Category: #Inspirational

When Sparks Fly

When Sparks Fly

After reading the “verse of the day” on my YouVersion Bible app (one day last week), I made this post based on a verse that is familiar to many:

Iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17 NLT

Do you have a goal to be sharper, to become better at your craft? That means a willingness to be critiqued, even if critics may not have the best intentions. Instead of feeling hurt because we are hearing criticism, we could see this criticism as an opportunity for growth. Criticism has come in my life, and I have felt like my best was not good enough, so the criticism was at first, not helpful to me. It was only after moving past the hurt feelings I was able to see that the critique was meant to improve me.

Differences of opinion can cause sparks to fly in relationships, but maybe the other person does have a point. What can be learned from this difference?

Why are the sparks flying? Is it not to make the instrument sharper? We often take what is being said personally and are hurt by it, rather than accept it as a refining moment to make us sharper.

If we dig deeper, we’ll discover that there is value in the sparks, particularly because the sparks provide evidence that something is being filed away from us. If that something remains, it means we are not being sharpened. It is for this very reason:

You can trust a friend who corrects you.

Proverbs 27:6a CEV
https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/

The sharper the tool, the better it functions and the easier the work becomes. If the axe is not sharp, you will work much harder to cut down the tree. If you are iron that is not connecting with iron that is different than you, you are missing out on becoming sharper.

Maybe this idea of becoming sharper best defines the purpose in coming together with other people – it’s to motivate others, or to make others sharper, moving them toward specific actions.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

Hebrews 10:24 NLT

In the verse that follows (Heb. 10:25), we are instructed about “not neglecting to meet together.” Maybe the very purpose of our coming together is: “to motivate one another,” in essence sharpening one another. I have often heard the instruction about “assembling ourselves together” as the church, gathering for fellowship which is good, but it may not be the best or even the biblical reason to come together. By coming together, we may get to know our neighbour better, but the higher purpose is to become sharper, motivated because there was an interaction together as friends.

When Cathy and I first started to date, it was because we felt we had so much in common and enjoyed one another’s company. Now, after being together married for 36+ years, the differences have become more evident and personality tests have confirmed we are more opposite than alike. Interestingly, despite our personality differences, we still have some important things in common, like our passion for ministry and love for family. Our differences have served to sharpen each of us, but we first needed to understand that criticism was not meant to hurt, but to improve one another.

So my advice is this: Let’s get together and let the sparks fly so we can become sharper – that way we don’t have to work as hard!

Happy New Year – A Choice or a Greeting

As we enter a new year, we tend to greet each other with the term, “Happy New Year” but I have been wondering if these words are better suited as a choice rather than a greeting. After all, we cannot control what will happen in the coming year.

http://www.KingdomAdvisors.com

The sad reality is that we may face difficult circumstances in 2022 that will bring grief rather than happiness. One Kingdom Advisor in NB shared with me during the holiday season that his wife’s cancer has returned; the news from the doctor is anything but positive and he is afraid he may lose the love of his life at some point this year.

Another advisor in AB suffered a brain bleed and was rushed to hospital just before Christmas. She posted this on Christmas Eve:

“I have a new joy. I have life. Dec 13th about 9:15, I had a headache like I have never experienced.

I knew I was in trouble almost immediately. As I crawled the hallway, the prompting, tell the 911 operator the door code. They can get you. Just rest now. I felt the Angels with me. They kept me safe and my heart at peace.

Since then, I have been told I am of the most unlikely to have survived this. Only 25% survive. 1 in 5 have no known cause and that is me.

I am so ready to count my blessings, treasure my loved ones and many dear friends, and to help those I have been entrusted to work with after a little time to fully heal.

Beyond blessed, beyond grateful, and weeping again.

On Boxing Day she posted some “post event observations” …

“In life there will be times we disagree with each other. Sadly this often leaves a broken relationship even amongst people that dearly loved one another. One of the many blessings to come of this medical event is healing in some of these breaks. It’s made it worth going through! It’s been a life changing time but for the better.“

It seems that the events of our lives, no matter how challenging, are really meant to be opportunities, even though it may be difficult to see it that way at the time.

When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:2-4 (NLT)

Jesus himself gave us the ultimate example of endurance: “in view of the joy lying before Him endured the cross …” (Hebrews 12:2 Berean Literal Bible). We have to determine our difficulties to be an opportunity for joy. Therefore, “Happy New Year” is not merely a greeting, but a choice we make in life.

