Star Appeal and Entertainment Value — ?

The original edition of the article below was written on the day of the British Conservative Party's appointment of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister Elect. Here adapted from my P-Pep! column of August 1, 2019.

Courtesy: Parliament.uk

Whether or not the Conservative Party in Britain’s election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister will greatly improve the fortunes of their nation and heal the fragmentation that has come in the wake of the Brexit referendum, is surely not clear at present to anyone except the Almighty Himself.

Although I seldom venture into political discussion in this column, I touch base with this today – after all, my wife and I have dozens of extended family members in the UK who, if they care a hoot, will be either celebrating or bemoaning Johnson’s appointment. Perhaps you also have a vested interest in what happens in the UK, just like the personal interest that many Canadian have in what happens in the USA.

My interest is in the social and spiritual aspects. As with the USA’s President Trump, Boris Johnson’s flamboyant style and air of self-confident swagger evidently appealed to enough members of his party to have voted overwhelmingly in his favour. (Of course, at this point his is a party appointment, not a general election.) 

It seems that many people in our Western democracies nowadays are weary of what they might perceive as the stuffiness and starch of “the establishment,” with its  norms and typically dull political voices – not to mention party in-fighting. 

And so, a colourful ‘Rah!-Rah!’ rousing personality and fresh voice break on the scene. An entertaining energy emanates, shaking up the dusty halls of government and waking up swaths of the populace to feel different, more optimistic about themselves—that their voice matters—and to believe in new possibilities. Some level of nationalism is stirred and, for better or for worse, they pile on for the ride.

Do you ever wonder whether such qualities as humility, truthfulness, and integrity in a leader matter less than star appeal and entertainment value?

In the eighth-century BC the biblical prophet Isaiah presented a message of comfort to Israel —Israel, in which a great many people had slidden steeply into idolatry and fallen deeply into immorality, while acts of violence and injustice with oppression of the poor were commonplace. They would be heading into difficult times—times of correction and chastisement. 

And yet, God in His love promised mercy: “. . . I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:9b -10).

What a comfort to know that, contrary to their deserving, the Lord God hadn not given up or abandoned the nation entirely, but he would bring them through the trials that would befall them, even although they’d been unfaithful to Him.

May God have mercy on our nation and others that have been so blessed, although in various ways they may have fallen short of His call to live in grace, mercy and truth.

~~+~~

Peter is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – as he is currently engaged as an associate volunteer pastor. He lives in Southwestern Ontario with his wife, May, and writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column and occasional magazine articles. Peter is author of two books: "Parables from the Pond" (Word Alive Press) and "Raise Your Gaze . . . Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart" (Angel Hope Publishing). He and May are also engaged in leading nursing home / residential chapel services, pulpit supply and music. ~+~

The Thorn in my Side - by Heidi McLaughlin

They are the bane of my existence but I can’t ignore them any longer.  The twelve large rose bushes that create a private hedge around my lower patio are covered in limp petals and desperately need pruning. Twice a year for over twenty-one years I’ve gritted my teeth, gathered my tools, put on my ragged long sleeved pruning shirt and tackled the thorns.  But this year I don’t have Jack to gather the debris and make it disappear. Ok kiddo, you’re on your own, give it all you’ve got!

Almost three hours later I’m sweaty, dirty and tired but the pruning is done and the debris hauled up the hilly side of the house to be recycled over a period of time.  As I stop to gulp down an entire water bottle, I see the blood on my arms and the side of my t-shirt where the thorns grabbed me and took pieces of skin. Why do I put myself through this misery?

Then I remind myself about the months of June and July.  Those days when I sat on the lower patio with my feet up reading a great book and surrounded by a hedge of bright pink petals and buds. Those thorny bushes had to be pruned to create this captivating beauty.

The pruning experience made me reflect on those times when I feel “thorny.” 

• ·      Someone won’t let me merge
• ·      A cashier chatting up a storm and holding up the line
• ·      Someone who compares the pain of my second husband’s death to the loss of her dog
• ·      When you’re having a bad day on the golf course and someone gives unwarranted advice and says: “When was the last time you had lessons?”

The apostle Paul, the greatest recorded missionary in the Bible had a “thorn in his side” (2 Corinthians 12:8). Three times Paul pleaded God to take this thorn away but God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, live with it, learn from it and in the harsh process become more like Christ.

Christ shed His blood so that we can be free to love each other and pass on His undeserving grace. I was willing to shed some blood for my rose bushes, but am I ready to put up with some emotional pain and extend grace to those things that feel “thorny?”

By the grace of God I am trying. I know that in the future when I feel “thorny” I will recall the blood on my sleeves and the pile of dead rose petals and pruning. Showing grace is beautiful but hard. But through the process I am becoming more beautiful from the inside out.

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. Heidi has been widowed twice. She is a mom and step mom of a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 12 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her family and special friends.

Her latest book RESTLESS FOR MORE: Fulfillment in Unexpected Places (Including a FREE downloadable Study Guide) is now available at Amazon.ca; Amazon.com, Goodreads.com or her website: www.heartconnection.ca

Grace-Space

Last week I had coffee with a friend, and when we stood to leave she apologized for the pants she was wearing.

            “I wear these all the time. They’re my default.”

            “I have the same pair,” I said. “I like mine too.”

She had been wearing those stretchy black pants. You know the ones. We all have a pair. We could live in them 24/7. Dress them down for housecleaning or lounging. Dress them up for coffee with a friend or even a night out.  

