Saturday

Saturday. What comes to mind? A day off? A day to catch up on chores? Shopping? Relaxing? Family Day?

I recently read John Ortberg’s “Who Is This Man?” In this he devoted an entire chapter to Saturday. A specific Saturday.

I had never thought about this particular Saturday before . . . the Saturday between the crucifixion and the resurrection.

What would you have done if you had been there on that Saturday? Questioned . . . Waited . . . For what? The disciples and other followers of Jesus didn’t know Sunday was coming.

After all the events of the hours that passed before Saturday . . . the Passover meal . . . the foot washing . . . praying in the garden . . . sleeping in the garden . . . soldiers . . . denial . . . the trial . . . the mob . . . “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” . . . the whip . . . the crown of thorns . . . heart pounding fear . . . heart breaking loss . . . and then He said, “It is finished”. Did the followers feel that they too were done?

Even the women heading to the tomb Sunday morning did not anticipate seeing the risen Christ . . . they were heading there to care for a body . . .

But . . . THAT Sunday morning, EVERYTHING changed . . . for them . . . for us.

Because of that Sunday morning, our Saturdays are also forever changed.

Make no mistake about it, we still have Saturdays . . . those days after . . .

The day after the heart stopping fearful diagnosis . . . The day after the loss . . . The day after the door slams and your son is gone to who knows where . . .The day your daughter does not call . . .

The day after . . . Saturday . . . When heaven seems silent and you don’t know which way to turn . . .

Saturday . . . When hope is gone and prayer seems futile . . . When you don’t even know what to pray. . .

But . . . here’s our advantage. We KNOW about Sunday! Though we will have moments of despair . . . and days when the stuff of life seems overwhelming . . . we do not need to stay there. Sunday happened and we are forever changed by that reality!

“‘Don’t be alarmed’ he said’ you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. HE HAS RISEN!’” (Mark 16:6a)

Hope for every “Saturday”!

HE HAS RISEN!

Ruth U.

The Other Half of the Story

"Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It's true; we are His beloved children." 1 John 3:1 (The Voice)

During the season of Lent, as we journey toward the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are postured toward self-examination, toward a recognition and acknowledgment of our deep and desperate need for a saviour. 
 
I need saving. There it is. I’m a mess and I need to be saved. I’m keenly aware of how misguided I can become… How selfish. How excessive. How insatiable. How restless. How unkind. How foolish. How bewildered. How lost. 

It’s not difficult to focus on our shortcomings. We’re quite practiced at it, really. Many of us learned from a young age that we need God because we are sinful, and we need Christ’s redemption to restore us to relationship with God. We learned to focus on the sin. When I look inside, it is easier, at first glance, to see my flaws than to see my beauty. For many of us, our failures speak to us more loudly than our worth.

It is true. Redemption is a central part of our story. I have failed. I need to be restored. But that’s only half of the story.   

The other half of the story is the truth that I am WORTH saving. There is something in me that is WORTH restoring. I am precious. This is the good news – the really GOOD news. That we are precious. That we are loved recklessly and wildly, passionately and desperately, by the God who creates us and sustains us, who prizes and pursues us, who restores and redeems and revives all that is broken and lost and wounded and marred and stained.

As people who are living in an earnest attempt to follow Christ, we are often much more prone to focus on the areas where we fall short of some ideal or standard, rather than on the incredible wooing of a God who, over and over and over and over says, “Come.” “Come to me.” “My love is steadfast and unending.” “I chose you.” “I know everything about you and I still choose you.”

My prayer for us all during this Easter season is that we would experience a renewed awakening to our preciousness. That we would bask in the extravagant love that led Christ to the cross. Would we grow in our awareness of our value, and embrace our core identity as the Beloved.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (New Living Translation)

Arlene M.

