Unalterable Laws of Parenthood

First Law
There is a 70% chance that a child will see fit to soil a diaper within 10 minutes of changing it. This percentage rises to 80% if you are about to leave the house and to 98% if you are in a rush to get out the door.

Our Little Daredevil

The past month or so has been hard on Haddon. It started while we were away on vacation. After years of begging, Karen finally was allowed to visit the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara. Here Haddon was having a blast - watching the little-winged wonders and trying to touch them. He was also getting used to his newfound ability to move his little feet at breakneck speeds. Well, Haddon created a little track (of sorts) where he could run down a ramp, do a 180 degree turn, run up some stairs, back down the ramp and complete another 180 turn reaching the starting point once more. He was having a blast until he tripped (over my feet) and smashed into a pole. Blood was everywhere. Tears rolled down his face. The other guests of the conservatory thought that a murder was being committed as they heard his wailing. Long story short - Haddon now has a scar on his forehead.
And now, just today Haddon was climbing on one of our chairs. He loves to climb and is willing to tackle anything that gets in his way (even if its not in his way). He loves to take risks. He loves to conquer obstacles. After reaching his goal he stood and then started to lean backwards on the chair when it started slowly tipping over. Karen witnessed the end result from the kitchen - gravity accelerating our little boy's body into the hardwood floor. He smashed his forehead on the ground. So now his forehead is covered with injuries: a scar, a bump, a bruise and a mosquito bite.
Haddon is the kind of boy who will take risks in life. He is the kind of boy who will keep his mother awake at night. He's the kind of boy who won't be stopped.
And even though he (and I) are going to suffer for it, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Mental Wanderings - Transporting

I have a dilemma which I hope a Trekkie can solve for me. In the act of transporting, one's body is transformed into an energy pattern (dematerialization), sent to a target, and then changed back into matter (rematerialization). Does this process not mean that an individual is, in essence, annihilated and then reformed? And if this is the case, is the individual not therefore killed by the act of dematerialization and a new individual, identical to the first, created on the other end?
Just wondering . . .

Changing the World through Love

This afternoon I walked through a G20 protest. I'm not certain what they were protesting (something about corporate clowns comes to mind) but what stood out to me was one young man's anger. He was hoping to take some photographs but the police officers would not let him cross the line they had created. "I know my rights!" he shouted. He believed that it was a grave offense to deny him access to the protesters in order to take his photograph.
Over the next several days there will be much anger in this city. People from all around the world will gather here at the newly erected fences and scream for transformation, for rights, for a difference to be made.
In my mind this type of protesting is limited in its effectiveness. It serves to inconvenience and anger the public (the traffic (including streetcars) was at a standstill) -- people they should be trying to win over. And it usually fails to open up a window of conversation with the leaders.
As Christians we also long for transformation in the world. How should we go about doing it? At the risk of sounding (or more likely being) idealistic, I believe that love is a significant part of the answer. If we sincerely show love to those around us then even our enemies will be rocked to the core. People will be drawn to the God who is at work in us. If we focus more on speaking the truth in love than on winning arguments people will sense that there is something different about us.
How are we doing at loving?

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 6

"We usually limit ourselves to asking God in private that people will come to Jesus. This is important. We must go beyond this first step. We must discern what it is that they consider important and pray for that need to be met by God. When this happens, it acts as an eye-opener as far as the gospel is concerned."
Ed Silvoso in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 155.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 5

"Prayer is the most powerful form of social action because God responds directly to prayer. Prayer is the most powerful part of mission to unreached peoples, because God does what only He can do. Even in the most hopeless of situations, He breaks through the false dominion of the enemy, bringing spiritual light and breathing life for lasting social transformation.
God uses the act of praying both to change us and to change the future. As Walter Wink puts it,
History belongs to the intercessors who believe the future into being. . .Even a small number of people totally committed to the new inevitability in which they affix their imaginations can decisively affect the shape the future takes. These shapers of the future are the intercessors who call out the future, the longed-for new present; they believe the future into being."
John D. Robb in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 151.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 4

