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There is a lot of talk about Michael Jackson’s untimely death that the news seems to forget (though it is hard to overlook the one for the other) that another major star died tragically at the age of 62.

But, what was Farrah?

Was she a sex symbol?  A serious actress (she portrayed marvelously a character in the Burning Bed)?  A bimbo?  A tramp? Just a pinup?  An alcoholic?  A drug addict?  An enabler?  A cancer victim?  A tragedy?

Something jumped out at me from one of my favourite texts in the Bible as I was preparing for my morning sermon this week.

The text is Luke 7:36-50 where Jesus is invited to a Pharisee’s home and all of a sudden a woman with a reputation shows up, wipes Jesus’ feet with tears, the Pharisee is repulsed by the woman and by Jesus while Jesus then announces her forgiven because she loves God so much.

However, what jumped out at me was this:

the ‘good’ people of Jesus’ day had great classifications for certain people (not unlike so many in our days who have the tendency to call people by labels or past actions: you know: ‘divorced’, ‘gay’ etc)

The classifications were like this: ‘tax collectors, gentiles, Samaritans & sinners.’

What is interesting to me is that all Jews knew they were all guilty of some sin but for whatever reason there were a group of people who bore the special title!  Christians have to be careful today of the same mistake: we say ‘forgive us of our sins’ and then look at others and classify them in an entirely different category.  Need to read again a line that goes something like this: ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23)

Well, anyways, Luke actually in the narrative calls this woman a ’sinner’ (7:37).  Don’t say Luke was using it as a universal term–but I believe Luke was calling her what the culture of the day would have called her.  How horrible to belong to the group known as ’sinners’.  What happens is you might end up believing it yourself.  This is who you are after all.

The Pharisee also calls her a ’sinner’ (7:39).  He too, is not using it in the universal way (the way it should only be used).  Don’t come near me–you are a sinner.  Go with your own, you sinner!  What can you expect from someone like this, for she is a sinner.

Watch Jesus however.  He admits she has done a lot of sins (7:47)–which would lead all of us to measure our own amount of sins given the years we have lived–how many times have we done something wrong in our lives?  Under 10?  Under 10,000?  Countless?  Jesus however never calls her a ’sinner’ like the rest of the world does but recognizes her heart as a heart waiting to love greatly.

So, what was Farrah?

Here’s one for you–the next time you see a woman who has done a lot of sins–maybe instead of labeling her (you know the words, ‘whore’, ‘tramp’, ’sleaze’) maybe you are looking at someone who could actually possess a heart capable of a great love and instead of turning your nose up at such an individual it is time to bow your head and pray for the right amount of grace to look at yourself truly and then deal with the other lovingly.

God Bless and Have a Good Day

I don’t know about you, but I am horrifed about what I hear and ’see’ taking place over in Iran following the outcome of the latest election.

There is so much about their culture and so on that is unfamiliar to me that I must confess there is quite a bit of ignorance on my part and may be reflected in this post.

Although some have explained things to me a bit, I realize there is much I don’t understand about the differences between Shiite and Sunni sects of the religion of Islam except for the fact that it seems to be quite regional and ethnic.

But there are other reasons that this whole Iran thing has me greatly bothered:

1) Sadam Hussein was invaded because he served a ‘real and dangerous’ threat to the region and the world and he needed to be brought down because of the horrible things he did to others, and here we have a nation in chaos due to the fact that a regime is so hungry for power that they are willing to shed blood over it and what can be done about it?  I hope people of the West and especially the U.N. can make a decision to step in (I am not suggesting war is the only option here either) and try to bring some form of peace over there.

2) I am bothered that people will still do so much damage to people not to different then themselves.  What kind of a mindset isn’t bothered by beating, imprisoning and even torturing another human being who only wants his voice to be heard?

3) It should be quite clear that this isn’t simply a ‘Muslim’ thing, but a common thing that happens to those who are hungry for power and will do anything to keep it or get it.  For too long we in the west have been comfortable equating all people of this religion with the radical interpretations and organized actions of those who would reak havoc on others.  It should be clear that when the President of Iran speaks messages of hate and violence he clearly doesn’t have the backing of all his people.  We Christians will do well to remember this when engaging in dialogue with others.  To begin a conversation by putting someone else’s back up against the wall is not a good way to bring about peace.

4) The one thing that is really bugging me is this: does anyone know if the other guy will be any better?

My prayers go out to all those who are suffering great injustice in the nation of Iran today.  My hopes are that as in times past when unjust suffering was happening, it was never in vain and that something better will one day come–it may not be soon but hopefully the seeds of change have been planted by the sweat, blood & tears of a mighty host.

God Bless and have a good day

Well that depends on what is meant by the question.

For some the answer is in ‘God’s great world.’  For others, ‘on a rotating ball that came about by accident.’  Still others would reply ‘in Canada.’  Some, ‘Ontario’.  Others ‘Windsor’ and finally a four year old might say ‘in my house.’

Really many people are living in an ‘unreal’ place.  Have you been able to avoid hearing about the most famous break-up in the last 15 minutes?  Doesn’t it seem like everyone is consumed with Jon & Kate?