Living a Responsive Life

The world recently returned home from the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. During the event, extensive media coverage constantly preached the value of competition, striving to be the best, and pursuing your dreams. Yet I wonder how much of this message is truly God's plan for us. Were humans created to become focused on one dream - to be the best - at the exclusion of all others things in life? What about God's dreams for us? Competition can be healthy, of course, so long as it promotes teamwork and develops character. However, the majority of serious Olympic athletes suffer from stress, anxiety and even depression, which the media fails to report.

We are selfish beings by nature, and our constant self-awareness and self-preservation clouds our view of what is really going on in the world around us. That's why Romans 12:2 is so crucial to memorize and to take to heart every day: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Did you catch that last part? The perfect will of God. It's really all about Him. Creator God is the only true active force in this world, and us created humans are meant to be responsive. Not active, not passive, but responsive. The key to everything is this: “not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (I John 4:10)

This is such a foreign concept to our modern way of thinking. For me, I like to remind myself regularly that we as the church are the bride of Christ, and meditate on what that really means. In Jesus' day, the groom did everything to prepare for the wedding. He not only pursued the bride, but also made all the preparations for the wedding and for their future home. The bride's job was to wait and be ready when the groom called for her. So it is with us. You may not feel that God is moving in your life, but continue to remain faithful and trust Him. As His bride, He is actively pursuing you, defending you and preparing you for what He dreams for you to be. He knows your every need and always has your best interests at heart.

Still feeling lonely and fearful? Remember, God is also the Creator of relationship. He formed the mountains, trees, and the air we breathe, but His favourite creative work is people, and bringing them into relationship with Him and with each other. Marriage, family, and community are what cause His love and glory to shine brightest; not even the most magnificent sunset can compare. Once we focus on unity, instead of competition, will we start to approach the target. We work best as a team.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed watching the Olympics, and celebrating each gold medal! But let's not forget the Lord's desire to see us live united together, humbly responsive to His love.

Ruth-Ellen W.

How Majestic Is Your Name

Psalm 8:1 & 3 says, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” and “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place” (NIV)

Many years ago I remember repeatedly listening to the Keith Green song “How Majestic Is Thy Name”. It was written almost directly from Psalm 8. (FYI: scripture set to music is a great way to remember it . . . even this many years later!) The words in this Psalm and song have always spoken to my heart. As a child I would gaze at the moon and stars (and especially the Big Dipper) when I would walk from our barn to the house. The reality of these verses have always spoken to me of how amazing and majestic God is.

Recently I had a window seat as I was flying home one night. As I looked out the window into the night sky I was amazed at how clear it was and how much I could see. There were no clouds – anywhere – and it was SO clear! As we were flying over a rather populated area, I thought it was the strangest feeling to be able to see so much out the window. You see there was a full moon that night and even though it wasn’t bright like the sun, the night sky was lit up in the most extraordinary way. It was so odd to look over the wing of the plane, see the freeways, the lit up subdivisions and even the rural farm yards. . . And here I was sitting in a plane flying over all of it. Crazy! My great-great grandparents would never have believed this!

And then “I considered the heavens . . . the moon and the stars, which you have set in place.”

And then I remembered “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

I so badly wanted to take a snapshot and capture that moment in time, but knew nothing would really do it justice. This was going to be one of those moments I would need to try to capture in my memory. I know over time it will fade and become just a memory, but it was simply an incredible sight. I was able to look out at a part of God’s world and realize that for a few minutes I was given a gift . . . a gift to see a piece of the world from another perspective. It was amazing!

I know if you live in a city it is challenging to find a spot away from the streetlights, but next time you are driving in the country at night, take a few minutes and look at the moon and stars in the sky and remember Who put them there – and praise God’s majestic name!!

Jo-Ann

The Alabaster Box

There is a familiar story in the Bible of a sinful woman who broke her alabaster box at Jesus' feet. It's found in Luke 7:37-38: "A woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil."

I was reading a book the other day that made reference to this story, and I started to deeply ponder its meaning.