"I'm convinced that we are living in what appears to be the most cruel period of history. More people suffer for Christ's name than in any other generation. As Christians who are not under such persecution, we must find any way that we can to help our persecuted brothers and sisters. They need us more than ever--our presence, our encouragement, our support, our teaching, our fellowship, and perhaps more than anything else, our prayers."
Brother Andrew in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 179.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 3

"Christians have been divided for years over the most effective means of transforming our world. Is it through verbal proclamation of the gospel or with social action? In truth, the two cannot be separated. Without both, there simply is no good news. One thing ties them together--prayer. When prayer to our God of temporal justice and eternal salvation is emphasized, evangelism and social action are linked in the most essential way. The God who inspires prayer for the world stirs the hearts of His people both to share His good news and to dispense love and mercy. When we see people coming to Christ, health improving, economic opportunity increasing, and kingdom values growing, we find that believers have been praying. Because of the nature of evil in the world, prayer is essential."
John D. Robb in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), pp. 145-146.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 2

"So, why, then, don't we pray as persistently as we talk? The answer, quite simply, is that we don't believe it will make any difference. We accept, however despairingly, that the situation is unchangeable, that what is will always be. This is not a problem about the practice of prayer, but rather about its nature. Or, more precisely, it is about the nature of God and his relationship to this world.
"Unlike the widow in the parable, we find it is easy to come to terms with the unjust and fallen world around us--even when it intrudes into Christian institutions. It is not always that we are unaware of what is happening, but simply that we feel completely impotent to change anything. That impotence leads us, however unwillingly, to strike a truce with what is wrong."
David Wells in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 144.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 1

"What, then, is the nature of petitionary prayer? It is, in essence, rebellion--rebellion against the world in its fallenness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is, in this its negative aspect, the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God. As such, it is itself an expression of the unbridgeable chasm that separates Good from Evil, the declaration that Evil is not a variation on Good but its antithesis.
"Or, to put it the other way around, to come to an acceptance of life 'as it is,' to accept it on its own terms--which means acknowledging the inevitability of the way it works--is to surrender a Christian view of God. This resignation to what is abnormal has within it the hidden and unrecognized assumption that the power of God to change the world, to overcome Evil by Good, will not be actualized."
David Wells in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 143.

Donated Junk

Several weeks ago a friend visited a poorer Eastern European country. There she entered certain people's homes and saw varying degrees of poorness first-hand. However, when she visited the church she saw top-of-the line furniture.
When she asked about this strange distinction she was told that God's house deserved the best. I'm not one for saying that churches should demand money from the poor so that they can fill their buildings with expensive luxuries. However, there is a point to this story that many of us in North America do not take to heart. God certainly does deserve our best, but does this include buying quality products for ministry use?
When we walk through our churches we can often find piles of donated junk. Someone decides to buy a 50-inch plasma screen television and then drops off their old 19-inch black and white for the church to use. Or someone buys a new basketball and gives the church their old one. We buy a new computer and donate our Vic 20. We've all done things like this. But does it honour God?
Just something else to think about.

The Hound of Heaven

D is one of the sweetest men you could ever meet - except when he's been drinking. The change that comes over certain street people when they are intoxicated is drastic. Several days ago D was climbing a building across the street from the church. He lost his balance on the roof and tumbled two stories onto Queen Street. Thankfully he did not land on anyone. And thankfully his life was spared - but not his legs. Both of D's legs were broken and it appears that he will be laid up for quite some time recovering and relearning to walk (he will likely be in the rehab hospital for 4-6 weeks). His body will likely never be the same.
One of the amazing things about God is that He will go to any length to seek and save his chosen ones. In the rehab clinic D is now safe from the temptation of alcohol and is being visited by members of TAC. May God break through and bring complete healing from D's drug of choice. And when D emerges from rehab, may he be a completely transformed individual; may he be a sharp tool God uses to bring healing to others.