Then there are the old reliables, the ’soaps’.  In my day, it was Bo & Hope and then Jack & Jennifer and a host of others.

We try to tell our children that the stories they see and read about are things not to be consumed by and then so many adults allow themselves to be drawn into these adult stories and allow their minds, emotions and schedules to be ruled by ‘unreal’ living.

So, let me ask you, ‘where do you live?’

Jesus said, ‘My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.’

Have you found ‘full life’ where you are?

God Bless and Have a Good Day

Have you ever looked at someone and concluded that they were scared of commitment?

A more accurate description however is that the person is actually scared of intimacy.  There have been countless of individuals who have enjoyed the dating stage only to grow more and more uncomfortable once the dating becomes more serious.  Why?  The closer someone gets the more vulnerable we become.

We like having lots of associates, but close friends can be somehwat fearful.  We like to rack up huge numbers for instance in how many ‘friends’ we have on things like facebook but we really might want fewer then 1 for how many we really unveil the true face behind our mask.

As we grow however we soon realize that there are great benefits to having those who have really gotten close to us.  There are benefits to having those who could really hurt you because they have you vulnerable but at the same time only choose to lift you up.

One of the most fearful things people have about God is the fact that one day they are going to experience how close He really is.  The truth of the matter (if only they could see it) is that God’s closeness can be the greatest of all relationships that we have.

While others might be tempted to judge us or criticize us, God truly knows who we are, where we’ve been and where we are going.

While others might be tempted to abandon us, God always watches over us and promises us to keep us in His loving hands.

While others might be tempted to classify us in regards to our weaknesses, God always identifies us with the desires of our hearts.

While others might not care to draw close to us, God is always open to coming near and seeing everything we could possibly want or need.

How Close do you want someone to be?

God Bless and Have a Good day

Today is the greatest day of the year!

That is how I have begun the last 11 father’s day sermons that I have preached for the West Side Church of Christ here in Windsor.  The first one went over well and the next 10 (including tomorrow) have been met with a ‘yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it all before’.  It went something like this: ‘Christmas is great, but father’s day is the one day of the year where the man of the house finally gets a break from all the duties of both working a full time job and all the housework he has to do.’

My girls are growing older and unfortunately they still have a lot of growing to do.  This means that I am nowhere near the end of difficulties, heartaches (either theirs or mine) and dealing with mistakes.  It is so easy to make someone feel so guilty over the job of parenting.  Not so easy when it is your time to need people’s mercy instead of criticism and no one seems to be offering it.  Anyway, while far from perfect (there are way too many mistakes that I have made as a dad to count) I have really enjoyed being a dad.

The funny thing is that my journey in fatherhood has not gone the way I expected.  I fully expected that it would be easier, I fully expected that I would know how to have my will be done and I fully expected that there would be some kind of male presence in the house other than mine (You can choose to laugh at one or all three of those).

I always told my parents that I couldn’t wait to have one boy and then one girl so I could reverse the favouritism that was so clearly shown in our household (yes, I know I have issues).  Well, the first one came 12 and a half years ago in the form of Sydney-no boy–my mom breathed a sigh of relief.  The second one came 9 and a half years ago in the form of Baylie-again no boy–my mom now chuckled to herself.  The third one came 4 and a half years ago in the form of Olivia-alas no boy to be found and this one came as a tornado–my mom has not stopped laughing.

Anyway–we have laughed a lot at our house through the years besides losing more hair.  Here’s the thing–I had totally expected to father as I was fathered–I felt I could relate well to a father-son relationship because before I was ever a father I was a son–and my dad must have been a pretty good dad because ‘look how I came out.’  What was I to do now there was no son?

The truth be told–a father’s memory as a son will still hold a strong influence over him whether he has sons or daughters.  Some fathers will choose to parent in an entire different way because they simply did not like what they saw in their own father.  But others, others who have been blessed trememndously by God, will seek to follow in the large footsteps their own fathers left before them.  Not large in the sense they are too daunting, large because he left a path for his son to know how to follow.

Take time tomorrow when honouring your father–that if he is a really good father (don’t ever forget that)–to also honour your grandfather.

I remember an old movie line that went something like this:

Some men are fortunate enough in life that the greatest man they ever meet in life was the first man they ever meet!  (I like to joke with my dad that the doctor was the greatest I ever met)

Take pride in being a father and if yours was good, take great pride in being a son (or daughter)

God Bless and Have a Good Day!

Oh, the end of the year for our school goers.  Today was just one of those days.  I was supposed to have a half-day to myself completely and then rush to school to share in my grade 4’s midieval feast.  My wife went with her class on the field trip to see the midieval times where they got to witness a whole slew of things from those times.  Well, it turned out that Bay was sick through the night, Sara stayed up with her and so I ended up taking her place on the kindergartner’s field trip to the Art Gallery.  All this while my oldest one just gets ready to finish grade 7.

Oh, the end of the school year brings many exciting things to mind.

For my oldest girl it is kind of a sad thing that is happening amid all the joy.  Some of her grade 8 friends will not be seen for at least a year and others won’t be seen at all (her school ends up dividing to 3 or 4 different high schools).