Firstly, it's a dialogue without words. It's very true that actions speak louder than words; they are what truly reveal the state of our hearts. And since Jesus knew exactly what was in her heart and what she had done, words were unnecessary - both in her offering of repentance and in her receiving of forgiveness. But her offering was more than that - it cost her something as well. Hers was a sacrificial offering - she broke her alabaster box.

Apparently, in the culture of the day, when a young Jewish woman reached the age of availability for marriage, her family would purchase an alabaster box for her and fill it with precious ointment. The size of the box and the value of the ointment would parallel her family's wealth. This alabaster box would be part of her dowry. When a young man came to ask for her in marriage, she would respond by taking the alabaster box and breaking it at his feet. This gesture of anointing his feet showed him honour. This woman was willing to offer Jesus the best and most valuable thing she had in order to honour Him, knowing it was a one-time gesture that couldn't be done again.

What is in your alabaster box? What dreams or secrets do you cling to that need to be broken and released at His feet? It's not enough to simply give Jesus our hearts, we must allow Him to break them irretrievably as a sign of our faith and complete commitment to Him. Only then can He reform them into what He longs for them to be. Isaiah 55:8 says "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" God's plans for our lives are so much greater than those we plan for ourselves. Our sacrifice may seem great, but the step of faith required to answer His call will always be worth it.

Something else happened when the alabaster box was broken - the fragrance of the oil was released and filled the room. The other people present experienced the aroma and were affected by her very vulnerable, intimate offering. When you begin to live every day by faith, other people will be touched; stirred; challenged; even offended. In fact, those who witnessed this event were appalled and totally misunderstood its meaning - but this woman had come to a place where she no longer cared what people thought of her. It makes no difference what people's reactions are, only that there is something undeniable about you that they will notice. Allow the Holy Spirit to work on their hearts as you remain faithful to His plan and His call. The box is broken, the decision made. There's no turning back now.

Ruth-Ellen W.

Broken Open

I have a faint silvery line on my lower back where I didn’t quite clear a barbed-wire fence when I was 9. There’s also a mark on my neck from surgery to remove cancer in 2010. Most recently, I have a darker, jagged scar that tells the story of the emergency caesarean section that brought our son safely into our arms. 

Then there are the invisible scars. Infertility. The stillbirth of our daughter. More infertility. Nearly a decade of aching and longing that felt as though it might always be unfulfilled.

If I’m honest, my husband and I are private people by nature. It would have been much easier not to share these deeply personal, painful parts of our life. To keep these things between the two of us, sharing tears together in our quiet moments alone, in the protection of our safe relationship. It is not easy to be open and vulnerable, to take risks and be real and feel exposed.

And yet, we have found ourselves prompted to live these broken pieces out loud. To embrace our scars and allow them to be used in the lives of others. This is a paradox of the Christ that we follow. We are called to live from our broken places, trusting that Christ can restore and transform even the things that seem beyond redemption. Jesus bore the scars of his crucifixion even after the resurrection. Why? Because they tell the story of his suffering and his love for us. They remind us that there is life after pain.

Brokenness can close us or open us. It can isolate us from others, keeping us stuck in our own painful experience. We can spend a lot of energy avoiding our brokenness, masking it and making sure we never let that raw underside be seen by others. But there is another possibility… Our brokenness can actually draw us toward one another in relationship and caring community.  It can deepen our experience of connection, and open opportunities to be used in the lives of others that we would have never imagined.

If my husband and I had chosen to hide away (as we have often felt tempted), and had not lived our experience authentically in relationship with family, friends, and our faith community, there is so much we would have missed.

We would have missed the connection that comes with being real and authentic. There’s something that happens when we are authentic with those around us. We begin to find that there are others who are longing for the invitation to be real. When we share our experiences, we give permission to others to be open as well. We find ourselves connecting on a deep level with people around us. We spend less time in superficial conversation and “small talk” and instead share more on a deep spiritual level.

