Back in the Saddle

Through the long winter I waited,
Spilling sweat on the carpet
Gasping for air
Overheated
As I rode my trainer indoors.

The winter teased with warm temperature
And no snow
Roads ready to go
Calling, Beckoning.........
Only to cover themselves over with snow
Once I decided to go outside and ride

Snow is not the master
The sun is the master
And soon the snow moved off the road
Leaving only puddles, salt and gravel behind

And so I ventured out on my old bike
Puddles getting me wet
Gravel trying to puncture my tires
Cold wind cutting through my clothing
But ride I did, the firstfruits of the year

Where will my bike take me this year?
What will it teach about suffering and victory?
I don't know,
It doesn't matter
Only riding does

Glory to God

God, who loves me too much to leave me as I am has been working, working, working in me just like he is in you and I am being pushed, shoved, dragged, wooed, loved and scared into embracing the real Him.

I'll give you the short menu: fear, criticalness and comparing. All in the fire with me. Only me coming out of the fire - please God. One neat experience last week was a real conversation with God. It was so real I could almost hear him talking out loud and it was so real that I knew it was real. That's a wierd statment of proof isn't it? Anyways, it was a conversation that went something along the lines of, "God, what's with this fear thing?" to which he replied, "You do seem rather occupied with that don't you?", and away we went. I actually laughed out loud at one point.

I just cannot get enough of the fact that God loves me so much that he makes my problems his problems, my issues his issues, my pain his pain, my sickness his sickness AND his joy my joy, his safety my safety, his love my love....I'm just flat out swimming in the facts of grace.

Ma and I have been praying together because we're both living the normal Christian life and our short menus (see above) are the same. And because we love each other and love walking this thing out together. Ma rocks.

Turning to the subject of healing detached tendons may I tell you that a man came for prayer today at church, had an MRI done on his arm that showed a detached tendon, could not lift or extend his arm and was headed for surgery next week. God told him to go get prayer, that he needed His glory in that arm. So Ma and Kayle and I prayed for him and after a while he could lift and extend his arm. You can't do that with a detached tendon. Yahoo! Glory to God!

One last thing. I have been thinking and praying for Devon, Christie and Sparrow and I want to declare that Sparrow is fully healed. She will bring much glory to God. Just like her Dad and Mom.

Pa

Spam goes organic

The makers of Spam have found a way to get some of their food products into organic and natural food retailers that shunned the company in the past. They have created a new line of Spam with a different name 'Natural Choice' and retailers are suddenly interested.

Organic Spam sounds like a tough sell to me but I have noticed that if you put the word 'organic' or 'natural' or 'free range' on something and charge twice the price it makes certain people happy.

The word 'natural' has no meaning at present in North America and governments are trying to get rid of it. Natural beef, for example, simply means there was no use of antiboitics or growth hormones but ignores the fact that the same cow got dewormed and deloused with chemicals and ate whatever it got fed. Or it could mean it was fed on natural products like grass and lived on the range but still got antibiotics and hormones. It's a word out of control.

The word 'free range' means that the available space for a chicken or turkey must be twice as much as the minimum allowed in 'factory farms', which means 22 square inches for chickens. As a matter of note, chickens left to free range inside a barn mass together and use up way less than the mandatory 22 inches and even less than the 11 inches, meaning that free range farms are actually worse than factory farms for chicken comfort and health. But at least they're out of those awful cages and doing what chickens like to do.

The word 'organic', unlike the rest, actually has some teeth. Governments are trying to enforce the meaning to encompass non use of anything synthetic in the production of food, which is close to what people are looking for.

This makes it easy to manufacture organic Spam. It comes from animals (not sure what kinds) considered organically rasied. Then it is manufactured, processed and extruded to death until it is Spam. Maybe a little less wholesome than the organic folk might want but it's organic. And worth twice the price I'm sure.

Natural Choice Spam.......coming soon to a grocer near you.

Pa

Victory has swallowed Death

If I was to ask you if you were saved by Jesus' death on the cross what would you say? Would you say, "Yes, all my sins were taken away when Jesus died on the cross"?

If so, you're wrong. Consider these verses, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile: you are still in your sins" 1Cor 15.17; "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" 1Cor 15.14.

