Society

Confident Hope

November 14, 2024

Last night Origin Church prayed for the church as we do on each Wednesday evening. We asked God to give the church confident hope. The Apostle Paul modelled the prayer:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13, NLT

We began our evening together by rejoicing in the assignment of Jesus as the LORD’s Servant in Isaiah 49:1-7. The breadth of the LORD’s commission is astonishing. The Messiah says,

“And now the LORD speaks — the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The LORD has honoured me, and my God has given me strength. He says, ‘You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.'” Isaiah 49:5-6, NLT

He goes continues:

“The LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also blow low because of the LORD, th faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Isaiah 49:7

Confident hope.

This quality characterized the life of Christ Jesus. Though facing rejection from family and His hometown, though serving under Roman rulers in Israel, He drew Israel to Himself, and became a light to the Gentiles. He will bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

Confident hope.

Paul writes to the Gentile and Jewish followers of Jesus gathering in the house churches of Rome. He commends the servant life of Christ to them. He writes:

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.” Romans 15:1-2

Confident hope.

“For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, ‘The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.’ Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” Romans 15:3-4

Confident hope.

“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6

Confident hope.

“Therefore accept each other just as Christ accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for her mercies to them.” Romans 15:7-9

Confident hope.

Oh how we need confident hope today. Come Holy Spirit come. Come from our Heavenly Father and from the Lord Jesus who gave Himself in service to us. We trust you O God! Fill us with joy and peace. Fill your church with the harmony formed by your acceptance. The miracle of repentance is something we share no matter where we came from. And now by your power cause us to overflow with confident hope as we serve before those in our city and workplaces who might be like kings and queens and rulers of another kingdom. We need not worry about what to say. We need not worry about how to act. We have confident hope that you will grant us what is needed in every situation because we trust in you. And may your salvation come to the ends of the earth even as you raise up servants for yourself everywhere.

Church, Jesus, Society

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Prayer in the neighbourhood

April 12, 2024 0 Comments

I was glad to be included in the 2024 Lent Devotional, Finding Freedom — The World Turned Upside Down, published by the Union Gospel Mission here in Vancouver. Here is the entry for Day 24, Tuesday, March 12.

When I read the Acts 16 text I am drawn to the “places of prayer” almost as if they are another character in the story. Likewise, our places of prayer today are not centers of cultural and societal power. What would happen if we made a few more trips to and from these intangible places? What would happen if we actually looked and expected the activity of God on our way to and from them? And what could happen if we gathered some followers of Jesus to pray regularly in a neighbourhood?

A few years ago, while pastoring with Cityview Church in Vancouver, I moved our weekly prayer meeting out of the building and onto the sidewalks. We sent small groups out for prayer walks in the neighbourhood. Once in my group, the three of us paid attention to what was in the yards and homes we passed. We asked God to bless parents with wisdom, to open hearts to Jesus as Lord, to bless the gardeners with the same diligence for their souls as they had for their gardens, for the poor to have decent living spaces, and for Jesus to be known by the nations living in our neighbourhood.

On our way back to the church, I noticed a man standing in the middle of the sidewalk. As we approached, he did not turn aside or make room for us. Instead, he waited for us. When we were right in front of him, he asked,

“Where are you going?” “We are going to the church building.”

“Where have you been?” “We have been praying for the neighbours.” 

“Would you come in my house? My wife wants to know how to meet God.”

We were stunned. This had never happened to us before. We followed him into his house. We spoke with his wife about Jesus and a few months later she declared her allegiance to Jesus through testimony and baptism.

That day we were going and coming from our place of prayer in our neighbourhood — prayerfully. We rejoiced for days afterward because God had prepared us all for a divine encounter. We rejoiced because the Lord added to His family of believers.

God, we need a few more places of prayer. Help us see that You call us to be mobile prayer units. Help us create places of prayer everywhere.

Prayer, Society

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DR: Finding A Voice

July 29, 2022 0 Comments

Read Luke 3:1-6

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”  vs. 1

While the average person was going about their lives in John’s day the drama of empire, or “the game of thrones,” went on around them. The centre’s of power were occupied by people who would try to make a name for themselves. But the word of God found a young man in the wilderness, a no-body in a no-place, and formed in him a voice that would be heard, a voice that would prepare people to see God’s salvation — Jesus the Christ, a voice that would call people to repentance from sin and point them to God’s forgiveness for sin.

That was God’s call formed in John. God’s word must be embodied. To find our own voice in the midst of empire requires that we know who we are, where we came from, and what matters most. Otherwise we will just go with the flow of empire— power and security seeking domination over others. Oh, Word of God come! 