Make 2022 your best year ever. Life is so very worth the living.

Not Just a 100 km Ride

Not Just a 100 km Ride

July 24th was special in 2021, not because I went on a 100 kilometre bike ride, but because of “why” I did that bike ride. It was a “Ride to Thrive” in order to raise funds for International Missions. For my ride, I was so thankful to have friends and family who donated from BC, AB, ON, QC & NL.

On the Quebec side with Parliament Hill in the background

It helped me realize that there are all sorts of ways to give. The riders all gave their time and energy to ride for almost 4 hours. Volunteers gave their time to meet us at the halfway point and provide us with drinks to fuel us for the last half of the ride. They also volunteered to do a BBQ for us hungry riders at the end. Then there are others, like some reading this post, who chose to support financially. We all contributed to a great cause.

I have been cycling now for 15 years and I have learned a few things when riding:

1) It’s easier to ride when you have someone directly in front of you and

2) Stay as close as possible to the back wheel of those riders.

There’s a great life lesson here: stay close and ride with someone on this journey of life.

This reminded me of when I did the cycling portion of the Iron Man triathlon in Corner Brook back in July 2008. (My average speed for that race was 29.8 kph). The difference in that race and this ride is that the triathlon was an individual race. You had to keep your distance from the rider in front of you or pass that rider; you could not ride in another’s slip stream. That was not the case in our Ride to Thrive journey. It was a joy to be able to take advantage of someone else’s strength, even when your own strength is wavering.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:25 ESV

The cycling journey exemplifies this truth. The energy you gain by being close to someone else is more valuable than you realize. You can go at a faster pace for a longer time than you can on your own. “In step with the Spirit” means you get the advantage of the Spirit’s activity in your life and you can go further and accomplish more than you ever can on your own. If however, you are out of step, the effort becomes more of your own and you end up accomplishing a whole lot less than you might desire.

Notice the distance gap between the front 3 riders

Ottawa is friendly to cyclists and the McDonald Parkway is closed to traffic on Saturday’s and Sunday’s during the summer to give bikers the road. On the ride back, I watched two of the stronger riders in our group begin to accelerate and I realized quickly that I needed to get on the wheel of the second rider or I would be gapped and left behind. The speed began to increase from 32 kph to 36, to 40, then 42 until we had to slow for a stop light. It felt good to exert that energy and keep pace with those riders (believe me, I was not always able to do that).

If you are not attentive on a ride, these gaps can form and you can be distanced. That happened at one point with Murray Cornelius, the Executive Director for Missions with the PAOC and ride organizer. He shared with me after that he was able to catch us, but was not able to maintain the speed because he had exerted so much energy to reach us. He did keep up with us for the rest of the ride but for that short time, he ended up being gapped.

I’m reminded of this verse:

I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running (cycling) and struggling to take hold of the prize.

Philippians 3:12 Contemporary English Version

Keeping attentive to the working of the Spirit will ensure that we are not gapped. Even Christ Himself, while on this earth, kept a-tune to the will of His Father. We can know how the Spirit is directing us day-by-day and feel the strength of being in His slip-stream.

Just like in 2008, I finished the course completing the 100 km ride. Thanks again for all those who donated.

Recorded July 24, 2021 – Gloucester, Ontario

2020 Vision – Do You Have a Clear Eye?

2020 Vision – Do You Have a Clear Eye?

At the beginning of this year, many referenced 2020 using the analogy of 20/20 eyesight – an ability to see clearly. In hindsight, did anyone see what the year would actually bring?

It’s interesting that two people can view the same circumstance yet, have two very different perspectives. Even reflecting on the US election in November, it has shown a nation that is divided by so many issues whether political, racial or religious. Without a mind shift, we are typically unable to see or understand a different perspective. The fact is our vision is often not as clear as we might think.

Jesus made this statement:

“The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

Jesus – Matt. 6:22

The context of this verse is about storing up treasures in heaven, and not storing up treasures on the earth (Matt 6:19-24). The reference to “the eye” (in verses 22 & 23) almost seems to be out of place and off the topic of storing up treasure, whether on the earth or in heaven. If we examine more closely, we will see more clearly.

The word clear can be translated healthy or generous which helps us understand better what Jesus meant. He was really saying that generosity (or lack of generosity) is more impactful than we realize. He was helping us make a connection between what we do with our money here on earth so it can help us store up treasure in heaven. If our eye is generous, we have a longer term perspective.