                               

We would have missed the opportunity to minister to others in painful situations.  Over the years, we have been sought out by people who knew of our experiences and who wanted a safe place to share their own struggles with loss, infertility, shame, longing, brokenness…  I have been so honoured and blessed by these opportunities to share with others. Sometimes our only ministry is the ability to walk alongside others in their pain, reminding them that they are not walking alone. And really, in our heart of hearts, isn’t this the deepest longing for all of us? To know we are not alone?

We would have missed sharing the depth of joy when our prayers were answered. Our journey has been faith-building … and not just for us. Over the years, many people have cried with us, grieved with us, prayed for us, walked alongside us. I don’t know why God chose to answer our prayers in the way they were answered. But I do know that my pregnancy and the safe arrival of our son impacted people in our lives in a powerful way. Recently, we dedicated our son to God in the presence of our church community, family and friends. There were many tears, overwhelming gratitude, and so much joy. If we had never shared our scars, and the brokenness we experienced along this path, we would have lost this opportunity to tell the story of God’s faithfulness. Because we shared the pain, we were also able to share the immense joy.

Our scars are important. They are something we all share in common – whether seen or unseen, physical or emotional, external or internal. Our scars have the ability to connect us to one another – if we allow them to.

In a beautiful paradox, our scars are actually a symbol of hope. They tell the story of the things we have survived, and bear testimony to the ability of God to heal, restore and transform.

My prayer for us all is that we would be broken open. May we overcome any pain or shame that isolates us, and may we have courage to live authentically. May we embrace our scars as a testimony of our survival and God’s work in our lives, and may we allow our brokenness to open us to God and to one another.

Arlene M.

Used Furniture

I was told the other day, “I’m getting used to you. It’s like you're a piece of furniture that’s put to good use.” I didn’t really think about that statement at that time and I shrugged it off laughingly. But as I thought about it a little more, it started to bother me. 

We all have pieces of furniture in our household these days. We all know how exciting it is to get a new couch or table and put it to good use. We fall in love with these items but then after a while - like maybe 5-7 years or so, we end up getting tired of the furniture that we have. We use our furniture so much that it becomes worn, torn, scratched or faded. Sometimes our pieces of furniture have lost its style or “spunk” and don’t “fit” in this “modern” society anymore. We make a decision to change our old furniture for new - “out with the old and in with the new.”

When I thought about this, it’s exactly like our society. New things come then they become old in a matter of months and then something new comes and the old is trashed while the new things are out in the open. I believe society influences some people (not all) to treat other people like pieces of furniture. They use and abuse them, tear and wear them out and throw them out in the trash like the others - ouch.

The Bible tells us not to love this world (1 John 2:15-17) but this doesn’t mean that if we do not love the world, we shouldn’t love the people in this world. Jesus said, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." John 13:34 (NLT)

Love each other just as HE loved us! He didn’t tell us to use one another, to abuse them, to tear them apart or to wear them out. He told us to LOVE EACH OTHER, meaning our family, friends, co-workers, strangers we encounter, etc…

Now I want you to imagine if we had a God who used us like furniture and tossed us in the trash when we become old…

I honestly don’t know if I would ever want to live in this world…

I honestly don’t know how I could picture what this world would be like if that were the case…

But the thing is, God is not like that and we should be so thankful! God goes out and buys all of the new furniture and also buys all of the OLD ones too! He fixes them all up, new and old, upholstering, repairing, patching, loving and using with care. God NEVER throws out a piece of furniture that He doesn’t like or He can’t stand because He loves them no matter how they look, no matter how much abuse, use, wear or tear they have gone through – He still LOVES them.

We are all like pieces of furniture, we are all being used, but it is God who using us. He will never abuse, wear or tear or throw us out. He will take care of every piece like a china set.

I think its time to show the world how God loves His pieces of furniture in his living room. (WOAH, that must be one big living room!)

Sandra D.