In Search of Eden

I have often pondered the concept of all humanity being "exiled from Eden," after reading the phrase coined by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It came up again in our team devotions at work.

One of my co-workers' pastors had shared with his church the five securities for which all humanity searches since being kicked out of the garden.

1. Security of provision
2. Security of health
3. Security in our relationship to God
4. Security in our relationships with each other
5. Security with nature

Most people long for a utopia on earth. If world peace could be won and poverty destroyed, if we had better healthcare, if we followed what our "Higher Power" desired, if we tolerated everyone's differences, if every nation conserved on energy and natural resources, then happiness and security would still the restless ache inside us.

A post by Paul David Tripp stirred up these thoughts and discussion. The whole article (Thinking Biblically About Worry) is worth the read, but he gives a good picture of the biblical solution to our earthly longings for Eden.

"I am deeply persuaded that real, lasting personal rest of heart is never to be found in ease of circumstances. Even in the best of situations in this fallen world your heart will be able to find reasons for worry. Inner rest of soul and lasting peace of heart are only ever found when Jesus and His kingdom are your highest and deepest treasures. When you place your identity in His never-changing hands, when you find your meaning and purpose in the unstoppable work of His kingdom, and when you place your inner sense of well-being on the sure foundation of His promise to meet your every need, you will be able to rest even when the situations and relationships around you are broken."

As the John Newton wrote, "The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine."

Our only security on earth is in Jesus, the One who is coming soon to take His family to a far better Eden. Will you be there?

A Walk Through The Valley

I sit to write this evening with too much I'm learning and little feeling of resolve. It is like I am in a valley with mountains climbed behind me and mountains to climb around me. Yet, I can't apply directly what I've learned to the place through which I'm traveling. I'm on a journey through a Death Valley I've never seen before. I don't know what will bite or attack me around the next bend in the woods. The comfort of the moment is surrounded by strange noises from the bush.

Do you ever go through times like this? The pain of the Haitians is almost too much to consider. You may be able to quote chapter and verse of God's love and sovereignty and can rest, as I am doing, on the mystery that God is good all the time. Yet, you're reminded of the horror of suffering in other countries, the co-worker who is killed leaving a young family behind, the door you longed to enter slammed, and the uncertainty and bleakness of tomorrow still to be faced. It leaves you numb.

I'm thankful that times like these are not the norm. Joy does come in the morning. Yet, as Ecclesiastes reminds us, wisdom is more often gained in the house of mourning than the house of revelry.

I'm praying there is something supernaturally wonderful in store for the souls of our Haitian friends. What are your thoughts as you hear of those in Haiti?

Philippians 4:6-7 and Proverbs 3:5 have been verses I've clung to this past week. What promises comfort you through life's valleys?

A Secret Agent

What I love about secret agents is not the popular fiction rubbish. I'm not enamored with the fast cars, steamy romances, or a glittery life.

In fiction, I like the calm, cool-thinking of Danger Man John Drake or the poetic melancholy of George Smiley. For reality, I enjoy the accounts of war spies or more recent agents.

Yes, my pulses race with the secret gadgets, master disguises, and living-on-the-edge escapes; although, most of their tasks, like ours, take place in the mundane, daily routine.

I also appreciate their loneliness. Unlike James Bond, their exploits are rarely applauded. Most of their life-altering decisions are archived in the never-see-daylight vaults of agent history.

In the States, it is common for various governing authorities to undermine these agencies, to criticize, to tie their hands, to demand the impossible. When a traitor is exposed, the taint reflects on the faces of all the service.

So, why these reflections?

Several friends and aquaintances of mine are fighting silent battles. Some have diseases with names that attack muscles or joints; some are a nameless torture of the body and mind. Some are mental illnesses. All work as isolators, making their victim feel cut off from the rest of the world...alone.

In a way, I think every individual feels this aloneness. Sicknesses of mind or body excentuate the reality that already exists.