Heavenly Father, grant me courage to sit with you in the wildernesses of my life — the desolate and alone spaces. Form within me clarity about who you are and who I am. May clearness of heart before You, generate clarity of speech before people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daily Readings, Discipleship, Leadership, Society

The Goose, The Plan, and The Dissenting Opinion

May 14, 2022 0 Comments

This week while making my way to UBC I came to a brief but dangerous standstill on 41st Avenue. In the approach to Cambie a driver had staddled two lanes and was stopping, starting, then stopping again and again. What the dickens?!

Then I saw him. A Canadian Goose had successfully stoped us. I’m not sure what he was protesting. The driver in the blue Subaru Forester was trying to shepherd the Goose to the side of the road. Like a western cattle rancher he applied force and size to drive the Goose away. But the Goose was having none of that. I smiled and nervously watched the approaching traffic in my rear view mirror.

Surely frustrated, the driver finally honked. Success. Something in the horn’s tone must have resonated with the Goose because he took off in a flash toward Cambie where he turned right toward City Hall.

The Broadway Plan

Did you hear about the Broadway plan? It’s all the rage as we plan for progress. Dense, denser, and densier.

I’ve been more interested in the minority opinion though. It calls for the Broadway Plan to be rejected. Expressed by Gabriella Peters and Ruby Langan, who serve as Commissioners with the Vancouver City Planning Commission they elevate their concerns to life and death. Perhaps it feels to some that they would stop progress, but that’s not their point. They want progress to include everyone. As I surmise their concerns are three-fold. 1. We are in an emergency. “Disabled people are dying now.” 2. The Broadway Plan provides lots of details on density but it doesn’t provide specific details for going beyond current inadequate building standards that harm the disabled. 3. The plan does not provide a plan that keeps us from creating a “poor door” out of the city for the current renters.

Here’s the Dissenting Opinion, please read it.

https://twitter.com/mssinenomine/status/1525189748716761088?s=20&t=liK5fK8vfkTuzoCoICu8jA

Minority Reports

Minority reports and dissent seem to stand in the way of progress or at least someone’s vision of security. Within the Scripture from which I speak each week, minority reports and dissent is the way of the prophets. To ignore their voice is to court disaster. Famously Joshua and Caleb provided a minority opinion when they urged Israel to trust God and enter into the land on the other side of the Jordan river; the majority said “no we will not go” and so they wandered in the desert for years. Not so famously Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethal the Levite, opposed Ezra the priest and the assembly who sought to compel the men who had “foreign” wives to send the wives and children away; their dissent was noted but rejected and so a vision of God’s inclusion of people in covenant was reduced to blood lines for a time until Christ.

From within my faith tradition I see land, inclusion and visions of progress and security often contested. The record speaks for itself. However, I know of a church here in the Lower Mainland that listened to a minority report once. The whole body was voting to sell the land and call it a day at their location. But one child raised her hand and voted no. They stopped to listen. Imagine that! Progress was stopped by one child. They listened, reconsidered, and voted to stay put. Today this property hosts multiple congregations and is stewarded through a multi-ethnic and multi-congregational board. It’s not easy, but it’s glorious.

Will Vancouver listen? It’s hard for Gabriella and Ruby to be heard. As far as I can tell the Vancouver Sun has not brought their concerns forward to the general public. But the general public is having a hard time on any day to hear, listen, and be engaged in the many decisions shaping the future of Vancouver. We’ve got our heads down and we are trying to make sure our circles of comfort survive.

But at least we have Twitter.

Hear! Hear! I raise my morning coffee to Gabriella and Ruby.

Change, Leadership, Society

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Reading hy·giene

March 3, 2021 0 Comments

When you read a book do you just read it without context or concern for the author?

Do you find out about the author and their own story?

Do you explore the influences and relationships that may have shaped the author?

Do you wonder about when it was written and why?

Do you think about the original audience who may have taken up the book before you?

Do you look up unfamiliar places on a map?

Do you read the preface and dedications?

Do you explore how other readers experienced the book and may have critiqued it?

Do you explore the cultural perspectives of the people who inhabit the pages of the book?

Read A Book!

All of these practices are like washing your hands. Let’s call it reading hygiene. I know one can just read the book anyway without any thought to these matters. However, habits of reading hygiene will also help when you take up the newspaper, read an email, watch a YouTube video, read a tweet, or even read the Bible.

Maybe you don’t read critically all the time. I get it, we don’t turn on our “observing self” all time. However, maybe you can start with it when you pick up the book and then leave it. Maybe you could get to the end of the book and then decide you’d better wash your hands, or “wash your mind.” But then, you have already consumed the delicacies of what was presented with the germs of your assumptions, proclivity for preoccupation with self, and de-contextualized readings.

Read The Bible

Interested in developing your reading hygiene with the Bible? Here’s some books you might find helpful.

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th Edition, Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

How to Read the Bible Book by Book, Garden D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

Read the Bible for Life, George H. Guthrie

Guerrilla Gospel: Reading the Bible for Liberation in the Power of the Spirit, by Bob Ekblad

Society