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 20 by explaining how a landowner hired labourers for his vineyard. He hired them for an agreed amount for the entire day and also hired others throughout the day, meaning they worked less hours than those hired in the morning. The landowner paid all of them a denarius (equivalent of a days wage). Those who were hired first then complained when they discovered that others who worked less hours received the same pay as they did for working the entire day. After hearing the grumbling, the response of the landowner is most interesting:

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?”

Jesus – Matt. 20:15

In other words, Jesus was saying your eye is not healthy or generous, but rather jealous. Why did Jesus reference the eye? Take a look at Proverbs 28:22, “A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth …” which explains what Jesus was referencing when he shared this story. He said they had “an evil eye” or were jealous because of their perceived wage discrepancy. Through this story, Jesus was teaching that having a generous heart is preferred, rather than a heart focused on greed. None of us would be quick to admit we are guilty of greed, but the message of the kingdom of heaven is always toward generosity. “He who is generous (has a good eye) will be blessed …” (Prov. 22:9).

Regarding the phrase in Matthew 6:22, “your whole body will be full of light,” means that if your eye is generous:

“all (your) actions will be influenced by this noble principle;
(your) whole life will be illuminated, guided and governed by it;
(your) mind will be cheerful and pleasant, and
(your) estate and condition will be prosperous and successful.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Generosity extends beyond finances.

When considering social media, it is not difficult to find an “evil eye” or lack of generosity when it comes to our words and interactions with one another. I’ve read how one person accused another of being like an ostrich with their head stuck in the sand as it relates to a particular issue. These people have never met, yet, the words are anything but generous toward the other and the exchange does not focus on trying to understand the other person’s perspective.

Back to the story of the landowner; it ends with: “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” In the kingdom of heaven, the focus is on generosity, on putting others ahead of ourselves, the opposite of greed or an evil eye. Proverbs 22:9 says, “He who has a good eye will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.” A bountiful or generous eye is the great differentiator!

I read a post that said, “Our Lord describes the eye as a lamp which lights the entire body. Our eyes are the entrance to our hearts and minds and, as such, they provide a doorway to our very souls.” It goes on to say “The Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. That’s his great deception—to make people think they’ve found the light when in fact it’s the darkness of false light (2 Corinthians 11:14). His intention is to blind us to truth and corrupt our minds, and he uses our eyes to gain entrance to our hearts.”

Photo by: Terry Grimes (Reminds me of the star of Bethlehem or the Christmas star)

The goal of Jesus telling this story is to expose the darkness that is often present in our hearts. One of the reasons we celebrate Christmas at this time of the year is because it is literally one of the darkest times of the year (the shortest days of the year are in December). Light is most visible in the darkest of times. We can be a source of light to those around us if there is a light that is within us. We can only share what we possess.

“The lamp of the body is the eye …”

May we display that light when others look into our eyes. When people look into your eyes, do they see light or darkness? When others read your posts on social media, do they see generosity or not? Are we focused on the accumulation of wealth here on earth or riches toward God?

These are very sobering questions and the answers reveal that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Can You Be Thankful for Tough Times?

Can You Be Thankful for Tough Times?

A common question during Thanksgiving is, “What are you thankful for today?” I would have to say I am thankful for the people who have come into my life, even for a brief time, to say something significant to me. It is so good to be able to revisit those monumental moments. I am, of course, grateful for the family and friends who have walked with me through many difficult, life-building experiences. In fact, I have come to realize that I am even thankful for those who have been a source of pain in my life and may have helped create some of those difficult experiences. All of them have shaped me into the person that I am today.

I remember one challenging season during my Bible College years (1982-1986) when I was desperate, ready to quit and do something else, rather than do what my heart truly desired. Thankfully, a pastor prayed with me and said I would be a “David and a Gideon.” It’s quite interesting that both of these men felt pretty insignificant (both were considered the least in their families). In May 2019, I was fortunate enough to meet that pastor again and thanked him for his words to me so many years earlier; those significant words that continued to resonate with me through some of the toughest times in my life.

As a young pastor just starting out in my career, I felt rejected by the denomination that I grew up in and where I had trained to be a minister. I was filled with questions and no answers, disappointed because life was not supposed to be this way. That’s when the Lord provided an opportunity for me to enter the financial services industry (1991). I felt this was just a temporary move until the Lord would open another door of ministry for me; after all, God had called me to “preach the word.” I am thankful for the tough times and for those who have rejected me, because without them, I would have never made the decisions I did.

