I imagine that such a statement will sound the opposite of true to many who know me. That is simply because I have a complex mind. I am always thinking, and today a class in Ethnography has given me many lifetimes worth of material to think about. It is a class that I both love and hate because of this.
So how can I say I am a simple man? Because of the complexities of thought and reality all around me that is all I am capable of being. I think until exhausted and never come to a concrete conclusion because there is always another angle, another perspective to be considered. There is always something I'm not aware of or some argument that contradicts my perspective, and I have no way to refute it. I look at my life and using the metaphor of a house it is a broken run-down shack in need of repair and attention, but do not have the means to do anything. I say I am a simple man because ultimately I must strip away all the complexities and return to the basics. I can only start with Christ. He is my rock and my salvation, without Him my house would be built on sand and whether I had myself all together or not, that house would fall. So I start there, with one simple fact, one truth that I must construct my life around. What is the greatest commandment? Love God, and the second is like it, Love others. When life gets complex and I realize my incapability of holding it all together, I need to return to my simple roots. Its ultimately all I can do.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Sales
I'm on the Cross Country & Track teams at Trinity Western University. As such there are expenses for the program to run, which is to be expected. Therefore fundraisers are also to be expected. My problem is when those fundraisers require us to do sales. Ultimately in some form or another every fundraiser does sales, but I'd rather be on the service end of things than the sales end of things, its just not in how I was made.
I once had a sales position for a week. It was one of the most awkward things for me ever to do. I sold knives no less! To be sure they really were great knives and believing in a product you're selling is supposed to help right? Not for me. Thats why I quit after a week, I couldn't do it. I can't handle the concept of trying to convince others to give me their money.
Enter me into missionary work. The work itself is almost always service oriented and that suits me just great. But the support has to come from somewhere. Either you are self-supporting with a job or inheritance or some other way like Paul(although to be honest later in his ministry there were times when he was supported by churches as well) or you are supported by others. The problem is what I intend to be doing, namely Bible Translation and related things, will be something that takes up all my time. I won't be able to work in another capacity to support myself and my family. So that only leaves me with asking for help from individual Christians and the Church, which brings me to the same problem I've always had. It is definitely something different than sale proper, but it still has some of those same aspects that make it hard for me, asking other people to give up their money for my benefit. Its a tough one for me to swallow, but I must. This is something I believe in with every fiber of my being. Its not like the knowledge that the knives were good knives, but so much more knowing that I will be a part of God's plan to be glorified among ALL NATIONS. It has a completely different nature to it, so I think I can overcome this apprehension. But it won't be easy. Its a good thing God never promised it would be.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
I once had a sales position for a week. It was one of the most awkward things for me ever to do. I sold knives no less! To be sure they really were great knives and believing in a product you're selling is supposed to help right? Not for me. Thats why I quit after a week, I couldn't do it. I can't handle the concept of trying to convince others to give me their money.
Enter me into missionary work. The work itself is almost always service oriented and that suits me just great. But the support has to come from somewhere. Either you are self-supporting with a job or inheritance or some other way like Paul(although to be honest later in his ministry there were times when he was supported by churches as well) or you are supported by others. The problem is what I intend to be doing, namely Bible Translation and related things, will be something that takes up all my time. I won't be able to work in another capacity to support myself and my family. So that only leaves me with asking for help from individual Christians and the Church, which brings me to the same problem I've always had. It is definitely something different than sale proper, but it still has some of those same aspects that make it hard for me, asking other people to give up their money for my benefit. Its a tough one for me to swallow, but I must. This is something I believe in with every fiber of my being. Its not like the knowledge that the knives were good knives, but so much more knowing that I will be a part of God's plan to be glorified among ALL NATIONS. It has a completely different nature to it, so I think I can overcome this apprehension. But it won't be easy. Its a good thing God never promised it would be.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Impersonator
How do you measure the fame of someone? What tools do you use to compare the fame of one person to the next? I was thinking about this not too long ago and thought of people that were Elvis impersonators, or Arnold impersonators. There are some people that are really good at impersonating those famous people, and the more of them there are the more famous a person was. What about Jesus?
