A New Year's Message from Pastor Ron

“NOTHING NEW FOR NEW YEARS”
By Rev. Ron Mahler

Happy New Year! Sometimes, saying that - feels a bit like the Bill Murray experience in the movie “Ground Hog Day.” Every year we say the same thing and perhaps even go through the exact same motions and traditions leading up to the actual day. The thought of entering a “new” year is a special time for many people because it presents us with the sense that we are entering a time that carries with it, second chances and fresh starts – even if it is in an artificial kind of way. What I mean is that January 1st – as we all know, is simply the day after December 31st. All that is new about the day, really, is that it is a new 24 hour period – that has never come before. Most often we find that by the end of the first week of January, if not earlier, the “new” year is not as new or as happy as it was when it began. Call me a pessimist but I really don’t celebrate or observe “new years” in a completely positive fashion, for one never knows what this “new year” may bring?? Like me, you may even share the sentiment that resolutions are overrated. Just like records, they’re often made – and often, broken. After all, we don’t need to wait until January 1st to resolve to lose some weight, to spend less (yeah – like that’s going to happen), or to pray more – unless of course – it is to our advantage to put off doing something we should already be doing! Some favourite sayings I have come across, go like: “My New Year’s resolution is to resolve to have none! No resolution? No problem!” Ah - yes! Perfect! However, one could carry these free-spirited sayings too far in life I suppose. There is the argument that if we venture nothing – nothing is gained.

For sure, though, the afore-mentioned sayings could be classified as the antithesis of a life lived by faith in Christ. Jesus came to resolve an age-old, spiritual condition and propensity that human beings have - in terms of how they act, and, relate to God. We’re not “born to be wild” as the song goes, we’re all born to be “bad,” in that we are all born with a habit that has infiltrated our nature – and it is “sinful.” But wait – there is good news: the Bible says “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son...” (John 3:16) This was the best resolution ever made - and we earthlings can’t take the credit for it either! God resolved not to leave us in our sinful state, but to send us Jesus in order that we could know the mercy, grace and love of God – especially, His forgiveness of our sin. Now in saying this, I want to tell you that I believe there is absolutely nothing profoundly new - in terms of our human condition and the affairs of the world in which we live. There may be more children fed in needy countries this year, there may be a cure on the horizon this year for some physical condition, and we may even find new ways to create renewable energy in 2010, and yet - nothing is new in principle – when it comes to the state of the world, and the on-going events of our time. For every advance we make in life, there are devastating setbacks to counter it. We live in such a desensitised culture, that even if new flashes of terror, scandal, corruption, even passing stories of good deeds and heroes - were to arise in 2010 – they would all remain things we are familiar with – it’s only the names and circumstances that change. There may be “nothing new under the sun” as Solomon wrote - as we face yet another year, but what can be “new” – is how we view and sift through - all that will come at us as people. God “sent His Son” (Jesus) to the world because He loves us (His crown of creation) and wants to gather us as His own. Will we reach out to Him this year by putting our faith in His Son - and allow our lives to be lived by trusting in our Heavenly Father and Creator, and by letting the values of His Word be the anchor and standard for our lives and families? Will we (dare I say) make a resolution to not live this year, as in years past – without a Saviour, without true hope in the world, and without a sense of certainty for the future, even eternity? Only you can answer this. The world may present us with ever-increasing challenges and its share of yearly chicanery – but God holds the answers to them all. He has always loved us and always will – and in that sense, too, there is nothing new. The Bible says Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Our levels of happiness may fluctuate this new year – but what will not, is God’s feelings towards us – and His promise that we can have hope, meaning, peace, as well as eternal security, even in the midst of the hard times! But really: have a Happy New Year!