I’m grateful for my wife who documented our journey together these past 34 years (on Oct. 25th this year). She wrote these words that another pastor shared on Sept. 20, 1992, “An open door is coming for Lorne, but he’s not yet ready for it. There will be some frustrating and trying times but we are to look at it as preparation time. We are to cleave to one another and look back at this night.”

Nine years later, I heard these words (Nov. 25, 2001): “Lorne will travel Canada and his ministry will be endorsed so strongly that people won’t be able to question it.” I’m grateful for closed doors because only God knows when and which doors should open. Trusting that God will do this is most difficult in your dark times.

One of my darkest periods was in 2008 after I had run in the Federal Election (and lost), plus the stock market had crashed. I was striving to open doors and get away from this pressure but despite my knocking, the only door that opened meant continuing in the financial services industry. I recall speaking with a counsellor during this period and she said, “You are suffering from rejection.”

I concealed my pain as much as possible but I was hurting in a way I felt no one else could comprehend. I’m grateful that Cathy was so understanding and allowed me to process, yet, pray me through this period. It was during this time that I began studying the topic of biblical financial stewardship in a book by Randy Alcorn, called “Money, Possessions and Eternity.” I am so thankful for men like Randy, Larry Burkett and Ron Blue whose writings have helped transformed my life and have given me much more of an eternal perspective in so many areas.

I’m so thankful that God’s ways are higher than my ways. What I thought was a temporary career in financial planning has turned out to be the work He had prepared in advance for me to do (see Eph. 2:10). I am grateful for the years I spent creating strong relationships with amazing clients who shared things with me that they would never share with a pastor. I was able to guide them financially and personally. Those years actually prepared me to become the National Director of Kingdom Advisors, a ministry to financial professionals to whom I can easily relate because of my own experience in the industry. It’s ironic that when I was asked to consider this role in 2013, my immediate response (without even thinking) was, “I feel like David out in the field shepherding the sheep (my clients), while so many others are more qualified.” It wasn’t until further reflection that I realized those words that the pastor shared with me in college were very true 35 years later.

The fact is when things don’t go according to our plans, we need to be thankful and willing to trust that things are going according to His plan for us. God can use any circumstance or people! It can appear to be anything but good at the time. Even if meant for evil, God works for our good and conforms us to His image (See Genesis 50:20). Are you facing tough circumstances and/or difficult people? Be assured that behind the scenes, God is using these situations and people to help transform you.

Five Years Free!

Five Years Free!

As I awoke this morning, I thought about where I was 5 years ago on this day, Friday, July 24, 2015. Looking back, I realize that was a year of significant change. I had just stepped away from a 24-year career as a financial planner and was about to leave the province where I was born and had lived in for half a century! What would this next chapter look like?

What most people did not know at this time is that I had a lump on my left shoulder that just would not go away. After a few visits to the doctor, a biopsy, an MRI and CAT scan, I was simply told, “This has to be removed.” I quickly realized I would never be able to pronounce or even remember the term for Cathy, so I asked my doctor if I could take a picture of it. Once home, I explained that I needed surgery and Cathy googled the term: dermatofibrosacoma protuberans –  a rare type of skin cancer!

SURGERY
When the bandage was removed just days after surgery, this is what we saw.

How could this be? Just at a time of leaving my place of security at my work and now this. On this day 5 years ago, I found myself lying face down on an operating table with nurses all around me when the surgeon entered the operating room. I had seen him just a few minutes earlier when he had described the procedure and drew marks on my shoulder where he was going to cut me open. He said, “This is called a ‘Keystone flap‘.” For those who wish to see how this is done, watch the surgery  to get a better understanding (including the drawing that I was obviously unable to see at the time). Thankfully, no chemo or radiation was necessary.  The medical professionals who have looked at my shoulder since then have always commented on the admirable job by my surgeon in Newfoundland.  It helps me wear my scar proudly!

Interesting side note: the church that I co-pastored for 14 years was called Keystone Assembly of God (the years when I also started in my career as a financial advisor). Those years were not easy but now, I have a Keystone carved into my shoulder. It’s almost like the Lord was saying, “Those years were foundational in building your character and preparing you for the future; I’m placing this permanently on your back but at the same time something is being removed.  I’m stretching you so you will trust me more.”

