You’re up north at a cottage. It’s beautiful because there is no one around. You decided to get away by yourself, completely alone. You could use the time to focus, gather, recover, learn, and listen. It’s the first night. Comfortably lazing about. Maybe reading. The normal noises from bugs and animals coming in through the screen. You’re reading.

The light flickers. And goes out. You’re alone. At the cottage. Lights out.

There is this book called “John”. Weird title, I know. Now you might think it would be about a guy named John. Incorrect. It’s just the author’s name. But it’s about another dude. Even though it’s named “John”.  Anyways, I was saying it’s about another guy.

This other guy (the book tells us) lived, died, and he lives again. He wasn’t reincarnated. He didn’t just live on “spiritually”. It wasn’t just his wise words and sayings that lived on. It says he literally lives. He walked out of his own tomb. Out of the darkness. Out of “lights out”. Pretty impressive credentials.

He’s seen by hundreds of people alive again. He lets people feel him, his scars. And he does what most of us do. He heads towards his friends. Maybe we’re not so different from this guy?

He ends up in this fishing town where his best friends are. He sits down with this guy Peter. They’ve only talked twice since he’s come back to life and probably not alone until now.

He says to Peter when you were young you took care of yourself and went where you wanted to go but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and you will go where you do not want to go.

Lights out. Why do you think we feel that kind of primal fear when we lose something like power or a light? It’s unknown. Uncontrollable. We like our control, don’t we?

We’re so used to it. We’re addicted to it. It’s “my life”. There might only be one lyric I like by Nickel back. But it’s brilliant. “Each days a gift, and not a given right”.

Don’t believe the mantra. “It’s my life”. You are hopelessly connected to thousands and millions of other. Some individuals have so much control over you that it’s just a button’s press away from ending it. Or the control you’ve lost is just a “click” away. Or just a bottle away. Or a cha-ching paycheque away.

Jesus, remember, the guy with a pretty sweet credentials? He tells his best friend- “You’re going to need to give up the control”. “God has a life for you to live”. “You Can’t Do It Alone!”. “You need me”.

I need him.

Admitting need is never weakness. It’s wisdom and strength bound together.

Be wise. Be strong.

Rich

Three years ago I traveled across Canada for four weeks. We started in Hamilton and went East to New Brunswick and then all the way out to Vancouver. We camped for free anywhere we could. Including the side of Hwy 1, Dirt and gravel roads, peoples backyards, behind sheds, cottages, always looking for the ideal “grassy knoll”.

When we got to Victoria we were God’s lost children found. We stayed with a family we knew for three nights! In REAL BEDS!!!

One of the coolest moments for us was the Sunday we were there. We had plans to cross the border and head to Seattle to Mars Hill Church to hear Mark Driscoll preach. There was only one thick line stopping us. The border.

You see we’d had some “incidents” as only four 18 year old men can have along the way. One of us lost their only Visual ID while bungee jumping in Ottawa. All he had was a piece of paper (Literally an 8×11 paper) that was his health card. Another of us was a landed Immigrant (from Texas) who only had a driver’s license. Well we pulled up to that red line (all of us were praying, and sweating at this point) and handed over our shameful identification to the officer.

He grilled us on our ID and asked to search the car. We had no clue what was coming.

You see we had pulled all of our gear out of the car and left it at the house. Everything but the NINE cans of propane we had been using for cooking. No camping equipment, no grill, nothing but 9 cans of propane in the back of a nice looking Jetta with 4 man-boys from Ontario claiming: “we’re going to church”. Wow. We had no chance.

Can you remember the last time you felt like we did? You know…threatened, cornered, coerced, and even, helpless.

You immediately feel the adrenaline flowing as your preparing to either get out of there or “stand your ground”.

I wonder if Jesus was ever in moments like that. Somewhere Unsafe.

There are numerous times where Jesus is in mortal danger. The Religious leaders of the day ready to kill him. In fact one time. Jesus came upon some men who were about to stone a woman. It says they brought her out and told him she was caught in the act of adultery (only her?) for which the penalty is death by stoning (they bent the law a little bit as it was required she be a betrothed virgin with eye witness evidence against her and if proved true both parties were to be executed not just the girl… hmm. (Dt 22:23-24, Lev. 20:10, Dt 22:22). The other interesting piece of information here is that the State of Israel (Where the Jewish nation lives) was under Roman control and under that control the Jews were not permitted to perform any death sentences. So here’s Jesus. Trapped in a sense. The two options given to him are to take part in nothing short of murder or deny the validity of the law given by God as interpreted by some twisted religious people. What’s his answer?