Fear

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge - Proverbs 1:7a

Several years ago my son, Elijah, did something that upset me. In my anger I yelled out his name. Often when we are afraid we run or try to hide. It is a natural human reaction to flee from what scares us. However, Elijah did something I did not expect. After hearing my shout Elijah did not run away from me; rather he ran to me.
The Christian life begins with fear. The proper response of a sinner with the knowledge of a holy, righteous God is complete and utter terror. We can do two things with that terror. We can try to hide our sin by justifying our own actions, imagining that we are innocent, ignoring our condition or by trying to keep certain things from God (as foolish as this is). Or we can run to Him admitting our brokenness and wrongdoings and throwing ourselves on His mercy.
It is the one who runs to God who finds His mercy. And in that mercy our fear evaporates.

Why are Christians so against abortion?

With the Conservative government in Canada taking a stronger stance against abortion and with the massive pro-life rally in Ottawa today it seems like a good time to touch upon this issue. More to the point, my specific question is "Why is abortion such a huge issue when it comes to elections?"
One of my friends recently expressed his opinion that abortion should not be such a big deal for believers. He suggested that there are other issues to be concerned about in elections. There most certainly are other important issues when it comes to the polls, however, no issue in Canada holds the same urgency and weight as abortion does.
My personal thinking on the subject goes along these lines. If I were living in a country where the current government was engaged in or was permitting the extermination of one group of people, and if this country held regular elections, I would consider it my duty to vote against that government. It would not matter whether the future potential government held the same social agendas as I do or whether they could help the country financially - heck, it wouldn't even matter if this other political party were completely inept. All that would matter to me is seeing the end of this genocide.
For Christians, the slaughter of a specific segment of the human race is taking place with government approval and government funding. Christians have no choice but to stand up for the unborn with their vote. You may disagree with us that the unborn are fully human, but if you enter into our mindset, you should be able to understand our reason for taking abortion so seriously.

I know she found peace

Very close to our church there is a brothel. One of our workers has spent significant time chatting with some of the women there. Several days ago she shared a story of sadness and hopelessness. One of the prostitutes whose husband is handicapped has left her homeland, burdening her eldest child with the responsibility of caring for her other children. This eldest child has begun to question her mother's love: "How can you love me if you leave me like this?"
What a picture of sadness! Sadness on the part of the family which has lost its mother. Sadness on the part of the husband who is unable to provide for his family and knows that his wife is in the sex trade. Sadness on the part of the woman who has left those she cares most about, lives in a foreign land and engages in a dehumanizing profession.
However, in the midst of this, there is a ray of hope. Amazingly, several weeks ago, the lady who ran the brothel became a Christian. This worker from our church and her friend shared the story of the Gospel and its message of hope led to new life. The Gospel still has power to bring about restoration today! May more and more broken people hear this news and be lifted out of their pain and hopelessness.

I hope she finds peace

Another heart-rending story to cross my path is that of a young lady who has recently tested HIV positive. Our Senior Pastor shared his experience with her in this way:
M came from the doctor's office. Her blood work came back indicating that she was HIV positive. The news devastated her. She has 2 children and doesn't know how to tell them. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably as we were talking. The reason she dropped by was to ask for prayer and to find out when our worship services are. I prayed for her and gave her a couple of tokens to get to her next appointments.
I spoke with her a week after she shared the devastating news with Pastor Bill. In that conversation she conversed a little about the deceitful man who infected her but also indicated that since receiving her horrific news things had gotten better. "I used to be an addict," she told me, "but I've been free for the last week." But the better news was that she was starting to see God at work in all of this: "I'm going to keep coming here because something is working."
May God be known as a Healer and Deliverer - even today with all of our scientific understanding and available treatments.