So much of the church has its focus on the cross, on the dying side of the business. Die to sin, die to self, find forgiveness, repent, carry your cross, suffer......the list goes on. We create a salvation mentality that has the cross as the focus and forgets about the resurrection.

The cross is the central event in all history, make no mistake, but, as Paul says, it's the resurrection that changes everything. When you live out of the resurrection your outlook changes - live to Christ, filled with the Spirit, empowered by God, able to enter sufferings with victory, power to run the race, filled with love, embraced by Jesus.....the list goes on.

Why would Paul take the time to correct the Corinthians on this point? Apparently because some were teaching there was no resurrection. So he gives the lowdown on why you can't consider the Christian faith by stopping at the cross. He tells them to stand firm on the reality of the resurrection.

There are five aspects to Christ's finished work: His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and session. Together they constitue salvation. When we focus on one part and make it the major emphasis our practise begins to look like that part. Too much cross and you're always on about dying and repenting, too much resurrection and you're always on about power and victory. None of these things are bad, they just need to work together. If we are to put an emphasis anywhere it should be living out of the resurrection. As Paul says - "Death has been swallowed up in victory".

Pa

Just thinkin'

Last night at kinship I made a case for the fact that we will not continue to sin as Christians and it resulted in some good discussion. I like it when we think about God topics and hold up what we think to what others think to what the Bible thinks. There's generally no resolve but it's fun to chew on this stuff.

People often respond to topics like Grace, Forgiveness, Repentance and Sin by holding fast to the idea that when we sin there is a separation or a wall between us and God until we do something about it (which we call repentance).

How much of my sin did Jesus die for? When I say I am forgiven by the blood of Christ do I mean only for those sins I have repented of? If repentance is the key then we certainly don't need the cross do we? We can keep with the old system, it fully provided for that.

Is the blood that covers my sin only activated by my repentance? Or does the cross provide for more than that?

The law says I must do something about my sin, grace says Jesus has done everthing about my sin. The law condemns and says I am separated until I do something about it, grace enables and says nothing can separate me and there's nothing for me to do but accept the grace of God.

That's too easy for us, the news is too good to believe. So we bring grace down to our level of reasoning. We must repent.

I'm wondering if our preoccupation with sin and separation from God is a key reason why many of us do not embrace freedom in Christ and do not grow in victory. I see it the same as doubt in healing; we doubt God can heal us and so we don't get fully healed. We doubt the cross can fully save us so we don't get fully saved.

You don't have to agree, I'm just thinkin'
Pa

My 17.5 pound baby

For those of us in the frozen north dry roads, green grass and warm winds are still a dream but getting closer. My first bike race is in 34 days and looking at the snow outside I wonder how that's going to happen.

Historically I am on the road around Geordie's birthday, March 22. There is still snow and still more on the way during spring storms but I'm out there riding on what dry roads there are.

This year I have the enjoyment of riding a new bike, a picture of which I'd include if I wasn't so lazy. So you'll have to image sleek black carbon fiber lines, rich red Velomax wheels, ultralight carbon pedals and FSA wingpro handlebars. Doesn't that make you shiver with delight? It's a beauty, make no mistake.

Weighing in at 17.5 lbs I expect to ride this bike with fastest of the fast this year and kick some ass. I've ridden my old steel bike to within inches of beating guys half my age and will enjoy finishing them off in style as I sail past them on my new cruiser. If that sounds like braggadocio, it is.

Right now I am riding on the rollers indoors, waiting for the roads to clear. Soon, very soon......

Pa

You are worth $12.53

Many of you blog on MySpace and I have news for you - You have just been sold. A large media company just bought MySpace for $580 million. That's $12.53 per user.

MySpace generates $20 million in ad revenue per year and thanks to your use of the site it is growing steadily. So steadily that the site could be sold for nearly half a billion dollars.

You might feel good about helping Big Biz get rich but I'm sure you won't get a thank you card with a couple of grand in it for your devotion to your blog. In fact, I think all you'll get is more advertising on the site and new ways to tempt you to click through. Like I said in blogs gone by, this is a Capitalistic country and the whole system runs on captial.