He writes in the sand looks up and says Whoever has no sin can throw the first stone. Then goes back to write more in the ground. And one by one they leave. Dropping their stones.

How safe do you think that woman felt? Like being back in the arms of her mother I bet. She had a man who didn’t know her stand up to a posse of grown men bent on doing “God’s work”.

Where are you in the midst of this story?
How do you treat women?
How do you treat your friends?
Are you safe?

I once heard a very informative line. It said that it can be quite delusional to try and identify where you are? It said the only way to not lie to yourself about that question is to ask the next question. Where are you headed? If you stay on the path you’re on where does it lead?

The four of us in that car were not safe (according to U.S. customs).

And somehow the officer still let us over the border… Ridiculous, I know.

We do that to ourselves to don’t we. Let in habits that aren’t safe, people, relationships. And what do we end up with? We become Unsafe. Manipulative, aggressive, with psychological, and relationship issues.

Jesus drew the line. He knew what was right (like we often do). He defended a woman against an angry mob. Have you ever done that? Defend the disabled kid getting teased, or the “fat” kid? If you want God to bless you with a wife someday you must become a safe person. If you don’t all you’re doing is exporting your disease.
There’s sin’s of commission. That is say, lying, stealing, cheating etc. But guys- there are also sins of OMISSION. Not stepping forward with the truth, ignoring abuse around you, walking away. Don’t be a coward! God will not bless you so you can abuse others and yourself. 1 Peter 3:7 says “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker (who would win in a fist fight?) partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers”.

Gentlemen, Now you know. Anything from here on out is now your responsibility. Pray that God would prepare you, restore you, and protect you.

Be safe.

Richard

There’s a notion in most contemporary Christian circles that gives me a little bit of the heebie jeebies. Now I’m not too sure what the “heebie jeebies” are or where they originated but that’s not what I’m writing about today. So it’s better to just accept my terminology.

The reality is we all have a bit of this notion in us. It can all be summed up in a thought everyone lives on earth has had independent of ethnicity, geography, or relgion… “I cannot wait for heaven”.

Now I am quite aware that heaven’s not the bad guy here. I mean who wouldn’t be just a little bit interested in going to a place that has the credentials it does that are mentioned in the Bible?  No, the fault lands in our court.

The term that most accurately reflects this situation is “Escapism”. That we just need to, endure this life. I think the faults in this way of thinking are quite obvious. If it’s just about getting somewhere then what’s the point of the journey?

It’s even more interesting when you look at what Jesus talked about in the Bible. You’d think that if the only important idea he wished to deliver was to believe in him and simply wait for heaven that it would be all over those pages.

But it’s not.

Jesus lived. I think that maybe that alone shows how much God cares about this world, this life, you. He healed, cared, cried, and spoke about something called the Kingdom of God. That it was moving. Expanding. Growing. And Jesus was giving people a chance to join it. It was here, on earth.

You see we’re not waiting for heaven anymore. When Jesus came down. He lived, died, and rose again. And he forever joined heaven and earth. We’re not perpetually waiting for God now. He is now always here.

There is no “Heaven vs Earth” to Jesus. There is only his Kingdom, which has forever joined earth and heaven together. The Lord Jesus Christ did this. How does this affect the way you live? See life? Are you helping bring heaven to earth?

Sometimes we need to restructure our thoughts. It’s part of life. We are called to be part of redeeming… everything

Guys, redeem the term Man. Be part of the kingdom of God. Value competition but don’t let pride bind you. Let us control ourselves in a world that will go to any length for gratification. Pray, you are not by yourself.

May you embrace heaven and earth
May you know the one who joined them forever
May you live in such a way that all spectators see Jesus, Heaven, and the redemption of Earth

Rich

Gentlemen, This week I wanted to share something very personal with you guys. I remember when I had just turned 20. I was in my second year at McMaster University. I was working part time, playing water polo four nights a week and also putting in some time toward school.