A Message from Pastor Ron

"A THEOLOGY OF SUMMER"
By Rev. Ron Mahler

Ahh...warm winds and hot sunny days!!!! Summer is upon us. It is a time of year that God had planned in eternity before the foundations of the earth were made. Have you ever wondered how important summer is to our understanding of the life God has given us to live and appreciate? Have you ever wondered how important summertime is in terms of understanding God’s Word, and all that expresses His character and will? Well, whether you have or not, consider the following: summer allows us to see the goodness of God’s provisions in our lives. There is nothing that waters the mouth more than beholding a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables. We can appreciate their size, shape and various colours. And to think, that they all began with a divinely generated single-seed! Gen 1:11. Summer also brings us weddings and helps us to relive the memories of our own vows, and the promises we made to our spouses and God. Here, we can jump fruits and veggies - to being "fruitful" and to "multiplying!" We may catch glimpses of wedding parties all over the place: in parks, flowing out of churches, by lakes and in and around banquet halls. And we can appreciate a beautiful summer day even more, on account of the special day that is for the bride and groom. Summer, too, gives us time to reflect. Our holidays take us away from the demands of our jobs and the stresses of life a bit more. At least they should! It gives us a breather. Jesus told His disciples to "come apart" with Him, to rest and get refreshed. We are a people who need to come apart, because our lifestyles in this face-paced, gotta-get-ahead world often leave us on the verge of "falling apart." Holidays should be used to recharge our spiritual batteries and to relieve ourselves of stress, but not to relieve ourselves of God! Proverbs says "he who refreshes others, will himself, be refreshed." Then there’s the fact that summer lends to helping our bodies and environment become healthier. The Bible states that our bodies are the "temples of the Holy Spirit". God’s Holy Spirit resides in us, when we commit to Him in a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. And one of the ways in which we can honour God with our bodies, is not only by keeping them pure and holy, but by taking care of them. Summer gives us that opportunity to exercise more, by bike-riding, swimming or jogging. The warm summer months also help us to conserve our earth’s valuable, energy resources. It is lighter out longer, and so we don’t need as much lights on, and it is warmer so we can save on heating resources as well. God wants us to be good stewards of this earth, and He has given us the environmental benefits of summertime to help! Summer does even more for us in terms of our church ministries. It allows us to get out from behind the walls of our churches, by having BBQ’s, holding kid’s camps, outreach programs, outdoor concerts, and gets us into the streets of our community more - where we can interact with people. I think summer gives us a glimpse of the beauty and wonder of Heaven as well. If you have ever glanced over the Canadian countryside as you travel by train or bus – you may have by chance, taken hold of deep-blue skies where they meet lush green trees and ash coloured mountains, on top of a crisp blue rushing river, and thought, "I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life!" Just remember at that point, the greatest artist never to have one of his originals appear in an art gallery, has His work displayed the world over! If we think the incredible sight of summer is great, we haven’t seen anything yet! The Bible says "no one has seen or heard what God has prepared for those who love Him" in Heaven! Finally, summer reminds us of renewed life and the resurrection. All we have to do is look at how flowers bloom, and how perennials know just when to come out of the ground – how trees have buds that just naturally open up in the spring, give birth to leaves and become full grown in the summer (in the same slots where they died and fell to the ground in the autumn), all we have to do is witness these miracles --- to see the majestic plan of God for our lives. You see, all sources of life, anywhere, and at anytime time in the world’s existence, had their origin from God. God, Himself, is life. And we need Him in our lives in order to truly live and be alive for all eternity. The Bible says that what God made in creation will pass away, but His "Word", will "last forever". And it is by His Word that He promises to raise our bodies up "on the last day." We see that God is capable of this time and time again, from the beauty of His creation in the summer.

Have a safe, fun and happy summer - with the Lord.

A Message from Pastor Ron

As one reads the New Testament, one can't help but ask some "why" questions. What I am referring to, is, why Paul spoke/wrote the way he did in some of his letters? For the sake of my argument, I will point us to the letter that Paul sent to the church in Galatia. Have you ever read that letter to the Galatians - and thought, "Wow! That is some sharp language he is using!" If you read that letter in one sitting, you are left with a couple of impressions. First, Paul sounds royally "ticked," and second, after doing some biblical study and digging, you can appreciate why Paul was so upset at the Christians at that church, not to mention, you also see his shepherd's heart and pastoral love fueling his concerns. Let me ask you: What would you do if someone came into our (your) church - and told you that there was something you and I were "missing" in our process of coming to faith in Jesus? Imagine being told our salvation wasn't finalized, and that God somehow wanted us to jump through a hoop that we never thought we had to! Imagine being a new Christian - or being someone who is "searching" and considering putting their faith in Jesus, and hearing this. How might you and I react?

Well, the Galatians, apparently a good number of them, went off the beaten track and followed certain people into theological error. Here was the crux of the problem in the first century church of Galatia: a group of Jewish Christians (noted in history as Judaizers) who, even though they advocated salvation in Jesus as Messiah, still held that God reached out to non-Jews THROUGH the law (of Moses) and not APART from it. Therefore, what entailed was that all males who wanted to become Christians needed to be "circumcised", and needed to follow certain Jewish customs as well.

Now I ask you, did Jesus mention anything like this in His three years of ministry? Did He even remotely imply this stuff in the Great Commission? NO! Jesus, the Bible tells us, "fulfilled" the law's requirements - and came to make "one people" (Ephesians 4) out of us - and not keep uniquely separate, the means by which Jews or Gentiles - should come to God. Paul would not have seen the Christian movement as a "new" religion, but rather as the natural extension and fulfillment (in Christ) of Israel's faith and longing for Messiah. Therefore, Paul had every justification to be hopping, mad as it were, at these Judaizers for throwing the people in Galatia into spiritual and scriptural confusion. That is, having them rely on some outward, physical actions - in order to complete their faith in Christ - and fully secure salvation - rather than it being by faith in what Jesus had done for them - alone.