For my next girl, she is just wired that school will be ending and all she is looking to do this last week is all the partying she and her class might be involved with.

Well, my youngest, that’s another story–school or no school–life is just a party.  As we were on the bus this morning there was so much excitement as we passed certain ‘landmarks’.  ‘Hey dad’ she would say, ‘LOOK’ and then with excitement say: ‘there’s Rexall, there’s Blockbuster, there’s a gas station etc, etc, etc, ….’

Life as seen over an age difference of 8 years.

early life: all parties, no lasting worries

mid life: work but look forward to the parties.

later life: there is joy but also a lot of difficulty.

Don’t you find yourself wishing at times to go back to the days when superheroes were real, problems were easy to get over and moms and dads could do anything?

Sad news is, we can’t get back there and spending our times wishing won’t get it done.

So, what do we do with life when we reach a point where there will be good byes and disappointments?

Someone at an Alzheimer’s seminar once instructed us to do this:

live in the blessings and learn from the cursings!

I think that is wise advice, don’t you?

God Bless and Have a Good Day

Why are so many of us sucked into the idea that a life that is free of all responsibility is the best kind of life?

We want a job that pays a lot of money but not have to responsibility of working hard or in difficult circumstances.  We want the joys of having children without the responsibility of long nights, giving up personal joys or having to keep watch over the little ones.  We want the pleasures of a relationship such as marriage without the responsibilities of staying devoted, serving or putting them first.

I look with sadness today at the amount of people who simply walk away from previous commitments.  We become a member of a church and then walk away because we just don’t want to ‘join in’ to make it tick.  We become a spouse and then we simply walk away because we find another or we force our mate to walk away because we don’t want to put the effort in to making it work.  We walk away!

So, my question for you is: is commitment worth it?  What has your experience been?

In all honesty, I firmly have to believe that given time, sticking with what we’ve committed to will prove worth it in the end.  It will prove worth it to stay committed despite the fact that you might feel unappreciated for what you do.  It will prove worth it to stay committed despite the fact that so much of your time has been spent engaged in things you personally didn’t want to do.  It will prove worth it to stay committed despite the fact that taking it easy would have been easier for the time being.

What do you think?

God Bless and Have a Good Day

Track time is upon us and the girls are getting excited and a bit nervous.

We try our best to cheer for them but not make the worry too much about winning or placing.

We have been witness (and continue to be) to parents who feel somehow that their entire self-esteem is based on how well their children do in any kind of competition.  You ever meet someone like that?  What drives the adult to go to the extreme that every time their child doesn’t get the result that is desired someone did something against them and any time another child placed higher there had to be some excuse as to why and the parent just cannot have a good time unless the precious child came out on top!

What begins to happen is not simply cheering on your own child, but cheering against someone else’s.  You ever wonder what other kids might feel beeing cheered against?

One of the things that the New Testament writers compared the Christian life to was a race (both Paul & the Hebrew writer).  The good thing about this race is that it isn’t based on who comes in first or second, who runs it better or quicker then the rest, all that matters is finishing!  (Hebrews 11 & 12)

Avoid any temptation to start cheering against some other runner in the race of life.  Instead we should all do our best to enjoy the day, cheer each other on and simply laugh and learn to rejoice when we all cross the finish line.

God Bless and Have a Good Day

I mentioned in the last note of the lecture Sara and I attended concerning teens and mental health.

One of the things that I discovered is that the majority of us only use the top third of our lungs when we breathe and hence are not getting the full benefit of our bodies.  The reason this was brought up was that one of the things that will help people cope with stress is taking good sized breaths.  The entire body is refreshed when we use our lungs to their full capacity.

How important is it to breathe?  Well, probably life and death right?

I wonder if most of us don’t recognize what we are mising by not breathing as good as we can?

Interesting that one of the things we read in the creation of humans by God is this: ‘then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.’ (Genesis 2:7)

Then when Paul wanted to talk about the relationship between spiritual life and the Scriptures he told young Timothy that: ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

How many Christans are attempting to get by with too short of breaths?

Maybe to refresh your spiritual life it is time to take a few deep breaths and really get into scripture again.

While I am usually at Wednesday night Bible study and I have enjoyed leading a study on the character of Aaron, tonight I had the privilege of attending a lecture on teens and some mental health issues.

At times I wonder if the church is as open to mental health issues as it needs to be.  At other times I think the church has done many great things when it comes to mental health issues.  Added to that there are times where I think the church simply mirrors the society in which she lives: basically you have some people who are good about it, others who are unsure what to do about it and still others who think they know everything about it (which to them means that there is not such thing as mental health issues)

While I do not know as much as the professionals do, Sara and I have tried to take in as many seminars, training courses and the like that we can and one fo the things that comes out every time is this: the last thing someone in a dark place needs is the judgmental attitude of others telling them what to do!

The thing everyone needs is simply this: the person who is willing to listen and simply not push them away with any kind of attitude.

I pray that all of us can help some of our friends, family & communities see a little light when things get so dark.

God Bless and Have a Good Day