Well, using this measure, Jesus was most definitely the most famous person to ever have lived. There are so very many Jesus impersonators. Thousands. Hundreds of Thousands. Millions. And the number keeps growing. But not only that, there are some pretty decent impersonators out there! I've seen some amazing men and women of God in my few years that help to point us toward Christ. That is how amazing He is. Some carpenter(actually, the Greek word could also mean stonemason, which seems to fit better with the parables he tended to use in my mind) from a backwater town called Nazareth, who lived and died while countries rose and fell, politicians controlled the world, and it seemed so easy to miss Him. And yet, He has had the biggest impact on the world we could ever imagine, or rather bigger than we could imagine. Its really truly amazing. In fact, I'm trying to be an impersonator too! Who knew I'd be trying to impersonate a famous person.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Well, using this measure, Jesus was most definitely the most famous person to ever have lived. There are so very many Jesus impersonators. Thousands. Hundreds of Thousands. Millions. And the number keeps growing. But not only that, there are some pretty decent impersonators out there! I've seen some amazing men and women of God in my few years that help to point us toward Christ. That is how amazing He is. Some carpenter(actually, the Greek word could also mean stonemason, which seems to fit better with the parables he tended to use in my mind) from a backwater town called Nazareth, who lived and died while countries rose and fell, politicians controlled the world, and it seemed so easy to miss Him. And yet, He has had the biggest impact on the world we could ever imagine, or rather bigger than we could imagine. Its really truly amazing. In fact, I'm trying to be an impersonator too! Who knew I'd be trying to impersonate a famous person.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Making Plans
This coming weekend is going to be pretty huge for me. And as such I find myself wanting to plan every detail. I never really knew I was that kind of person. I'm generally a laid back person and just go with the flow, but when it comes down to the most important things in my life I find I try to plan for every contingency and make sure everything is okay. Thinking back I see thats what I did when planning for both of my trips to Tanzania. Everything was fairly meticulously categorized and accounted for.
There is a problem though. Everyone with even just a little bit of maturity and experience walking in this world (especially a mature Christian) knows that plans do not pan out. The harder and more meticulously you plan something, the less likely it is to go as you plan it to. And there is a reason for that. When we plan, we are trying to control. We are trying to control circumstances, ourselves, others, life. The problem is that we aren't in control, and every time we try to act like we are we get into huge trouble. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Its not in our hands.
So then are all the people who don't plan for anything right then? Are we, by planning, just fooling ourselves and trying to usurp God's authority? Should we just let everything fall as it may? I don't think so. There is value in planning. There isn't value in assuming things will go according to plan. If nobody ever planned anything, nothing would ever get done. Look at that proverb again. Does it say anywhere that we shouldn't plan? No, it doesn't. It simply contrasts the plans of man and how things actually turn out. Things turn out according to the Lord's will. Sometimes our plans match up with that, and the closer in line with Him we are, the more likely that is to happen. Sometimes they don't match, and then our plans go astray. It is in those times that things don't go according to plan that our motives and character truly come through. That is when we discover whether we were being wise or foolish in our planning. We'll see how God test's my heart this weekend, and I welcome it either way. Not to mention (wonderfully odd phrase that is, on a side note, have you ever considered saying "Not to mention" and then not mention anything?) the great joy I will receive in spending time with Brenda.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
There is a problem though. Everyone with even just a little bit of maturity and experience walking in this world (especially a mature Christian) knows that plans do not pan out. The harder and more meticulously you plan something, the less likely it is to go as you plan it to. And there is a reason for that. When we plan, we are trying to control. We are trying to control circumstances, ourselves, others, life. The problem is that we aren't in control, and every time we try to act like we are we get into huge trouble. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Its not in our hands.
