The stone.

As I was tidying up my desk today I found a stone tucked in behind the lamp. I picked it up, held it in my hands and recalled instantly its source.

During an amazing trip to Israel with some members of Amberlea, we found ourselves at the ancient temple steps in Jerusalem.

Our guide Aharon was phenomenal. He not only gave us the historical account of each place we visited but he was able to give us the biblical reference as well. His ability to provide context breathed new life and meaning into the scriptures.

During our many days with him he would say, “Jesus would likely have been here.”  Or “Jesus may have walked here”, or “there is a high probability that…”, but on this day, at the temple steps, it was different.

As we sat on the steps listening attentively to our history lesson, Aharon said, “Look behind you. See that door?  That was the only way into the temple.  See that door just to the left? That was the only way out of the temple.”  He paused briefly and said, emphatically, “Jesus walked on these steps.”

No doubt at all.  No likely, may have or probably. 

“Jesus walked on these steps.”

His words rushed through me like electricity and I found myself wanting not just my butt and feet on the steps but my entire body.  “Jesus walked on these steps!” 

I am sure there is a picture of me somewhere lying on the steps, soaking in the warmth of the sun and the magnitude of that moment, with the words, “Jesus walked on these steps,” repeating in my head.

The picture above are the hands of, my little family, Brian, Emily, Tyler and me.  Our hands touching the steps that were walked upon by our Lord, Jesus. Jesus, who loves me so much. It was there that I found a loose stone and discreetly placed it in my pocket.  

Today, doing a simple chore of cleaning my desk, brought to my mind a precious memory and an awesome truth. 

I pray that today as you go about your day, doing life as you normally would, that you would be reminded that you too are loved by an amazing God.  

Join us this Sunday as we begin a new sermon series entitled, Called.

Lament

On Sunday our very own Tyndale Student Emma Clarke will be preaching on the subject of Lament.  

A lament is a passionate expression of grief or mourning often found in music or poetry.  If you have ever read through the book of Psalms, you’ll recognize over forty of the 150 psalms to be psalms of lament.

This is a timely subject for our family. On Tuesday evening, Brian’s 85 year old mother, Mary, passed away. Mary was a faithful, religious woman whose life was defined by serving God, serving her pastor husband, Bob and serving others.  She loved the church and her life revolved around it.  

Five or so years ago, it was clear that Mary was forgetting things. Her memory of the things that brought her joy did not seem as clear. Mary was diagnosed with dementia.

For the past four and half years, Brian’s mom has been in a caring nursing home in Picton, ON.

In her earlier time there, Mary would welcome visits and weekly heart-to-heart chats on the phone with her eldest son. In the past few years, however, when Brian would visit his mom, it was though she was looking straight through him. The mom that spent summers at the cottage with her three boys seemed very, very far away. The mom that loved to do puzzles on rainy days and sunny days alike, no longer searched the table for small pieces. She seemed, instead, to stare at his face as though she were searching to put the larger pieces of her life together.  But in the searching, nothing. No recognition.  The mom he knew, no longer seemed to know him.  It was heart wrenching to watch.  Each month she seemed to slip further and further away.  

The grieving had begun, even though she was living. 

Lament.

My God, My God, Why?

Mourning, grieving, loss.    

Scripture teaches us that it is okay to face the pain and heartache we feel. We are taught that we can and should cry out to God in the midst of that pain.  The psalms of Lament are our example, each with a common structure of moving from negative to positive, from sorrow to joy.  Psalms of lament are a theology, a doxology, and a form of worship. They are reminders of truth. They are exercises in faith. They are transformative for the believer. And there is much we can learn from them.

We learn that in our grief we can cry out to God (Psalm 6:6), we can ask for help (Psalm 71:12) and like the psalmist we can, in remembering the love and faithfulness of God, respond in trust and praise (Psalm 86:12).

Join us on Sunday as Emma takes us on a journey in understanding the Psalms of Lament. 

Keep on Keeping on.

You don’t have to be a basketball fan to know that Toronto is abuzz over the Raptors’ move to the NBA finals. And I think you would have to be living under a rock not to recognize the name Kawhi Leonard.

As Emily spoke about perseverance on Sunday during the KidsZone moment, I couldn’t help think of Leonard.  He and the Raptors were fresh in my mind after watching the series-clinching game the night before.

After Emily fiiinalllllly opened the jar, I recalled an interview with Leonard about his last season before coming to the Raptors. He was asked how he overcame one of the toughest episodes of his career to get to where he is now. 

Kawhi Leonard pointed people to God:

“Yeah. Last year was a very down year for me. Was going through a lot, with everything that was going on,” Kawhi explained, referencing the injury and team change.

“God is good,” said Leonard, who has “Fear God, not them” tattooed on his right arm. “I prayed every day and then ended up getting healthy. Now I’m able to play basketball, and you could just see what He does for you.’’

• Perseverance

• Humility

• Faith in God

Kawhi Leonard is known to be a man of very few words. He could have spoken about his intense work ethic, the hardships he has endured or his good luck, but in that situation he chose humility.  He chose to give glory to God.

Perseverance, humility and faith in God are qualities not just for sports heroes, they apply also to you and me.

Perseverance means having persistence and tenacity. It means being resolute and unyielding while pursuing or following a course of action and for you and me, it means persevering in the faith despite the many obstacles.

Romans 5:3-5 “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

So friends, keep on keeping on!

https://www.faithwire.com/2019/05/14/i-prayed-every-day-toronto-raptors-star-kawhi-leonard-says-faith-in-god-helped-him-through-low-point-of-career/