A Lent that Matters

When you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
-Deuteronomy 8:12-18

Lately I have been challenged in the area of sacrifice. Not sacrifice, for the sake of itself, (think Lent) but sacrifice that is private, and personal - between me and God. The things I choose to give up, in order to make a difference in the world around me.

Jesus says no one has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for the sake of the Gospel, who will not be rewarded 100 TIMES what he left behind. This is serious sacrifice. We're not talking about going without dessert for 40 days. We're talking about doing something with your life that is making lasting and eternal difference.

As I have been purging my house and decluttering, paring my life down to simplicity, I am using the opportunity to ask the difficult questions. Why do I go buy groceries when my freezer still has food in it? What makes me hang on to those new board games I don't play, when I know the youth centre is opening up and will get much use out of them? Why do I need 4 pairs of like new jeans, when there are so many who don't have decent clothing to wear? Why should I sell my new rocker that I don't use, when the Little Souls Daycare has need of it to feed their 9 babies? When Ken and I sold our home and everything we had to come to Regina, God blessed and rewarded that with His favour on the poor of this city.

But you don't have to start a Mission to make a difference. I wonder why someone wouldn't take a more practical spin on Lent. Why not commit to 40 days of attending every open program in your church? I mean, really participating! What about a 40 day fast of your evening news, in order to go serve supper at your local soup kitchen? What about forcing yourself to say hello and attempt to strike up a conversation every day on the bus ride to work, for the simple motive to bless someone? How about a phone call a day to a family member that hasn't heard from you but would be so encouraged to hear your voice! Grandma!!

The point is, the more comfortable we get, and the more attached to our possessions we get, the easier it is to forget the Giver of Life and all it's blessings. The moment we start to take credit for our own life and accomplishments, we are edging God out. My friend, Raphael, now in Heaven, used to remind me of that:

E-dging
G-od
O-ut

=EGO

The Pool of Bethesda

The Pool of Bethesda today.

Back in Jesus' day, there was a man by the pool of Bethesda for nearly 40 years, waiting for healing. Traditionally, as the waters would get stirred up, one would dip themselves in, expectant of a miracle. Jesus walked up to this man, and said, "Don't you want to be made whole?"

He did, of course, but replied, "I have no one to put me into the water."

That's what we do at the Mission. We help people into the healing waters of a changed life. They have to want it. And we don't actually make the change for them. It's a lot of hard work on their part, and much prayer and patience on ours.

No one wants to touch the men and women with palsy. The ones full of sin, and lives that have been tainted with things that most of us wouldn't want to go near, much less hear about.

And so our RESCUE team, a committed group of staff members and volunteers, agree to sacrifice their own time and conveniences, not only to touch the ones with palsy, but to enter into their world and offer them a changed life.

A Call to Christians in the City

Planning to go. Willing to stay.
Anywhere. Anytime. Anyway.
Lord, I am ready.

Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have
I give to Thee.

Here I am Lord! Send me!

Simple, Straightforward Success

How do you determine success? To a chef, it might be a Michelin star. For the super rich, it's getting beyond enough money to satisfy one's pleasures, and switching gears to raising money for charity. For a CFL team, it's winning the Grey Cup at a home game. For a yuppie, it's climbing to the top of the ladder.

There's a slogan: Perseverance IS success. Maybe. But what would God consider success? What will make us successful in His eyes? When our last day is dawning, what will matter?

That our kids had their way through college paid for? That we made it to the top of our game?

A friend of mine said that Ken and I were two of the "lucky ones" that were living out our dream every day. My mom recently said she was so amazed that Ken and I had fulfilled our goals by age 40. Hm. What now, then? Retirement? Travel? Wall Street? Piano lessons? A baby?! ahahahahaha. (Had to throw that in. Sorry Mom.)

Well, a lawyer once asked Jesus that question. His intentions were ignoble, but the answer was genuine. The lawyer asked, "What's most important. What's our priority in life?"

Jesus' answer was simple and straightforward,

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

-Matthew 22:37-39

1. Love God.
2. Love your neighbour.

Wow, talk about brass tacks. And we will tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Part 2: One thing...

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." -Luke10:41&42

There is no resolution more important and more lasting than the one you can make for 2009. And that is, to make your "one thing" count. The "one thing" you can count on, is that if you choose to sit at the feet of the Saviour, you will never regret it.

No matter what goes on in this year, no matter how wonderful, or how tragic, you will have your feet firmly planted, unmoveable, unshakeable, if you have chosen this "one thing."

You see, Martha was running around making everything perfect, while her sister Mary was making the most of the time she had with Jesus, by sitting at His feet. There would be plenty of time to serve.

There will be plenty of opportunities, but lasting fruit is only borne when we choose to know that "one thing" of Jesus and His sacrifice.

Michelle's Manifesto: Teamwork

Written back when we were Regina RESCUE Mission and had only two buildings and a much smaller work. Only the name has been changed.

Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission is not a one-woman ministry. I don't lead everyone to the Lord, and the ones I do are usually the product of a team effort. I don't look after the place at night or on Saturdays. I don't plan resident work bees or activities. I don't lead staff meetings. I don't do the cooking (okay, sometimes I do), and I don't look after the women. I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team. I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the TEAM, not the individual, are the ultimate servants, and therefore, the champions.

Inspired by John Maxwell's Law of the Big Picture: The goal is more important than the role.