December Note; Merry Christmas

Having trouble keeping up? December is a busy time.

Exams, Christmas shopping and hopefully some good food.

This time I'm sending you some advent bulletins.

Do you remember making them yourselves?

When I was teaching Grade 6 Sunday school I was a mean teacher

"My" kids were only allowed to draw pictures from what really was in the bible.

That meant no donkey,or innkeeper, or stable, or Christmas tree

the only animals were sheep and the baby could be drawn in a manger.

One boy wanted to draw an angel and we looked in the bible for a description.

His angel with 6 wings kind of looked like a butterfly.

This Christmas read the Christmas Story again with "adult" eyes

and wonder about what happened 2000 years ago

You can Find it in the beginning of the gospels of Matthew & Luke

Merry Christmas,

November Note; Passionate Faith

A common question that is asked when we see someone who is passionate about their faith is, ”How do I get that same fire in my soul? How are they able to have such passion and such fervour for the things of God?” Most of us struggle to maintain our passion and to discipline ourselves in our Christian walk. We want to know how to get that fire and to keep that fire burning inside us for the long haul.

The answer is always in the Text (  “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord and like a hammer that breaks rocks to pieces.” — Jeremiah 23:29 ). The fire is in the book! As we study and wrestle with the words in the book and commit them to memory, we begin to develop that fire in our chest. There is no substitute for the hard work it takes to become a disciple that has passion for the Text. The fire is there in the Book; it has always been there. As you seriously read the Text, you begin to develop the hunger that eventually becomes a consuming fire.

There is no shortcut to developing the fire. You can’t go to a weekend seminar and learn the three steps to obtaining it. The disciple has to do the hard work of taking the Word in and then walking it out and being obedient to it. It will be the hardest thing you have ever done, but think of the reward!

I just want to challenge you to start reading a “chapter a day” Start in Matthew and read all 4 gospels in a row, read Proverbs or Psalms, or read the whole book like the guys in this fun video did: Bible in a minute:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_k8JjVWQA

October Note; the Pastor & the Scorpion

There was a pastor who was taking a long journey to climb to the top of Mt. Sinai. As he was about to begin his ascent, a scorpion approached him and said that he also was going to the top of Mt. Sinai. “Would it be possible for me to ride on your shoulder and go with you on this journey, “asked the scorpion? At first, the pastor was adamant, “NO! You will sting me and leave me to die on the path!” However, the scorpion was very persuasive and he finally convinced the pastor that it would be stupid to sting and kill his ride to the top, because then the scorpion wouldn’t get to the destination, either. Finally, the pastor consented and put the scorpion on his shoulder, and together they started to the top of Mt. Sinai. When they had almost reached the summit, the scorpion suddenly stung the pastor in the jugular vein, causing him to crumple to his knees, and start the painful death throes that accompany the scorpion’s venom. The pastor gasped, “Why? How could you do this? Why did you trick me?’” The scorpion replied, “I didn’t trick you-you knew what I was when you picked me up!”