We are not soul-mates - we are so much more than that.
Ten years ago today, I got up early and went golfing with my brothers and closest buddies. We had free passes and a lot of fun, in fact I came very close to a hole in one. I hit the ball on a 90 yard par 3 that actually lipped the edge of the cup before rolling out. That wasn’t the high-light of that day. See today September 28, 2006 is the date of my tenth anniversary.

Yes that’s right 10 years ago today I somehow convinced Tammy to marry me. We started an incredible journey together that has included living in four cities, Victoria, Prince George, Calgary and Winnipeg and we have been blessed with 4 kids, Rachel, Curtis, Brianne and Stephanie. Even if we move at some point to a fifth city we will be staying at four kids.
Looking back over the 10 years our marriage hasn’t always been easy. We haven’t always gotten along. But I know this, I am more in love with Tammy today then I was 10 years ago. I think the word soul-mate is a crock. I know that true love isn’t a cosmic event but a choice that is made daily to love. We were not "meant to be together" but we chose to be. Choosing to be is stronger than meant to be. There is no one else that I would rather share my life with. I am truly blessed. Thanks Tam.

Life in the Kingdom

A couple of weeks ago I used John 18 as my text. This is passage where Jesus told Pilate that he was a king. But not the king of this world, he is the king of truth. It hit me that Jesus the king of truth dies to usher in his kingdom. He could have spared his own life, and become a king of the world, taking power from Pilate, or even the Emperor in Rome. This is what Satan tempted Jesus with, all the kingdoms of the world. Satan feared what the kingdom of truth would usher in. Hebrews 13:12-14 talks about Jesus sacrifice, “So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.” (NLT) When Jesus died to usher in Kingdom of Truth, it wasn’t to we could have an easy prosperous life. It was so that we could follow his example and give our lives in service to him. This world is not the end all and be all, verse 14 reminds us of that, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (NLT) The gift of salvation is supposed to free us to live.

On the lighter side
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a sailor named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man's man, who showed no fear when facing his enemies.

One day, while sailing the Seven Seas, his lookout spotted a pirate = ship, and the crew became frantic.

Captain Bravo bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt!" The first mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, and while wearing the brightly colored frock, the Captain led his crew into battle and defeated the pirates.

That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day's triumph. One of them asked the Captain, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before battle?"

The captain replied, "If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood. Thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid."

All of the men sat in and marveled at the courage of such a manly man's man.

As dawn came the next morning, the lookout spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirate ships approaching. The crew stared in worshipful silence at the captain and waited for his usual orders.

Captain Bravo gazed with steely eyes upon the vast armada arrayed against his ship, and without fear, turned and calmly shouted, "Get me my brown pants!"

The Chase

When I was in Bible College I was introduced to a great book by Jerry Bridges called The Pursuit of Holiness. It is a simple straight-forward book on the journey of holiness. To my delight the book has been re-written for youth and is entitled, The Chase. Bridges opens with an illustration of a farmer who works hard but is completely reliant on forces outside of himself. This is the premise of The Chase, God has a part and so do we.

“Chasing after holiness is like that. Holiness is something we need God to do, yet on the flip side we need to some of the work ourselves. If God isn’t present, true holiness can’t be present. Yet if we rely solely on God and don’t put any effort into ourselves, holiness isn’t possible either.” (p. 9)

He goes even further when he says,

“Maybe you’ve even heard the phrase that says Christians have “power over sin.”
… the Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome sin we encounter all the time. Sometimes, though we see this as a “silver bullet” solution. It’s easy to think that we don’t have to change anything to defeat the sin in our lives. We think we can go on living our lives as we please, asking God to forgive our sins, and God will take care of everything. We almost see our salvation as a ticket to heaven instead of a new and better way of living.” (p. 10)

Then Bridges makes his point with an ouch statement. “We might say that we “fall into sin”—like it’s some big hole that opens in front of us and we can’t do anything to prevent ourselves from falling in. Get real!” (p. 10) Obviously the big pit illustration works for Winnipeg drivers who have experienced the huge potholes that swallow up your car while you are driving. Yes I am still bitter after I hit a big hole this spring and had $900 in car repairs. But I am off track. I love this image that Bridges gives us about “falling into sin” and how we play up the victim of sin mentality. There was nothing I could do. I think that the most popular prayer in North America is for crop failure. We live our lives all week long sowing seeds of selfishness, greed and lustful desires and then we arrive Sunday morning and pray for these seeds to die. I close with Hebrews 12:12-14 (NLT), which Bridges labels as the theme verses for this book.

“Take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame will not stumble and fall but will become strong. Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will net see the Lord.”

Great Summer

I knew it had been a long time since I last posted. But seriously May 24, that’s almost 4 months. Summer is a great time to take a break but now it is September and time to “git er done”. I was in meetings this last week and there is one profound quote that Mike Love from Extreme Dream said. “We need to reposition ourselves for God to do more.” I have always struggled with the paradox of quality ministry versus quantity of ministry. And Mike’s words helped me sort it out. The increase is God’s so I need to do my part and let God grow the kingdom.