I had just started listening to a guy from Seattle on podcast. He talked about being a man and not in the stereotypical way. I heard tons of new ideas I’d never thought about before, or heard. At least I hadn’t been listening until then.
I had been dating a girl for over a year and was now totally convinced I wanted to make this woman my wife. I began actually wanting to work, taking extra shifts, thinking about my future. I really put the effort in to maintain sexual purity with my thoughts and actions. I decided I wanted to be a grown man. Own up to mistakes I made.
It took a long time for the thoughts to come to words. Years. There is an illustration used by G.K. Chesterton in his book “Orthodoxy” that I love and will never forget.

He said our life could be compared to a canvas that we paint through our lives. The problem he said is that so often we decide that what we’re painting is not worthwhile or meaningful anymore. So we scrap it. He said this is a problem because if we are ever to see change in ourselves, this world, eternity. It could take a lifetime to achieve. Anything worthwhile will take time essentially.

I took this to heart.

I decided that if my life is a canvas and I have the choice to create anything then I had better be sure about it. I wondered, and struggled because there are so many good pursuits. Then I had a true God moment. I realized, I don’t need to get everything into my painting now. There will always be room for change and growth. What are the things that I will never take out of it? 3 things…

I desire to be a follower of Christ. Someone who knows why he lived, why he died, and why he came back for me, us, everyone, and most importantly ANYONE.

I want to be a husband. I have a beautiful amazing wife. I remember hearing Andy Stanley speak about marriage. He shared with us how Paul gave the charge to men to “Love your wife like Christ loved the Church”

I want to be a father. Yes a career, athletics, and intellectual pursuits are all excellent and worthwhile. But I honestly believe one of the best things I could ever accomplish with my life is to be a good father. In a generation where parental childcare is degraded as a waste of time or a burden I wish to be different

This is all I have firmly placed on my canvas, I hold it gently, humbly, and yet I cling to it as the bedrock of my life. What’s so interesting to me is that these three things if pursued my entire life will undoubtedly change the world. I think your canvas could as well.

Rich

This week I had an awesome discussion with a few friends. We talked a lot about fundamentalism in the church. That’s when someone or some group holds onto an idea or value with an extreme zeal allowing no room for discussion. When they’re interpretation is the only correct view. When no questions are welcome, only conformity. Then they could be called a fundamentalist.

First let’s clarify that it’s not wrong to adhere tightly to certain ideas, values… The problem lies in the singular interpretation and a refusal for any discussion on the subject that’s not patting each other on the back or putting down other views.

In Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25 we have the same narrative going on. Jesus has just had a discussion with a very affluent and wealthy man. The result is the man leaving Jesus presence mournfully. Jesus looks to his disciples all watching and says “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Now there are a few ways we can get fundamental from this tiny bit of scripture. The first and most obvious way would be to condemn the rich because well obviously none of us has ever heard, or seen of, or could even fathom a camel going through the eye of a needle. But JESUS said it. It must be true. No one who is rich can enter the kingdom of heaven! Which begs the question, what is rich?

Well in my perspective a pretty easy way to determine if you’re rich or not is if you’re wealthier than a lot of people. And hey there are a lot of people in the world. So let’s make it simple, and sweet. If, on the big make believe list of richest to poorest in the entire world, you rank higher than 50%, you’re rich! Which in turn means, well sorry but you can’t enter the kingdom of heaven.

That is the interpretation problem. How should those words be taken? Was there more context (who, what, where, why etc) that might show more light on the situation? Of course. We have two translations to get through. From Greek to English, and from an Jewish man speaking over two thousand years ago in a different culture and country to modern day Canada.

Interpretation leads right into the other problem I mentioned. Refusal for discussion. “I’m right, anything else is wrong”. This is so dangerous because whether you like it or not someone taught you what you know. That someone has views, and beliefs that affect how they Interpret they world. The other extremely dangerous part to this is dissent from critical thought. It’s easy. Too easy. It’s easy to not question life, to not have to search for hard answers, to cry out.

There I was talking with my friends about some of the more fundamental people, and churches we know of and one of my friends quoted a great line. “I believe the Bible… now I just have to figure out what it’s saying”.

We ended our conversation agreeing that something we’d pray for is that we would be confronted with our own areas of extreme fundamentalism. That God would break our proud hearts that think we know everything about God, eternity, salvation, right from wrong etc. You see we have to hold everything including our own knowledge firmly, but gently. So that God may continue to use US in His conversation with the world.

May you hold everything especially your knowledge in humility.
May you have questions.
May you be involved in God’s conversation with the world.

Rich