In the past 5 years, my faith in God has definitely been stretched and growing. I never dreamed that regular visits to the Ottawa Cancer Centre and other hospitals would become part of my yearly routine, without “costing me an arm and a leg.” (pun intended) I also never dreamed I would become connected with hundreds of financial professionals, many of whose lives are being transformed through the ministry I’m involved with. The journey has been well worth it, my friends, and I’m happy to be CANCER-FREE today for five years!!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Entering this Christmas season was probably the most uncertain of any in the past 50 years. The reason: our daughter-in-law was “with child” and due to give birth on Dec 29th, so we were not sure where or when we would have Christmas dinner this year.

Christmas Eve at 1:30 AM (so technically Christmas morning) we received the message that the pains being experienced this time may prove to be labour (not false labour). We got up and made the 50- minute drive to our son’s house to care for our grandson, Ernest.  Eleanor Beatrix was born at 6:55 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs and 15 ounces, on Christmas morning, the day we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Holding that child in my arms gave me such an amazing sense of the miracle of birth. I could feel my little granddaughter breathing as she lay on my chest. She is so tiny and completely dependent on someone else for pretty much everything, except breathing. Lorne w EllieThankfully, she is breathing quite well on her own. As she lay on my shoulder, I could not help but think about Christ who created all things, yet came to the earth as a baby completely dependent on someone else for pretty much everything, much like this baby in my arms. He gave “the breath of life” at creation and is Lord of the earth yet, at Christmas, we celebrate how He came as a baby. The baby Jesus now received the gift of breath that we all take for granted. We breathe without giving it a thought.

In the book, Whisper, Mark Batterson says something very interesting about every breath we take.  Incidentally, a whisper is defined as using one’s breath, rather than one’s vocal chords.

According to Jewish tradition, the name for God, Yahweh, was too sacred to pronounce. But there is another tradition within Judaism, that believes that the name for God, Yahweh without the vowels—Yod, Hei, Vav, Hei—is synonymous with the sound of breathing. So on one hand, the name is too sacred to pronounce. On the other hand, it’s whispered with each and every breath we take. It’s our first word, our last word, and every word in between. We speak the name of God about 23,000 times every day! It’s in Him that we live and move and have our being. He is the breath of life!

What an amazing thought: “We speak the name of God” with every breath we take. Our life has a purpose which is to bring glory to God. My prayer is that my life in 2020 will reflect God’s glory!

My wish for you is that you are grateful for the breath given to you and also that you use it to bring glory to your creator in 2020! Happy New Year!

 

Recalibrate Your Heart!

Recalibrate Your Heart!

Recalibrate is such an interesting word, especially when it comes to a persons life. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the verb this way: to make small changes to an instrument so that it measures accurately. 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary helps clarify the term further by putting it into a sentence:

… these systems gradually drift off course so that the navigator periodically needs a fresh point of reference to recalibrate the navigation system.— Stefi Weisburd 

When it comes to our lives and our hearts, we all need a reference point if we are to recalibrate properly. In a blog posted in 2011, Mark Mallett stated, “The heart is a finely tuned instrument. It is also delicate.” He goes on to say, “… all the bumps along the way can throw the heart out of calibration.” Life has a way of knocking us about and we need recalibration to our point of reference from time to time. Recognizing the proper reference point for our lives is the key to recalibrating our hearts. For me, the reference point is my Creator. “Remember your Creator” (Eccl. 12:1a) is a verse that comes to mind. The idea here is to intentionally  focus or meditate on, which is an inward mental act that leads to external acts. The purpose of remembering is really to align our thoughts, or to recalibrate our hearts so they are properly aligned with our “point of reference.”

This is necessary because we tend to lose our focus. Deut. 8:18 is a prime example where the instruction is to: “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth …” When we fail to recalibrate regularly, we begin to believe that we have attained this wealth with our own abilities and we even believe that we own any wealth that is accumulated. Recalibration allows us to see that everything we have (wealth & possessions) comes from our Creator (see Col. 1:16) and belongs to Him (Psalms 24:1). When we recalibrate our hearts, we no longer think too highly of ourselves.

It is clear that we all need to be intentional and take the time necessary to recalibrate or “set our hearts.” Here are a few examples of these instructions in Scripture:

If wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it (Psalms 62:10). This becomes an issue because “The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, they imagine it a wall too high to scale” (Prov. 18:11). Why is recalibration of our heart so important? Without it our imagination gets the better of us and wealth quickly becomes our false security.