So then are all the people who don't plan for anything right then? Are we, by planning, just fooling ourselves and trying to usurp God's authority? Should we just let everything fall as it may? I don't think so. There is value in planning. There isn't value in assuming things will go according to plan. If nobody ever planned anything, nothing would ever get done. Look at that proverb again. Does it say anywhere that we shouldn't plan? No, it doesn't. It simply contrasts the plans of man and how things actually turn out. Things turn out according to the Lord's will. Sometimes our plans match up with that, and the closer in line with Him we are, the more likely that is to happen. Sometimes they don't match, and then our plans go astray. It is in those times that things don't go according to plan that our motives and character truly come through. That is when we discover whether we were being wise or foolish in our planning. We'll see how God test's my heart this weekend, and I welcome it either way. Not to mention (wonderfully odd phrase that is, on a side note, have you ever considered saying "Not to mention" and then not mention anything?) the great joy I will receive in spending time with Brenda.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Meanings of Silence
I've written on Silence before. But that was in the context of learning how to be more silent. Today I was worshiping the LORD at church and as His Glory and presence overwhelmed me I started to think. I thought about God's love for us, and His seeming silence from time to time. I thought about my inability in those moments to come up with any way to express my deep gratitude and love for Him. Then I realized that silence too can be an expression of love. Silence is more than simply the absence of something, but can be the presence of Love. Let me explain with a short story.
I talk to Brenda on the phone several times a week. There are moments when the conversation stops and we both sit there in silence. But it is so much more than simply having nothing to say because in those moments I know exactly what she is thinking and I believe she knows what I'm thinking. We both feel and want to express our love for one another, but somehow words are inadequate. Ultimately one or the other of us will break the silence with those words, "I love you." Those moments of silence are not empty but filled with our mutual affection. I know that when I am with her that I could simply sit in her presence completely satisfied to simply stare at her. No words need be exchanged.
And that is how I was feeling towards God this morning. I could not express my deep love for Him, and I didn't need to. He knows the depths of my love, however insignificant compared to His, and is satisfied to look at me in love Himself. I don't need Him to always be speaking as I grow in my maturity and knowledge of Him. He doesn't always have to continually shout His love for me with gifts and blessings, for His silence shouts His great love for me even more inexpressibly than I can imagine.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
I talk to Brenda on the phone several times a week. There are moments when the conversation stops and we both sit there in silence. But it is so much more than simply having nothing to say because in those moments I know exactly what she is thinking and I believe she knows what I'm thinking. We both feel and want to express our love for one another, but somehow words are inadequate. Ultimately one or the other of us will break the silence with those words, "I love you." Those moments of silence are not empty but filled with our mutual affection. I know that when I am with her that I could simply sit in her presence completely satisfied to simply stare at her. No words need be exchanged.
And that is how I was feeling towards God this morning. I could not express my deep love for Him, and I didn't need to. He knows the depths of my love, however insignificant compared to His, and is satisfied to look at me in love Himself. I don't need Him to always be speaking as I grow in my maturity and knowledge of Him. He doesn't always have to continually shout His love for me with gifts and blessings, for His silence shouts His great love for me even more inexpressibly than I can imagine.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Of Great Worth
What do you do when you feel like you don't deserve something? Do you try to earn it? Do you accept it? Do you reject it?
I recently talked a little about unworthiness and the inability that we have to earn anything that we receive from the hand of God. It was mostly about trying to break down our egos about ourselves where somehow we had thought we deserved what we received. But there is a pitfall in always pointing this out which is to believe that we are worthless. There is a huge difference between being unworthy and being worthless.
