a reason the disciples went out by two’s. There is a reason the early Church were together almost 24/7. There is a reason why we meet at least twice a week, and sometimes more! We need one another. If we are going to endure trials and hardships, we need each other’s strength to pull us through! God put us together in community for this purpose.
Alright, so my first point, Trials will happen and they do serve a purpose. With trials we will get closer to perfection. We will cease doing the sins that we have done in the past. All we have to do to get to this reward of perfection is endure.
The second point, how should we approach God, when these things happen? How will he treat us? God asks us to approach Him. He wants us to question Him on this stuff. James puts it this way: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”. God knows you. God loves you. God even likes you and who you are. So because he loves you, He wants you to come to Him and ask for wisdom. He wants you to figure this stuff out! That’s the answer to the second question in this point, How will God treat us, but what about the first question? How should we approach Him? Well James says we need to approach Him without doubt! We should have faith that He will help us out. Where do we get this faith? Well, again, let’s look at who this letter is to. It is addressed to the Jews who are not in Israel. They are out of the Promised Land and are therefore without a home. I can relate to that. I know what it’s like to feel homeless. The Jews must have been going through a really tough time with all of this stuff. This isn’t the first time that this has happened to the Jews. In fact, I want to draw on something that Joshua from the Old Testament said to the Israelite community. When Joshua had taken the Promised Land with the rest of the Israelites, He gathered them together and told them about their dark history with the Egyptians, and reminded them of their time wandering in the desert. Even through all that, God was faithful! The Jewish history is filled with times of darkness and God being there to help His people out! In fact, I would describe the Old Testament as a love story between God and His people. He was always coming to the rescue! Did you ever hear the saying, to get respect you have to earn respect? Well God earned respect time and time again! Take a look at your own life. God’s rescued you, right? Has He acted in your life as powerfully as He has mine? God is the God of saving, can I get an amen on that? When you face trials and you approach God, remember what God has done for you in the past and know He will deliver you from what your experiencing now!
So point 2: Ask God with full faith that He will help you, and He will help you! At this point I want to say something else. Just because He will help you endure, and just because He will give you wisdom, it does not mean He will deliver you from the hardship. Remember, the hardship serves a purpose. It gives you endurance which is used to make us perfect!
Point three: How can we overcome these hardships? Will we ever find a way to come out of these situations? Guess what? I’ve already answered this question in point one and two! To overcome hardships, you need to endure. Two good ways to endure is to separate yourself from what causes you to stumble, and also to surround yourself with people who will help you out! The other way to overcome hardships is to ask God for help. When you ask God for help, you need to first believe that He can and will help you! To help your unbelief, look into your past. What has God done for you in the past to save you, and how will He deliver you now?
Now I mentioned a story from a few months ago where I felt like I had no family and no way of coping with my disastrous life. Do you remember the story? Well, I failed to mention a few things. You see, even though this hard time was upon me I was practicing what James taught. I endured, and I endured by separating myself from the thoughts that were bringing me down by confronting some of the people bringing me down. I surrounded myself with people who built into my life and were willing to help me out. I remembered all the things God had done for me in the past. In fact, whenever doubt entered my mind, I would pray, ‘but God, you brought me to Calgary and you have brought me through tough times, will you help me out again?’ Friends, I will tell you this, God wants you and wants you to live life through the fullest. Just because you will go through tough times, it does not mean God wants you to stay like that. Now I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon that there would be an alter call, and so I’m asking the worship band to come up and play one more song, and I am also asking a few people to come up to pray. What’s your story like this morning? Are you going through your own personal hell? Are you faced with problems to big to deal with on your own? Are you scarred? If you want, we can pray for you! Please, come forward for prayer. We are the community of Christ, and we need to be here for one another, so don’t be shy. If you want to come up, then please do!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
People Change and it's Awesome
To those who read my blog,
I thought it necessary to talk to you today about one person in particular. This person treated me harshly in the past. In fact, I was given the choice to live with him, but I turned it down because I was sure he'd treat me the same. I've come to a place in my life where I will only really surround myself with people who will speak positively into my life and not treat me like garbage. I didn't need that again. Just having him on the floor made me a little uncomfortable.
Well, sometimes you just have to ignore what the past holds, though that is a lot easier said than done. In fact, it took a breakdown on my part to actually see the love that this guy was going to share with me.
The person's name is Josh Jacobs. For those who know me personally probably also know him, but for those who don't know who he is, let me tell you one thing: I felt so much better about this guy coming into my life in the way that he did that I spent good money so he would go to a social event our school is putting on.
I tend to hold grudges, which is never good, but I like it when I get a chance for my grudges to be blown to pieces. Josh did that for me when he cared for me in my darkest time. The best part was when he admitted wrong for what he had done and was willing to make up for it. I had long since forgiven him, but I was happy he was willing to admit his mistake.