I hope he found peace

We learned some sad news today. A young man living on the streets (who was ministered to by TAC) was struck by a car as he ran across the Gardiner Expressway after drinking Listerine. He woke up in the hospital but quickly left. This morning at staff meeting we were amazed to hear that he survived the incident - and I wondered whether God had something special in store for him. This afternoon, however, our Sr. Pastor heard from some friends on the street that he had suffered internal injuries and passed away. From what I hear, ever since his father passed away, this man had been self-destructive.
May I not forget this reminder of how fragile we are, and how urgent the need to get the message of the Gospel out is.

Parental Perplexion

I found myself angry with God last Thursday night. Karen (my wife) and I broke some difficult news to Elijah (our firstborn: otherwise known as Number 1) and he took it very hard. We decided that we would likely be changing something about his future which he very much did not want changed. As he wept and pleaded with us my heart was breaking. I very much wanted to go back on our decision (which is, we hope, for the best). However, sometimes tough decisions need to be adhered to.
Where my disappointment and bewilderment with God comes in is here: God regularly sees His children weeping and pleading in pain. As a Father, His heart must regularly break. He often allows us to walk through pain because pain and suffering are His tools for shaping us. I get that. As a father I need to allow our sons to walk through difficulties because they build character. No argument.
A major difference between God and me though is that God has the power to deliver us from any situation while I, as a human, am very limited in what I can do. If I could fix Elijah's situation without any pain to him I most certainly would. Why does God not save us from pain while also shaping us to be more like Christ? That is my dilemma.
Perhaps we can find an answer in this way: God most certainly could have created beings who were robotic in their demeanor - perfectly obedient and unable to stray from what is right. Instead He made us - beings capable of making moral choices. In His wisdom, He chose to create human beings who could accept or reject Him. Maybe, just maybe, under these conditions, in the absence of compulsion, the only way for some lessons to be learned is through pain.

Lean Ground Beef 2

As of this morning, 2 pounds lost, 88 to go. I need to take this more seriously. My weight-loss tip for this week comes from my former doctor: At the beginning of a meal, consider chowing down on some raw veggies to fill up your stomach. You'll eat less.

Forgive and Forget?

On Facebook one of my friends was pondering whether forgiveness is truly possible if you can't forget. One of her friends responded with "Forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting. That's what makes it hard." Wow. What an insight.
When God expects us to forgive (for the Christian, its not an option - if we don't forgive others God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15)), He knows that we will need to live with the pain, consequences and memory of wrongs done to us. Forgiving means knowing that someone has wronged us, feeling the effects of that wrong, and yet still choosing to release that person from any retribution and any anger or hatred which we may be tempted to feel towards them (even if they deserve it).

Powerless Prayers

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:15-17 NIV

I often wonder why God seems so distant at times - so far from this city of Toronto. Why does He not pour out His power in conversions, healings and miracles? Why are we surrounded by so many who doubt His existence or want nothing to do with Him? Why are there so many lost and hurting souls wandering this city? Why does He not reveal that He is real? Why does He ignore our prayers for revival?
It seems that the answer to these queries may often lie with us, the Church. We do very well singing songs on Sunday mornings, celebrating Christmas and listening to sermons - but how often do we allow God's love to flow from us to those who cannot help themselves? God has a heart for the broken and He wants His people to love them too. Too often we walk by the homeless without a word; we fail to give enough to the orphans of the world; we don't stand up for those who cannot stand up themselves; we fail to share the Gospel with a dying world. We fail to love because it takes too much time, money or risk. God isn't happy with this.
Bible reading, prayer, corporate worship - all of these are good things. But if we fail to love, if we fail to follow God's will, God will refuse to listen to our cries.