Some people readily acknowledge their unworthiness and constantly berate and belittle themselves and others. It is sad to see this happen because as God's creation we have imbued worth. Not because of anything we can or have done, but because of the one who has made us. In business one has to eventually realize that just about everything is worth something. Some things that we thought would fetch a huge price have less worth than we thought and other things that we thought had little or no worth turn out to have great worth. It comes down to something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And God has paid for you. He has paid with His Son on the cross. He paid the heaviest price that can ever be paid counterbalancing and overcoming the weight of sin. That is how much you are worth. That is how much God values you. So don't make Christ's sacrifice worthless by rejecting it or worse yet trying to earn it. Because you are worth a lot, and God has gone to great lengths to make sure that you know it.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
I recently talked a little about unworthiness and the inability that we have to earn anything that we receive from the hand of God. It was mostly about trying to break down our egos about ourselves where somehow we had thought we deserved what we received. But there is a pitfall in always pointing this out which is to believe that we are worthless. There is a huge difference between being unworthy and being worthless.
Some people readily acknowledge their unworthiness and constantly berate and belittle themselves and others. It is sad to see this happen because as God's creation we have imbued worth. Not because of anything we can or have done, but because of the one who has made us. In business one has to eventually realize that just about everything is worth something. Some things that we thought would fetch a huge price have less worth than we thought and other things that we thought had little or no worth turn out to have great worth. It comes down to something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And God has paid for you. He has paid with His Son on the cross. He paid the heaviest price that can ever be paid counterbalancing and overcoming the weight of sin. That is how much you are worth. That is how much God values you. So don't make Christ's sacrifice worthless by rejecting it or worse yet trying to earn it. Because you are worth a lot, and God has gone to great lengths to make sure that you know it.
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Unworthy of Stewardship
I opened my hands this morning and realized that God has entrusted into my hands not only tasks, but the lives of others. In particular I think about the heart of my Beloved Brenda. I hold it in my hands. She is submitting herself to my leadership. She is following me. As we grow and figure out what that really means I just think about the responsibility placed in my hands and the ability given to me by her and God. What scares me most I think is that with her heart in my hands I have the ability to crush it. But truth be told, in that respect she has the same ability with my own heart.
But thats just it, when it comes down to it, we're all blubbering idiots. The responsibilities God has placed in our hands are beyond us. We are not worthy of the stewardship we've been entrusted with. With her heart in my hands, I will inevitably cause it damage, hopefully not crush it, but nevertheless I will hurt her. Not to try to justify it in some way by any kind of "I told you it would happen" scenario, but rather the recognition of the fact that I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I can't even be trusted with my own heart. I've caused so much damage even to my own heart that I can't reasonably expect that I won't hurt her as well. But still God has entrusted us with these kinds of things. We are not worthy. We are not capable. And yet He gives us these things. Because He loves us. And He will empower us. When I fail, it is because of my own shortcomings. Oh, but when I succeed! Glory be to God, for it is through Him and His Spirit that success is ever possible, even plausible. For when I relinquish lordship in my own life, these hands cease to be mine and become His. That is when her heart will be safe, nourished, cherished, and strengthened. By giving Him my hands to use as He wills, I no longer fear, but rejoice.
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and Beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Frances R. Havergal "Take My Life and Let It Be"
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
But thats just it, when it comes down to it, we're all blubbering idiots. The responsibilities God has placed in our hands are beyond us. We are not worthy of the stewardship we've been entrusted with. With her heart in my hands, I will inevitably cause it damage, hopefully not crush it, but nevertheless I will hurt her. Not to try to justify it in some way by any kind of "I told you it would happen" scenario, but rather the recognition of the fact that I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I can't even be trusted with my own heart. I've caused so much damage even to my own heart that I can't reasonably expect that I won't hurt her as well. But still God has entrusted us with these kinds of things. We are not worthy. We are not capable. And yet He gives us these things. Because He loves us. And He will empower us. When I fail, it is because of my own shortcomings. Oh, but when I succeed! Glory be to God, for it is through Him and His Spirit that success is ever possible, even plausible. For when I relinquish lordship in my own life, these hands cease to be mine and become His. That is when her heart will be safe, nourished, cherished, and strengthened. By giving Him my hands to use as He wills, I no longer fear, but rejoice.
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and Beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Frances R. Havergal "Take My Life and Let It Be"
For His Glorious Name,
Jason
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