Then there is an example of King Rehoboam who “did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Chron. 12:14).  Failing to recalibrate our hearts allows us to focus on things that only seem to be important. Remember when Jesus rebuked Peter? It was because he did not set his mind (heart) on God’s interest, but man’s (Matt. 16:23). Peter’s focus was on the earthly kingdom that he thought Christ was establishing and potentially his leadership role in that kingdom rather than the the eternal (thus the rebuke and that he was being influenced by satan). In other words, Peter needed to recalibrate, as he had just previously done when it was revealed to him, from heaven, who Christ really was, prior to this rebuke. That demonstrates how much we need to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:1-3) or recalibrate our hearts.

Don’t be alarmed when you realize that you have to recalibrate your heart often, or that you have gone for hours without even thinking of God! Rather, use this as a moment to humble yourself and acknowledge that you are maybe not as in love with God as you thought you were, that you seek your kingdom more than His, and that there is still much conversion left in your life. 

The purpose of recalibrating our hearts is to be able to hear from heaven, to hear from the One who calls us with purpose. We need to have times where we simply re-focus in order to gain the right perspective. Maybe that’s a time in the morning and/or the evening. Maybe it is setting aside a day in a month, or a few days in a quarter, or even a week or weekend in a year that is set aside for this purpose. We all need to have these times where we recalibrate our hearts, otherwise we will gradually and surely drift off course. 

I recently set aside a few days to do this myself and write my thoughts. It helped me realize that my Creator’s thoughts are higher than mine and if I don’t take the time to align my thoughts with His, I will just walk in my own ways and fail to seek His ways (which again are so much higher). Can I challenge you to set aside time to simply reflect in silence, worship and learn, in order to recalibrate your heart?

Can you set aside an hour to make this a priority? Or maybe a day just to slow down and stop to recalibrate? When you do, you will most certainly become more effective.

My Work and Easter

My Work and Easter

For many, the greatest impact of Easter is a few extra days off from work. I have to be honest, until this year (2019), I have never drawn a connection between my work and the resurrection. However, this is absolutely exciting for us all to consider. We tend to limit our thinking around Easter to spiritual matters only because it is a religious event on our calendars. I believe that Easter is meant to impact every part of our lives!

As I started my Good Friday, I read an article entitled: How Easter Changes Everything About Your Work and it was an eye-opener for me. I gained a new perspective and this fresh focus allowed me to see something I had previously missed. Let me explain.

In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul explains that Christ’s resurrection at Easter is the very cornerstone of the gospel. Without it, nothing else matters.

How Easter Changes Everything About Your Work

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Cor. 15:14

You may have heard some of 1 Corinthians 15 read at a funeral, but what does it have to do with our lives today, particularly our work? The gospel is meant to impact every area of our lives, not just the spiritual. The resurrection power is to be effective in our lives now, not just at death. We make a grave (pardon the pun) mistake if we read these verses and limit the application only to the dead being transformed with resurrected bodies to live on the new earth.

At the end of this incredible chapter on the resurrection, what does Paul say? “Since there is a resurrection, look forward to this glorious future?” No. He says something quite different:Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

When we read “the work of the Lord” we tend to immediately think of something spiritual, in the church, but our labour refers to all our work. It could represent our volunteer work or our vocations. Here’s the part in the article that grabbed me. Paul’s encouragement is to remember that what we do in this life is directly connected to our life in eternity. The resurrection is the key! Easter gives new meaning to our work! NT Wright in his book, How Then Shall We Work says,

“Everything you do in the present life, in the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, everything that flows out of love and hope and grace and goodness somehow will be part of God’s eventual kingdom.”

The resurrection is the key to all of this. Just as our bodies are changed and we are given new bodies, so too, is our work for the Lord. Everything about us will be changed. It’s part of the mystery but the truth of Paul’s message is that “… your toil is not in vain.” If we read this on its own, we get the message that everything we do for the Lord is important in this present age, so we must do our best. Reading it in context makes this verse so much more powerful. Our work “is not in vain in the Lord” because our labours on earth somehow matter in eternity. Everything about us will be redeemed – not just our bodies, but the work we did through those bodies.