Chew on This: Exploring the Charge of Christian Hatred

Several days ago the Toronto Transit Commission started putting ads on its street cars which asked big questions such as “Do I have an eternal soul?” There was one question in particular which caused a flood of outrage. This question pondered whether homosexuality was good or not. Several people, in responding to this specific question, shared the opinion that Christians are hateful.
I can understand where this view comes from. After all, we Bible-believers affirm that there is a day of judgment coming, that one can reach heaven through Jesus Christ alone and that certain actions are wrong in the sight of God. In some ways, we are not a very “tolerant” bunch.
But are Christians hateful? Sometimes, we certainly are. I found myself responding in hatred and anger just this past weekend. I work at a church which spends much time and energy meeting the needs of the poor and homeless. Without giving you all of the details, I responded very poorly to one individual’s recent demands. And for that I am truly sorry. At times each and every one of us Christians does hate. We are not perfect and have much growing to do. This is to our shame.
To make matters worse, the Church is filled with compulsive haters of all sorts: racists, bigots, chauvinists, those who look down on the poor, and so on. Whether these people are true followers of Jesus or not makes little difference to those outside of the Church. The haters trample on our Lord’s good name.
What concerns me more in this article, however, is not the wrongful hate which so often emanates from members of the Church, but rather the charge that we hate for upholding biblical teachings. Does the Bible create haters? Is a Christian, in the purest sense of the term, a natural hater? Does denying the “goodness” of certain activities mean that we hate those who do them?
At the risk of sounding patronizing (but I implore you to understand the spirit of what I’m writing) we might answer this question by reflecting on a lesson we can all relate to from childhood. As a child walks with her father along the sidewalk she might long to run onto the street (why I don’t know, but children, for some unfathomable reason, often long to do this). At her first attempt, her father would undoubtedly grab her arm and hold her back. If she kept it up he would carry her, give her a lecture or even slap her hand. The little girl would kick and scream and hit – thinking that her father was mean and that he didn’t love her since he was holding her back from her desire. But this is of course the furthest thing from the truth. He holds her back and causes her some discomfort and even pain because he loves her and wants to prevent her from being struck by a car. Love leads the lover to often do things which appear hateful.
To further complicate the matter, the lover will continue to love even when the beloved longs not to be loved. The girl would prefer that her father’s love be withheld so that she could reach the street. The father loves in spite of her insistence that he not love (or in her opinion, hate). This creates vast amounts of tension in our modern, tolerant society, for the Christian continues to love and offer life even though society perceives this love as hate.
Whether you like it or not, Christians are bound to love those around them because they are commanded to by God. That means that we are compelled to share the message of the cross, that we must feed and clothe the poor, that we will strive after justice for the oppressed and that we need to share the Bible’s view on right and wrong. Anything less would be to fail to love God, and to fail to love our neighbour (the two greatest commandments). And while you may not like this, at very least you can understand the love of a parent who loves a child who does not want to be loved.

Modern Day Slave Owners

So often we look back on the slave trade with disgust, as well we should. There are few practices more despicable than kidnapping a human being, stealing them away from their sons, daughters, wives, husbands and community, and forcing them to work in a far-away land without pay. However, I think that many of us are not much better than those slave owners of old. Sure, we would never be a slave trader nor would we ever purchase a slave for our own use. However, many of the products we regularly purchase have been produced by workers living in worse conditions than many slaves have had to live in. This makes us, in my opinion, modern day slave owners.

Why do I suck so much?

Sometimes it feels like everything I do just plain bites. I was just chatting with a friend who was in Serbia learning about some church-work going on there. It was great to hear that their ministry to addicts is more than just feeding and clothing them. The missionary there has created an addiction treatment centre in which the patients live, work and learn about Christ. So much of their work could be applied here - but this is not the crux of my present problem.
My heart is regularly moved with the idea of evangelism and missions - with sharing the incredible news of the possibility of reconciliation with God with those who are cut off from Him. However, I have not moved to fulfill what I sense as my primary calling. Sure, I am at a church which does much "mission" work, but there is still something not at ease within my soul. I'm still searching. Still waiting. Still seeking. I think it is time to act.
How can it be the case that the All-Powerful God of creation has taken up residence within me and yet I still find myself lazy, cold-hearted, easily-distracted and living for small things? Why does His power not launch me into a completely different sphere of existence? Why does my old-man still seem to cling to life when he should be dead?
Perhaps if the Church as a whole could answer this question there would not be so many people dying without a knowledge of God's love.