Now think in "principle" how this issue in the Galatian church, could be applied today - in our current context as the church. We must tread carefully - in making sure we are not putting up obstacles and giving confusing signals to those who enter our churches and who may be considering Jesus as their Saviour. By promoting an ecclesiology (doctrinal practice of the church) that elevates such things as rules, tradition, structure, institution, and liturgical rigidity at the expense of the pure gospel - and how people were able to encounter Jesus - and how one came to a saving knowledge of Him, are we not bordering on being modern day "Judaizers"? In some sense, are we not hinting at "preaching a different gospel" perhaps, as Paul writes to the Galatian church? John the Baptist came to make "straight paths in the desert" for people to be able to receive Jesus as their Messiah/Saviour. May it never be, then, that we make them crooked again! May it never be - in our ministries or evangelism, that we present a "different gospel," or erect a "mirage" of spiritual hoops for those outside the faith, in spiritual deserts, to jump through - in order to know Jesus, and trust in Him for their salvation.

A New Year's Message from our Pastor

Happy NEW YEAR to all! Thank you for visiting our blog. We are just days into a brand new year and already, people are weary. As we all know, it is only the numbers and name of month that change - and not necessarily our circumstances on January 1st. I noticed that a lot of commercials advertising for Christmas this year carried with them a predominant message: hope for peace. Everybody is crying out for peace. Why shouldn’t we? The United Nations says that there are roughly 130 plus known wars (by their standards of what constitutes a war) going on in our world today. The spectre of new wars rises, it seems, with every passing newscast. The season for "peace on earth" may have come and gone - but war, strife, and heartache, for millions of people, continues. In our own country, we are facing an uncertain future - politically. After reading numerous articles over the Christmas holidays concerning our crisis in Ottawa, it is apparent that now, more than ever, people are losing their confidence and faith in government. South of the border, America faces an unknown future as well. Barack Obama, a promising, yet untested leader, will take the reigns of the most powerful office in the world, during an unprecedented time of geo-political and economic turmoil. The sentiment, worldwide, seems to be that things are getting worse for planet earth. We face new, global problems and realities - with little answers, as leadership vacuums abound. What to do? The interlude of peace and hope that comes with Christmas time, as one reflects on its true meaning (the birth of the Saviour) does not have to end on Boxing Day.

In our home, we played carols up until just a few days ago. We wanted to usher in the New Year with a lyrical reminder of just what Christ’s advent to our earth means for us even today. The coming of Jesus to our earth shows us that we, as the human race, are loved by the God who made us and put us here. He was not satisfied with just creating us, nor was He satisfied with leaving us in our fallen, sinful state. He sent Jesus because He loves the world He made. Though man harms it, though wars riddle it, though unbelief prevails, God will return to it. He cares about the future of the earth, not only because it inhabits the crown of His creation - you and me, but also because it involves His redemptive plans for our future. When Jesus returns to earth - and it could be this year - to gather up those of us who have turned to Him in faith, no matter what in the world is going on at the time, it will be God’s statement to a world that has largely turned away from Him, when they need Him the most. It will be a time for people to stand up and notice - that there is a God, that He is in sovereign control, and that He is carrying out His plan on earth as it is in Heaven. My hope is that whoever reads this will choose to receive Jesus and His peace, as they begin this New Year. There is hope! There is a government to come, which will be carried on the shoulders of Jesus Christ, and it shall be established one day - and He wants all of us to be part of it. So - yes, we may be weary at the global prospects facing us this year, but we can filter them through the lens of Jesus, who told us, these things "must happen," and are signs of what is to come. Namely, His kingdom and reign - where there shall be "no more tears, no more death, no more mourning, crying or pain."

Please note the following Bible passages and reflect on them:
John 3:16
John 14:1-4, 27
Matthew 24:1-14
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Revelation 21:1-4

Have you ever considered putting your faith in Jesus Christ as your Saviour? He can come into your heart and life today if you want Him to.

A prayer for your consideration:

Lord Jesus, I don’t want to live 2009 without you. I realize you came to earth to rescue me from my own sin and to die for those of the world. Please forgive me and help me to walk with you daily in newness of life. Thank you that you are preparing a place for me in your Kingdom. Give me your Holy Spirit to help me live, as you would have me.

In Your name, Amen.