Well, I hope this helps you in some way. Maybe it's time for you to let go of some stupid grudge. You might need to reconcile with someone. I know I do in a few areas. It would be good to do that. Don't be like me and wait until a crisis point. Take advantage of today!
- Joshua
I thought it necessary to talk to you today about one person in particular. This person treated me harshly in the past. In fact, I was given the choice to live with him, but I turned it down because I was sure he'd treat me the same. I've come to a place in my life where I will only really surround myself with people who will speak positively into my life and not treat me like garbage. I didn't need that again. Just having him on the floor made me a little uncomfortable.
Well, sometimes you just have to ignore what the past holds, though that is a lot easier said than done. In fact, it took a breakdown on my part to actually see the love that this guy was going to share with me.
The person's name is Josh Jacobs. For those who know me personally probably also know him, but for those who don't know who he is, let me tell you one thing: I felt so much better about this guy coming into my life in the way that he did that I spent good money so he would go to a social event our school is putting on.
I tend to hold grudges, which is never good, but I like it when I get a chance for my grudges to be blown to pieces. Josh did that for me when he cared for me in my darkest time. The best part was when he admitted wrong for what he had done and was willing to make up for it. I had long since forgiven him, but I was happy he was willing to admit his mistake.
Well, I hope this helps you in some way. Maybe it's time for you to let go of some stupid grudge. You might need to reconcile with someone. I know I do in a few areas. It would be good to do that. Don't be like me and wait until a crisis point. Take advantage of today!
- Joshua
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A Little Honesty Goes a Long Way...
To those who read my blog,
Today, I was interviewed by two girls about my life and what I thought about it. I decided beforehand that the best course of action was to be completely honest with them. That meant that they knew about things I never felt comfortable talking to girls about before and as I talked to them, I started having a bit of a reaction. I got excited about something for once.
Hold up for a sec. To understand this, I have to explain my illness. I recently have come to terms with a sickness that runs in my family. It is an illness that leaves me too tired to wake up in the morning, and also unable to do the simplest of things. I have gotten very far behind in Greek because of this illness. It has been hard these last couple of days, but this conversation perked me up and put me in an excited mood. I feel better about things for the time being and actually want to get things done.
Anyways. That's enough ramblings for one day. Hope you're all having a good day where you are. Please keep me in your prayers.
- Joshua
Today, I was interviewed by two girls about my life and what I thought about it. I decided beforehand that the best course of action was to be completely honest with them. That meant that they knew about things I never felt comfortable talking to girls about before and as I talked to them, I started having a bit of a reaction. I got excited about something for once.
Hold up for a sec. To understand this, I have to explain my illness. I recently have come to terms with a sickness that runs in my family. It is an illness that leaves me too tired to wake up in the morning, and also unable to do the simplest of things. I have gotten very far behind in Greek because of this illness. It has been hard these last couple of days, but this conversation perked me up and put me in an excited mood. I feel better about things for the time being and actually want to get things done.
Anyways. That's enough ramblings for one day. Hope you're all having a good day where you are. Please keep me in your prayers.
- Joshua
Monday, May 25, 2009
Encouragement
To those who read my blogs,
I have to confess something. When I left my old Church, I felt unbelievably depressed. I was unsure if I wanted to continue pursuing being a pastor, continue on at Ambrose, and even pursuing life. It was not a good feeling at all. I started Church shopping in January. I wanted to find a Church where I could stay as far away from ministry as possible. I did not want to do anything, I just wanted to get healthy again in God.
Well, at the Church I found I got a bit of an awakening. It was a great place for me to heal up. In fact, I healed up so much that I started to desire ministry again. How crazy is that?
The funny thing is, that the more I go to this Church, the more I realize how important it is for me to be there. I am given opportunity to teach, one of the things I take great joy in, I learn more about the people, who I am loving more and more, and I even see this ministry being an encouragement to my future ministry which I believe will be working with Viet Gangs. I don't want to betray the trust of anyone at my Church, but let's just say for now that there is a similar interest.
It's funny how God works and operates. Here I thought I was just going to go to a Church for the purpose of healing, and then I end up getting better than I ever was! God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good!
- Joshua
I have to confess something. When I left my old Church, I felt unbelievably depressed. I was unsure if I wanted to continue pursuing being a pastor, continue on at Ambrose, and even pursuing life. It was not a good feeling at all. I started Church shopping in January. I wanted to find a Church where I could stay as far away from ministry as possible. I did not want to do anything, I just wanted to get healthy again in God.
Well, at the Church I found I got a bit of an awakening. It was a great place for me to heal up. In fact, I healed up so much that I started to desire ministry again. How crazy is that?