True communication demands mental alertness, emotional sensitivity, and the unity of verbal and non-verbal signals. When exhaustion dulls one aspect of this combined effort, misunderstanding glares out of another's eyes. If the exhaustion persists, one may shy away from this affect and simply pull inside themselves.

How does this tie in with thoughts of a secret agent?

In the Christian realm, more than in general life, I think we're all like secret agents. All have a goal from an authority the watching world can't recognize (albeit a Perfect One). We have assignments that are given to us individually. We live all over the world, but are not regular citizens of any place. We have weapons that are silent and unseen and may look harmless, such as our sword—the Bible; we alone have experienced the power it can wield against unseen forces.Our unity of purpose is vital for success. One traitor, hypocrite, in our midst casts years of angry accusations on Christianity as a whole.

As fellow agents, it is vital that we back each other up in the fight.

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)

We must provide each other with the equipment that will allow for the success of the mission.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)

We provide the celebrations and the mourning for successes and failures, because our work depends on each other. We are not islands.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans12:15)

This is where the sick agent, the mentally worn agent needs the most support. We are not to quit reaching out, because we seem to have no success. We need to bear with them in suffering, even if we go around in circles.

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. (Romans 15:1)

The difference is our Director of Intelligence doesn't retire us to the shelf when we are weak, when our best years are behind us, when we have nothing left to give.

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

The world believes in survival of the fittest. But for those born again by Jesus, the weak are indispensible.

Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Do you feel weak today? Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Do you feel strong and full of hope?  Wrap your arm around someone who is discouraged and help to lift them. Leave off the advice and learn to listen. Your hope will infuse them best by listening to their heart.

If you feel alone, reach out to a community of Christians around you. While we complete our missions here, we will always carry around the loneliness that sin has brought upon this world, but some day our unity with God and with each other will be complete. Some day, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

You are here on assignment. Be faithful to the mission He has made you to do.

Happy New Year!

Already a new year has begun. For some of us, the start of another year wipes the slate clean, gives a chance to reinvent one's dreams, start over, get it right. For others of us, we've lost a person, a dream, a focus in 2009, and the thought of another year appears bleak and empty.

For those filled with excitment, channel that energy into a focus on God. Make Him the centre of your goals. If you don't, you may lose what you'd hoped for and your world will crash around you. If Yahweh is the centre of your dreams, He will pour His dreams into your heart, and their fulfillment will be greater than anything you could have imagined.

I will praise Yahweh, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set Yahweh always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:7-8)

Show me Your ways, O Yahweh, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Saviour, and my hope is in You all day long. (Psalm 25:4-5)

For those facing the year with dread, God in His providence has brought you here. Cling to the hope that God is good all the time, even when the circumstances seem cruel and heart-wrenching.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. Wait for Yahweh; be strong and take heart and wait for Yahweh. (Psalm 27:13-14)

May we head into the year with our hearts and eyes set on seeking Yahweh's face. This earth is just the prologue. The best is yet to come!

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14)

Merry Christmas

You know, today I'm homesick for a Home I've never seen before; for a Place where there is always the magic of Christmas, where love blankets us all around, where fellowship is deep and pure, and where light shines from the Father of Light, the Prince of Peace, the Saviour of those freed by His blood; no more suffering, no more sin, no more parting, no more death; joy and peace are the air we breathe; work is an overflow of the love of God that fills and overflows everyone.

May we have a taste of it this Christmas through our thanksgiving for Jesus and our fellowship with family and friends, and may we pass it on to everyone we meet.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Have you ever contemplated how you were made not only to want to, but to be able to communicate? Even without verbal skills, babies, the deaf, stroke or accident victims all find ways to ensure others understand them. In fact, some studies say that only 7% of our communication is verbal with 93% non verbal.

If you are on Facebook, it will not take long for you to be amazed at the variety of fan pages that form and are followed.