My friend had just come through a difficult time of family-drama. No wonder she was ready for those comfy pants with the elastic waistband. She needed some grace, some breathing room.

God knows we need elastic - better known as grace. We are not perfect. We are weak; we struggle; we give in to temptation; we hurt others. And God rescues us. And not with just any kind of grace, but grace with a two-way stretch. While God’s grace is wide, like that wide waistband, it is also deep and high, and He invites us to dive in. Ephesians 3:18 describes the vastness of God's love:    ". . . the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced" (The Voice). 

King David describes the depth and width of God’s kindness in Psalm 103:11 and 12:  

            As high as heaven is over the earth,

            so strong is his love to those who fear him.

            And as far as sunrise is from sunset,

            he has separated us from our sins (The Message).

How high is heaven over earth? Scientists say that our universe is ever-expanding! And what about the width of his mercy – has anyone ever measured the distance between sunrise and sunset? Is it not an eternal circle? Is God telling us that His mercy is vast and immeasurable? That His kindness knows no end?

The Psalmist said of God’s path that it was broad and easy to walk upon: “You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way” (Psalm 18:36).  He reminds us again later in Psalm 31:8, “Thou hast set my feet in a large room.”

While we know that broad is the path to destruction and narrow is the gate to eternal life (Matthew 7:13,14), King David also knew that walking in obedience to God provided wideness, soul-freedom, and liberty.

The wide-open fields of the Enemy are not wide and free as we might think. They are a maze of constantly changing “right and wrong”. Our footsteps are never sure or confident when there are no absolute standards! Living in relativism causes confusion, insecurity, and fear (Isaiah 33:15; Romans 7:11; Psalm 36).

However, the walls of God’s Kingdom are widely-set, so spacious in fact that we have room to run and dance, and space to fall and make mistakes. We feel secure inside His protective barriers, inside His grace-space. 

Instead of the simplicity of grace, Pharisees dressed in layers of law-keeping and the high-fashion of religiosity. It could not have been comfortable. There was never any wiggle room for somebody to make a mistake, to struggle, to fall. Jesus condemned their rigid judgmental attitudes. “The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16, emphasis mine). His grace extended to tax-collectors, prostitutes, and indeed everyone that recognized their need.

Jesus frees us from the chains of sin and the law, to live a new life of obedience to Him. “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you” (Galatians 5:1, The Message).  

Does that mean we can live how we want? I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it in the Message:

“So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! (Romans 6:15-18: emphasis mine).

We have all blown it. We all need grace, everyday. Like those stretchy black pants, God’s grace covers us in the stress and rigor of everyday life, but His garment is also beautiful enough to enter the throne room of our King (Hebrews 4:16).   

Why go around wearing the latest style of self-righteousness? All the frippery of ritzy rules and pretentious policies only serves to weigh us down, make us itchy, and restrict our movement. Step into the robe of Jesus’ goodness instead (Isaiah 61:10), and enjoy the depth and width of His mercy. Extend the same kindness to others. We all need His eternal, elastic, grace-space. Everyday.

The lyrics of Frederic Faber’s hymn (1854) speak about God's two-way stretchy grace. Click on the link below and listen if you like:
  There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

Pamela Mytroen takes inspiration from the never-changing bedrock of God's Word, and the ever-changing skies and seasons of Saskatchewan. The tenacity of her English students, and the diverse cultures they represent, challenge her comfortable life and have informed many recent stories. She loves a tall Norwegian farm boy who has tried teaching her how to hunt, call coyotes, and check the gas gauge. Their four children and two grandchildren, LadyBug and Sir Cricket, offer a steady supply of sweet words which she unabashedly plagiarizes, and tucks into short fiction, blogs, human-interest pieces, and devotional writing.    

TAKING ON A NEW IDENTITY - Donna Mann

I am still pondering the movie, ‘Risen’ after having seeing it on Sunday afternoon. Christians might come to this movie from a different perspective than someone from a different religion. When speaking with a person yesterday who is not particularly interested in a faith discussion, I was not surprised to hear that she was very impressed with the Roman tribune - even though the main character in the old story in which the plot is historically planted is Jesus.  Was this in the writer’s mind when writing the script?  Was it a way to invite the viewer into the gentleness and loving touch of the Jesus of their life? 

Hollywood is sometimes hard to figure out. What is the risk and what is at stake in this plot if the tribune is the protagonist? And is Jesus written in as a secondary character to hold the pieces together? 

How does one who knows the old story from a particular perspective and looks for certain parts of the story to shine, swallow Hollywood’s portrayal of Mary Magdalene or Mary, mother of Jesus, or the rest of the disciples for that matter. I’m not sure I liked the movie, but I am sure that there are probably many like the tribune, who find themselves on the outside, looking into a mystery that words cannot explain. 

When I see a Hollywood-take on a Biblical story, I find myself thankful for my

Sunday school experience as a child when I first learned the story and through the years as the people of the Bible have become brothers and sisters. 

For whatever reason the tribune was introduced as he was, he certainly played the part well of a heart that was softened when he saw the resurrected Christ sitting with his disciples at the table . . . while he leaned against the wall. And when he took off his ring that identified his previous loyalty, he opened his heart to that which wasn’t quite as evident – yet. I would like to follow that story of the tribune. He was a good example of most of our stories. 

Blessing

Donna

www.donnamann.org