NT Wright ends with this statement:

The resurrection is your new body in which you will be gloriously, truly wonderfully you. The resurrection means everything you’ve done in the present through your body – works of justice and mercy and love and hope – somehow in ways we don’t understand will be part of God’s new creation.

When I think of my life, I truly want to see it as a masterpiece of God (although, on most days I don’t feel anything like that), where I am doing good works. If you read Ephesians 2:10, you will find that these works are what God prepared beforehand, or in advance, for us to do.

Think about it for a moment; God prepared works for us to do before we were born and because we are His workmanship, we walk in them. When that happens, our work is “not in vain, in the Lord,” but becomes part of our future through the resurrection. We live in the present, that is what we know and understand. Paul, however, describes a mystery concerning our future beyond our life on earth. I honestly think we should spend more time meditating on that mystery. God prepared work in advance of our present and the resurrection transforms that work so it can be part of our eternal future. This explains clearly why Paul exhorted us to:

… be stedfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Psalm 90:17b says, “…confirm (give permanence to) the work of our hands.” Have you considered that the work you do every day is having eternal significance? Will you allow this perspective to bring a new meaning to your work life?

Photo by Terry Grimes (Divine Design)

Can I Please God In How I Use Money?

The Bible has much to say about so many important things in life but it says more about money and possessions than it does about heaven or hell or faith and prayer. John Piper said, Jesus spoke more about money than he did about sex, heaven, and hell. Money is a big deal to Jesus.

Why is the issue of money so important? Maybe because it is the greatest competitor to God … Jesus said there is no middle ground, “You cannot serve God and money.” It’s one or the other.

The fact is none of us set out with a goal to serve money and most would likely prefer to serve God rather than money. We want money to answer our needs and grant our desires and oddly enough, God is interested in doing the same for us. The choice becomes whether we will look to God as our supply or to our finances. The lines are so easily blurred because as we earn money, we begin to see it as our source.

How, then, can we please God with money? Hebrews 11:6 states very clearly: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” To be honest, I have never really connected this verse with how I use money, but we need faith in every aspect of life in order to please God. If you jump back to verse 4, it reads, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did.” This verse explains Abel to be “a righteous man, because God approved his gifts.”

The story of Cain and Abel is challenging because they both made an offering to God from the labour of their hands. Cain worked the ground and produced crops while Abel became a shepherd. Cain presented some of the land’s produce and Abel presented some of his flock. Some have said the animal sacrifice was more pleasing because it foreshadowed the Temple sacrificial system as well as Christ’s sacrifice to take away sin. This explanation hardly seems fair though, because they both offered to God from their produce.

Hebrews 11:4 provides the answer: it seems Abel’s offering was “by faith” and Cain’s offering lacked faith and was, therefore, not pleasing to God. If you read the story in Genesis 4, this is actually confirmed. It says of Cain (v.3a), “In the course of time Cain presented …” but regarding Abel it says he presented “some of the firstborn (v. 4). One offering did not require faith because it was offered once there was a sufficient supply. For Cain, there were many crops when he offered; no faith was required because he waited until there was plenty before he offered to God. For Abel, the priority was completely different. He offered to God first, which required faith that more would follow the firstborn. He was trusting God for his provision by offering the first to God. This pleases God.

This is a powerful lesson in financial priorities. What is our top financial priority? Do we give only when we have plenty and can afford to give? The big question is this: Does our giving include faith or does our giving lack faith because we are confident we have enough?

Let’s face it, most of us are not necessarily living by faith because it seems to make more sense to “walk by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). What a journey it is to live and give by faith. It means having sufficient confidence in God that we can set giving as a priority above the other things we can use money for.

How do we acquire faith? Here are the steps:

1. Faith (in regards to money) comes by hearing (biblical principles of finance).

2. Hearing creates thoughts and an understanding in our minds

3. As we mediate on biblical principles, it begins to shape what we believe.

4. Believing leads to a deeper knowing or a conviction (a confident trust).

5. Only then are we able to live by faith, acting and doing based on the convictions that have now been forged within us.

Think about these five biblical financial principles:

1. Spend less than you earn

2. Avoid the use of debt

3. Build liquidity

4. Set long term goals

5. Give Generously

Please watch this video about a kind hearted lady who was saving for a car that she needed. When asked how she was doing with her savings fund, she said she had given it all away. She gave $5000 to a widow that she felt needed the money more than she needed a car. What an amazing story and example of living by faith.