The funny thing is, that the more I go to this Church, the more I realize how important it is for me to be there. I am given opportunity to teach, one of the things I take great joy in, I learn more about the people, who I am loving more and more, and I even see this ministry being an encouragement to my future ministry which I believe will be working with Viet Gangs. I don't want to betray the trust of anyone at my Church, but let's just say for now that there is a similar interest.
It's funny how God works and operates. Here I thought I was just going to go to a Church for the purpose of healing, and then I end up getting better than I ever was! God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good!
- Joshua
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Missing Link and Why I Still Have Faith!
To those who read my blogs,
Please read this article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090519-missing-link-found.html
Have you read it? Good.
I do not care how many Missing Links are found, because it ill never shake my faith in God. A lot of Christians nowadays seem to be under this whole 'Seven Day Creation' thing where if God did not make the earth in seven days, then the Bible is lying. I am not one of them. Personally, I believe that God created the world, and how He did it is not something I care about particularly. the fact is, He did it. You cannot disprove God in anyway no matter how many missing links you find, because Genesis one was not written like a science text book, it was written as a poem. There are a lot of poetic features to Genesis 1 (the use of the number '7' for example) and therefore we should understand the chapter more as a parable written out for the ancient people than a step-by-step instruction manual for how God made the Earth.
So what if He used evolution to do it? Who cares! It's His choice, He's the God, He can do whatever He wants! Just because there is (or is not) a Missing Link, it does not take away from the fact that God created the world!
I have come to this conclusion, the only proof we have that God created the universe is the fact that the universe is here (there's a watch, so there must be a watch-maker, similarly, there is a universe, so there must be a universe maker). In theological terms, this is called the cosmological argument. Outside of that, there is nothing to prove God's existence except for personal interaction (talking to God) but that only proves Him to ourselves. No, we cannot prove God to anyone, and so there is no proof for anyone. There is also nothing that can disprove God. So because there is nothing to prove God, we need faith and that is what our salvation is based on, faith. Because God cannot be dis-proven, our faith is not stupid, because you can't prove He does not exist! Even if evolution is true (which I am not convinced it is nor do I think anyone will ever prove evolution true) it does not mean God does not exist. It just means He used something else to bring humans about.
Have faith, my readers, God is true!
- Joshua
Please read this article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090519-missing-link-found.html
Have you read it? Good.
I do not care how many Missing Links are found, because it ill never shake my faith in God. A lot of Christians nowadays seem to be under this whole 'Seven Day Creation' thing where if God did not make the earth in seven days, then the Bible is lying. I am not one of them. Personally, I believe that God created the world, and how He did it is not something I care about particularly. the fact is, He did it. You cannot disprove God in anyway no matter how many missing links you find, because Genesis one was not written like a science text book, it was written as a poem. There are a lot of poetic features to Genesis 1 (the use of the number '7' for example) and therefore we should understand the chapter more as a parable written out for the ancient people than a step-by-step instruction manual for how God made the Earth.
So what if He used evolution to do it? Who cares! It's His choice, He's the God, He can do whatever He wants! Just because there is (or is not) a Missing Link, it does not take away from the fact that God created the world!
I have come to this conclusion, the only proof we have that God created the universe is the fact that the universe is here (there's a watch, so there must be a watch-maker, similarly, there is a universe, so there must be a universe maker). In theological terms, this is called the cosmological argument. Outside of that, there is nothing to prove God's existence except for personal interaction (talking to God) but that only proves Him to ourselves. No, we cannot prove God to anyone, and so there is no proof for anyone. There is also nothing that can disprove God. So because there is nothing to prove God, we need faith and that is what our salvation is based on, faith. Because God cannot be dis-proven, our faith is not stupid, because you can't prove He does not exist! Even if evolution is true (which I am not convinced it is nor do I think anyone will ever prove evolution true) it does not mean God does not exist. It just means He used something else to bring humans about.
Have faith, my readers, God is true!
- Joshua
The Greatest Commandments
To those who read my blogs,
Have you ever insulted yourself? Have you ever said something really bad about you? Have you ever let what someone else said about you (as in something negative and untrue) become something you fully believe? Well here's what I have to say on that!
I was thinking about the greatest commandment because it is something that has always spoken to me since I became a Christian. Just so there is no confusion, here it is in the NASB: 37And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
38"This is the great and foremost commandment.
39"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
This is from Matthew 22:37-40.
Now the first greatest commandment is to Love God, and that seems like a no-brainer to me. God is good and He is worth loving. It is the second I want to speak on now!
Jesus says that we need to love one another as we do ourselves.
My question to you, the reader, is how do we love our neighbor if we do not love our self? I say it is impossible!