 Fan pages, such as—

• Coughing when you walk by smokers and hope they get the message
• I like watching raindrops race across my window and silently cheer for them
• Having a 100% sarcastic conversation with someone who thinks you're serious
• Kicking Snow/Sludge off cars

And this does not cover groups, atheletes, actors, musicians, companies, and countries that create their own followings. Not only can you join one of these pages, you can also show that you "like" when a friend has joined a group or page.

What is it that makes us want others to know what we like, from the quirky to the fanatic? Even with the most shy, introverted person, there is someone that he or she would like to have know what is exciting or of interest.

Communication is one of our easiest snares. It leads to gossip, slander, bursts of anger. Yet, it can be the most powerful way to encourage the struggling, nudge a child towards godly character, warn against danger. It has equally strong potential in good as in bad.

My father said it this way: "The real power to build up or destroy lies caged behind our teeth."

The Bible warns—

The tongue is that kind of flame. It is a world of evil among the parts of our bodies, and it completely contaminates our bodies. The tongue sets our lives on fire, and is itself set on fire from hell. (James 3:6)

and exhorts us to be cautious with our power—

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Interestingly, the last words of Jesus on earth instructed the disciples to communicate—

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations....Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you...(Matthew 28:19-20a)

We reveal what we worship by what we talk about and by the attitude in which we pursue it. If we truly love Jesus, it is going to come out of our mouths (directly and indirectly), our actions, and our attitudes.

As I tell actors, do not worry as much about how you say a line. The most important thing is how you relate to it. If the situation and dialogue is real for you, the audience will feel and picture it too. You can say it as flowery as you want, but if it is superficial to you, it will be felt superficially.

So too, it is our focus on Jesus, not just at Christmas and Easter but every day, that will cause those around us to hear the message (verbally or non verbally).

"We guard our tongue in company by guarding our thoughts in solitude." ~Dr. Tim Trumper

What you feed your mind and heart on is what will come out in words and in life. Make sure what your life shouts from your place of influence is something the whole world should hear.

Magical: Mysteriously Enchanting

What is it about childhood that makes this time of year so magical?

While I was growing up, from '77 to '84 we lived in Minnesota. For me, those are my favourite memories of Christmas. We have a large family. In MN, all the family was together. This spelled lots of laughter, as my older siblings are some of the funniest people I know.

Around this time, we'd assemble our fake Christmas tree. It may not seem magical to you, but as a family activity, it was one of the best.

Christmas morning, my parents made a rule that Kevin would get up first and make the fire (that kept us from waking my parents too early). When it was going, he'd come up to get me (I remember laying awake listening for his footsteps coming up the stairs), and we'd sit before our stockings (me peeking, but Kevin much more disciplined). At a set time, 7:00, I believe, we'd wake Mom and Dad and, eventually, the rest of the family.

Mom always made fresh sticky buns for Christmas morning, and, later in the day, Dad made the egg nog. We'd open our presents. And an aunt, uncle, and cousins would come for dinner. There was snow, Christmas carols, and lighted services at church. The atmosphere smiled around you.

There was a suspense building up to Christmas day that went far beyond the gifts.

Jesus understood the ingrained mystery that children accept about Him, but we, who have to have all the answers, often miss.

"But when Jesus saw [His disciples turning the children away], he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them." (Mark 10:14-16)

Jesus- mystery in the flesh, God made man; Immanuel, God with us!

Scholars in ancient times understood many things about the prophecies of Jesus coming, but they also confused details of the Messiah's coming, so much so that they missed it. Even the disciples, with Him everyday, misunderstood numerous teaching of Jesus until after His resurrection.

Scripture clearly teaches essential truths that we can know about our Messiah. However, much mystery still enshrouds our Saviour; mystery which excites expectation of things yet unseen. Our hope!

My wish for all of us this Christmas is that we may return to the joy of God sending the long-promised Messiah, and that we may also embrace the mystery of our Lord and return to the magic of Christmas.