It is not the centre.

One of the topics we will be looking at this fall deals with gender roles in the church.  It is in the Bible and so it is important that we do look at but we need to remember two things:

1. It is not central.  Jesus is.  We need to remember that we are not saved by our doctrine but by a person.  If we were required to have correct doctrine to be saved then where would be grace?  Doctrine is important but it follows, not leads.

2. It is not something that we should continue to hammer away at.  We need to talk about it then agree to disagree but not keep coming back to it.  When we do that we are again saying that this is a central doctrine even if we don't think it is.  Our actions says something different.

Yes we need to talk about it.  If we cannot talk about it in the church then where can we talk about it?  The world is not where we should get our opinion but rather from the Word of God. 

This Fall

A week from this Sunday we will be back in class.  I plan on continuing my series in 1 Corinthians.   We will begin with gender roles, look at issues re authority, communion, spiritual gifts, body life, resurrection, giving as well as many other issues.  Many of these issues are hot button issues.  Our own denomination just changed the policy re women in ministry.  This should lead to discussion but where else but in the church should you be able to disagree yet fellowship and worship together.

Accident

A few weeks ago we had an accident with the BfM truck.  I was driving but at the time of the accident I was stopped for a red light.  Another vehicle pulled up beside me to turn right but was waiting for a lady with a bike to cross the street in front of us.  She started to walk her bike across the street when we heard a big bang.  I looked up and saw two cars had collided in the intersection (one had gone through the red light) and were now heading toward us.  One car hit the front of our truck while the other hit the vehicle beside us.  The lady on the bike was missed by both cars.  One went in front of her and hit us while the other went behind her and hit the vehicle that was turning right.

What was strange about the accident was the reaction of many people even Christians.  Instead of saying that the lady should thank God for protection they instead equated it to luck and that she should go and buy a lottery ticket while her luck was so good.  People put more faith in luck than they do in the Sovereignty of God. 

Spiral Tunnels

As we drove through the mountains last week we stopped at Yoho National Park to see the spiral tunnels.  These tunnels were built 100 years ago to reduce the grade for the trains from 4.5% to 2%.  You could not help but marvel at what they accomplished 100 years ago.  As I thought about the accomplishments of those men I had to stop and think about the Creator.  Men may be able to build tunnels through the mountains but it was God who created the mountains.  Man can be creative because he is made in the image of God but man's creativity is limited while God's is unlimited.  It is a good thing to think about the accomplishments of these people but let us not forget the marvel of what God did.

50 Years of Blessing

Today my oldest brother and his wife celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  They began their married life as missionaries in Ecuador and now in retirement from teaching in Canada they continue to be missionaries in South and Central America and camp ministry in northern Canada.  We will never know how many people have been impacted by their lives and their dedication and no one will probably ever know this side of heaven.

How many people and many of them Christians waste their retirement years.  They look upon those years as their time to relax after all they earned it didn't they?  Try and find retirement in the Bible.  It is not a Biblical idea.  May many more learn from the example of my brother and sister-in-law and continue to serve the the Lord in the best years of their lives.

(The picture is by my second oldest brother who celebrated 45 years of marriage this year and he and his wife also believe that retirement is a time to serve the Lord.)

Grateful but who to thank!

Imagine seeing a beautiful sunset and being filled with thanks but having no one to thank.  If you don't believe in God then who do you thank for your blessings.  Do you thank your lucky stars?  I don't think so, in fact, I know you don't.  So who then do  you thank.
This past weekend we were driving through the mountains of western Canada and we stopped at the most beautiful lake in the world, Lake Louise.  I had been there forty years earlier with my new wife and this time I was there with my son and daughter-in-law.  The lake fills you with awe and you cannot help but think of the One who created it and then hid it away in the mountains where few would ever see it.  Isn't that like our God.  I was so glad that I knew the Creator and was able to be thankful to Him for His beautiful creation.  Below are a few pictures of this magnificent lake.  The first is from forty years ago the second is from this past week.

Boundary line in pleasant places

This past weekend we had a family reunion in honour of my oldest brother who was celebrating fifty years of marriage.  All of my brothers and sisters were there and we have all choosen different lives.  We have different occupations and we live in different parts of Canada.  It is easy to look at another brother or sister and to be envious of them for there live or where they live.  However, I am reminded of the Scripture from Psalm 16:5,6 which says, "Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

The Lord has assigned our place and when we realize that it is the place He has assigned for us it is a pleasant place.  If I were to think that my brother's or sister's place was a better or more pleasant place than the one assigned to me then my own place ceases to be the pleasant place.  It is only as I rest in the sovereign knowledge of God that I can honestly say that the boundary lines have fallen for me in a very pleasant place. 

No Wonder!

The following article appeared in the London Free Press today.  The United Church of Canada in trying to be relevant is totally irrelevant.  The church loses its relevance when it tries to be relevant to the day.  The only way the church can be relevant is to be eternally relevant.  When Scripture is ignored then the church has nothing to say.  The United Church of Canada is going to die and it will not be missed.  That is a sad commentary on a church that was vibrant 45 years ago.  The church has lost the vision of what it means to be the church.  Read the article.  What do you think?

As the United Church of Canada struggles to fill many of its pews, the denomination will delve into contentious political issues at its 41st General Council in Ottawa this week.

"An appropriate price put on carbon, such as a carbon tax, would penalize the use of fossil fuels and could generate revenue for sustainable energy," a group of high-ranking church officials from Toronto argues in its submission to delegates.

The 130 proposals up for debate also include a ban on oilsands expansion, opposing the Northern Gateway oil pipeline proposal and a partial boycott of Israeli products.
Other proposals call for improvement of the world's oceans through the transmission of "healing love to Creation" and for the inclusion of the gay rights activists' "rainbow symbol" in church offices and websites.
However, the United Church of Canada also has to deal with a dramatic decline in membership: membership has dipped from more than a million in the mid-1960s to less than 500,000 now.
Retired United Church minister David Ewart estimates that by 2025 membership will drop to around 250,000.
"If the trend of the last 10 years does not change, then yes, indeed that would be the membership in 2025," Ewart said.
Even more strikingly, Ewart estimates that if current trends hold, by 2025 the United Church will be attracting zero new followers.
Ewart attributes that to liberal theology.
"Because we're so liberal ... we have a hard time selling ourselves," he said.
Ewart acknowledges the only firm doctrine of his church is that "there is no such thing as a final statement of doctrine."
So, while the United Church calls people toward environmental activism, it doesn't call for personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
"It's dropped off our agenda, I would say, and consequently membership declines," he admits.
Even so, the church has found 600 people to attend its week-long Ottawa meeting, with enough local volunteers to bake 50 dozen muffins and 100 dozen cookies for them daily.