Before I continue, I will address something real quick. I am all about community. When I preach, even if it has nothing to do with community, I will mention the community of Christ. What I am saying here may seem like self absorbed garbage, but it's not.
The thing is, we need to realize the fundamental truth: that God loved us so much that He died on the cross for our sins. If we don't get that and insist on lowly prayers that call ourselves garbage or put ourselves to a very low standpoint, then we insult the person who loved us enough to both make us and die on a cross to save us. We need to take care of ourselves and know that we are worth something, or else we will not take proper care of others.
That's not to say that we are perfect and our sins are not really sins, because they are. Sinning is bad and we should not be doing it. Our sins are apart of us and make us dirty, but that does not change the fact that God loves you and you are worth something to Him, and to other people!
I hope this insight has helped you, the reader, out!
- Joshua
Have you ever insulted yourself? Have you ever said something really bad about you? Have you ever let what someone else said about you (as in something negative and untrue) become something you fully believe? Well here's what I have to say on that!
I was thinking about the greatest commandment because it is something that has always spoken to me since I became a Christian. Just so there is no confusion, here it is in the NASB: 37And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
38"This is the great and foremost commandment.
39"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
This is from Matthew 22:37-40.
Now the first greatest commandment is to Love God, and that seems like a no-brainer to me. God is good and He is worth loving. It is the second I want to speak on now!
Jesus says that we need to love one another as we do ourselves.
My question to you, the reader, is how do we love our neighbor if we do not love our self? I say it is impossible!
Before I continue, I will address something real quick. I am all about community. When I preach, even if it has nothing to do with community, I will mention the community of Christ. What I am saying here may seem like self absorbed garbage, but it's not.
The thing is, we need to realize the fundamental truth: that God loved us so much that He died on the cross for our sins. If we don't get that and insist on lowly prayers that call ourselves garbage or put ourselves to a very low standpoint, then we insult the person who loved us enough to both make us and die on a cross to save us. We need to take care of ourselves and know that we are worth something, or else we will not take proper care of others.
That's not to say that we are perfect and our sins are not really sins, because they are. Sinning is bad and we should not be doing it. Our sins are apart of us and make us dirty, but that does not change the fact that God loves you and you are worth something to Him, and to other people!
I hope this insight has helped you, the reader, out!
- Joshua
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Turning Nothing into Something!
To those who read my blogs,
Do I have a story for you! This week, was a bit of an eye-opener. Not only did I write the sermon in a half sleeping/half awake state, but I saved doing my sermon to the last minute (as per usual) and realized that my sermon required an alter call. Well, this means a few things. It means I have to ask the worship leader to do one more song at the end, it means I have to get spiritually strong people to help me pray for anyone who comes to the front, and it means I have to be willing to explain this thing that this church has never done before!
Well, I did it anyways, got the people involved and put it together last minute, and this is where it hits me. I am a pastor now, and I am not a very good one! I left everything to the last minute, got people involved far too late, and did something that may have turned out really wrong! Lord help me, I am a mess! I looked out to the crowd when I did the sermon, and it didn't look like people were getting it. I looked to my far left and up the stairs, and I saw the senior pastor looking (quite literally) down on me. I thought to myself, 'BAIL BAIL BAIL'! but I stayed the course and was willing to lie in the bed that I had made.
I finished the sermon, (which I felt was a mediocre one at best) and explained the alter call. The worship band came up and I stood at the front praying, not necessarily for someone to go up, because to be truthful I did not expect anyone to come up, but for God to be in that place, and He was, and I should never ever doubt Him or His ability to turn nothing special into something spectacular!
Three people came up. Three. Now keep in mind that my Church is not that big to begin with. Also keep in mind that this Church has never done an alter call before. I would have considered it a success if one person showed up at the alter, but three did! Then the confrontation came. That's right, I got confronted about my sermon. The girl confronting me told me it was the best sermon she has ever heard. What the heck am I supposed to do with that? Well, I'll tell you what I am supposed to do with that, blame it on God. There is no way my hurried sermon, rushed so I could meet a deadline and written while I was super tired, could have been anything special, but for some reason it was and for that I blame God! It's His fault, He only chose to use me (which sometimes I wonder why me).
I really felt God speak to me in this experience. He was saying, 'it's ok, you can rely on Me. I won't let you down, but the thing is, you are now participating in your calling, which means you have responsibility'. Today was the day I told my parents that I am a pastor, and today (even though I have led an English Ministry at another Church and was basically their pastor and even though I have been a pastor at this Church for a few weeks now) today I became a pastor, devoted to bringing the flock God's given me to a better understanding of Him. Let's just hope I don't screw it up, but I have a feeling that even if I do, God can still take my nothing and turn it into His something!
- Joshua
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