I don't think many of us consider the fact that when we congregate in places like MySpace we become valuable to the likes of Pepsi and General Motors. Today you're only worth $12.53 but don't be discouraged. In the future I'm sure your value will increase and you will be worth much more. You'll never see any of it, mind you, it's all for Mr. Big Biz.

Here's to Capitalism.
Pa

Tall tales

While at the cabin this weekend I managed to get out onto the lake to fish for the every elusive esox lucus, otherwise known as northern pike. Not a bite, not a nibble, not a sighting of the top predator of this aquatic realm. Marcel, who lives at the lake year round, said that pike don't bite this time of year because their mouths are sore, other claim it's because they lose all their teeth.

What curious ills befall the mighty pike that soreness should overtake them and their teeth suddenly unhinge. Doubly strange since fish physiology doesn't allow for teeth to be lost and regrown on a yearly basis nor does it allow for soreness in the mouth. I think it's a tall tale, birthed by someone somewhere and alive until laid to rest on some distant day, if ever.

It reminds me of the high priest tall tale, the one where they tied a rope around the high priest's ankle before he went into the holy of holies just in case he farted or did something wrong in there and got knocked on the head by the Lord. There being no one willing to go in to rescue him the rope could then be used to drag him out. What they did with him after that the tale does not go on to tell but I suggest they would deposit him outside the camp lest he contaminate the whole works.

That would be a tough year, wouldn't it, if the high priest never made it out of the holy of holies to pronounce blessing and forgiveness upon the people. A year under unforgiveness and no blessing because Levi messed up. Gotta find somebody a little more careful next year.

Like sore mouths in pike the rope around the leg story is a tall tale with no basis in fact and not requiring anything more but to be passed on without thought. Unlike the pike theory though there is no evidence the rope tale is true. The pike tale at least has the inability to catch pike during this time of year as evidence whereas the rope tale has no evidence at all. But who cares, we all love a tall tale.

Pa

Cabin Fever

Either Ma or I have been on the road every week since the first week of Feb and we have decided to extend the streak this weekend to go to our cabin. Once there we are going to start a fire and stare at it for 24 hours, only moving to eat, sleep and run to the outhouse.

God is going to talk to me about being content with what I have, who I am, where I am, how I am, who he is, who you are, what the church is, etc. I have ears to hear. Not sure what He has on the agenda for Ma.

Geordie and Stef arrive on Saturday and we are looking forward to having them at home for a few months. Have I ever told you about my sons and their love for God? Their Godly wives? It says in a few places in the Bible that a man with righteous sons is blessed beyond measure and I'm here to tell you that it is 100% true. There is a profound blessing when your sons walk with God and I'm living it. More contentment....it's everywhere I turn.

Pa

Great Gain

On January 2 I wrote in my journal, 'Godliness with contentment is great gain - have to study that". If I would have studied that as the Spirit was telling me to I would have found some truth ahead of getting burned in the fire. Not that it would have penetrated but it might have helped a bit.

I have come through the fire and for all of you currently inside the flames I will say it burns like hell. Or it burns up hell. That burning you are feeling is awful and the stench of burning flesh is awful. Just in case you weren't clear on how much pain you were in. Sometimes it is good to declare how bad it hurts.

Moving on to being outside the fire I can tell you that you will exit and the real you will be just fine, better than before actually, and the old you will be burned to death. That's the good news, part of you gets burned to death and has to conform with the truth of the cross and who you are in Christ. You can't keep it alive anymore because you don't want that kind of pain again and have made up your mind it can bloody well die. Mark my words - you will not emerge with the old self alive. You will emerge in victory.

Truth, real truth, not the made up stuff, will then flood your mind as the Spirit teaches you all things. For me it's: Godliness with contentment is great gain.

I am Godly but I am not content. Or I should say I was not content. After the fire I am learning what content means and I can say I understand that I can be content with what I have, what I don't have and what might happen. In all circumstances I can be content.

Great gain is mine, all it took was a blast of fire to get me to understand and believe it. I really wish there was another way but that's what it took for me.

If you're in the fire right now I pray for you: "God, keep them in your hand as they go through the fire, draw so close they can feel you walk with them through the valley of the shadow of death. They need you Papa, be real and hustle them through the fire as fast as possible".

Pa