Don’t be Afraid – Only Believe!

Last week we received news that Fiona’s kidneys were getting worse. Levels in her blood are climbing and there’s talk of increasing her dialysis. The day before though, Keith Miners had phoned. He had been praying that morning and had felt God clearly speak to him about Fiona. He explained that he felt God had told him that Fiona was indeed going to be healed, but that there would still be a wait. He didn’t feel that the wait would be something like ten years, but it would still be “a wait.” This was a timely encouragement just the day before we heard from the doctor.

The Bible is full of people waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, but my mind has wandered to a story in which two people had to wait – one for years, the other for precious moments. And Jesus’ words to each of them should bring hope to all of us who wait for promises to be fulfilled.

Jairus, a leader in a synagogue, had come to ask Jesus to pray for his 12-year old daughter, who was dying. Luke 8:41 says that Jairus “implored” Jesus to come – pleaded, begged – for he obviously dearly loved his daughter. Jesus agreed to come, but as they were on their way, there was a delay due to another person seeking healing – a woman who had had a hemorrhage for 12 years. You may know the story. She touched Jesus’ cloak and was healed and Jesus stopped to find out who had touched Him. Jesus’ words to her are full of compassion: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (8:48). It’s faith in Him that Jesus looks for in those who need help, and after 12 years of illness, this woman still found room in her heart for faith in God. May Fiona and I never lose that!

But how heart-breaking it must have been for Jairus to have stood there, helplessly watching Jesus delaying in order to help someone else, and then to have received the news that it was too late. His daughter had died. What a crushing disappointment. How alone he must have felt amidst the crowd on that dusty road. And surely this man had no faith left to bother Jesus any further.

It was over a year ago when Fiona and I got the news that Fiona’s kidneys had failed. It was too late. Jesus hadn’t come soon enough. I was surprised at how hard it was in 2007 to process that disappointment. It was a struggle even to reach out as if to touch Jesus’ cloak. And now we’ve just found out that they’ve gotten even worse! But I expect Jesus’ words to us might be very similar to what He said to Jairus: “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well” (8:50). The news of that little girl’s death didn’t rattle Jesus, leaving Him sorry He hadn’t hurried or that Jairus hadn’t come to Him sooner. And Jesus didn’t dismiss this man, whose faith was now deflated, and who had nothing left to come to Jesus with. Jesus’ response to the bad news was, “Don’t fear – only believe.” His counsel to Fiona and I: Don’t fear – only believe. Jesus wants us to know that whatever happens, whatever God’s timing, whatever His will, we need not fear, and we can trust Him. Don’t try to rush the Lord, don’t run away, don’t despair. Only believe. That doesn’t leave me too many options to confuse me. Simple instructions for tough circumstances: Do not fear – only believe. And then let God be God as He unfolds His plan in each situation.

I thank God for what Keith heard God say at such a crucial time. God is on His way. Do not fear – only believe.

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Destined for Troubles – Destined for Love! (church bulletin cover)

Love Winnipeg is fast approaching, a time in which churches across Winnipeg are more intentional about loving people of the city God has placed us in. This is an exciting time as we take part in good deeds that Ephesians 2:10 tells us are "good works which God prepared in advance for us to do"!

But as I was reading 1 Thessalonians 3 this week, I noticed something else God prepares in advance for us. 1 Thessalonians 3:3 tells us that God actually “destines” trials and afflictions for us to go through. What’s up with that? Somehow I don’t feel quite so excited about that. But as strange as it may sound, how we face such trials is just as much a part of our witness as the “good works” God prepares for us to do. Paul’s concern for the Thessalonians was how they were weathering the sufferings at the hands of others (2:13-16; 3:5). And Paul was overjoyed to hear from Timothy that the Thessalonians were standing firm in faith and love (3:6-8). Paul then prayed that they would continue “to increase and abound in love for one another and for all people” (3:12).

In other words, could it be that the right response to the afflictions God has destined for us is the loving deeds God has prepared for us to do? Elsewhere, God says, “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). So why not respond to afflictions with affection? This is easier to do if we see where the afflictions are coming from. We need to see that the harassment we face as Christians in this world is actually measured out by God so that the world will be able to see a people who respond with love. This should give us greater grace to respond to the troubles in this world with faith in God and love for the people around us.

Life on this earth is not meant to be our satisfaction; our life in Jesus is. When the world around us sees that we can practice good deeds despite whatever is thrown at us, they will see that we’re living for Someone far greater than any comforts this world offers. That is how they will be able to see the treasure that Jesus is to us, and hopefully desire to know Him too!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Ernest gives up Camping

It’s the May long weekend and camping season is upon us, but we don’t plan to camp this year. Sure, we still could if we really wanted to put Fiona to the test, but I’m not so cruel. We never really camped for the love of it. I just thought that, rather than paying $100 for a cozy, quiet hotel room, I’d rather pay a mere $25 for a sloped patch of grass and tree roots that happens to have party-animal neighbours just eight feet from our heads.

Once as we lay awake in the night on one of those serene plots of earth, a tornado ripped roofs off buildings a few miles from us, and the storm turned a small dome tent next to us completely upside down. It was no great consolation during the height of the storm to have a friend of ours who is an undertaker come to ask if we were alright. I’m not making this up. For over a year after that, our preschool-aged son would get all skittish whenever he saw a slightly off-white cloud. He would tug on our sleeves and beg to go inside, wide-eyed and anxiously saying, "Tundatome, tundatome!" But hey - we saved money, didn't we? I just wondered how much the counseling fees would be.

Another time, we were camping in Golden, BC and Fiona and I suddenly awoke at about two in the morning, wondering why we were beginning to feel the earth through our brand new deluxe queen-size air mattress. It was losing air. Wanting to be a hero, I started our van amongst the previously sleeping campers all around us and drove off to the 24-hour Husky to buy a small dusty old roll of duct tape for $249.99. It was worth it if it would help my lovely bride to have a better sleep. Once back, we found that duct tape wouldn’t stop the leak. But it did slow the leak. So to decrease the pressure on the mattress, I nobly chose to sleep in our upholstered van, leaving Fiona to sleep on the hard earth she would soon feel beneath the exhaling mattress.

Still committed to camping, we continued to gradually build up our supplies. I remember the summer we bought a Coleman stove thinking we could finally have hot meals out in the open air! So there we were that August, in a KOA outside Calgary, with an icy gale blowing so hard that it kept blowing our stove's flame out. We finally gave up and ate cold food. During the night, it snowed. Breakfast was a tad morose as we huddled around a damp and frosty picnic table eating the scraps of food that didn't require a flame.

Our final purchase was a tent called the "Behemoth." It's 18'x10'. At the time we bought it, it was two feet longer than our entire living room. It's over 7' high inside the tent and weighs about 100,000 lbs when in its carrying case (which has in-line wheels for ease of use). It can be subdivided into four rooms if desired, and can easily sleep the five of us, plus leave room for all our suitcases, our cooler and our minivan. But thinking that we had bought a tent in which we could fit both our couches, our TV, a coffee table, an end table and a seven-foot long corner bookcase and still have plenty of room to spare kinda shocked us. We just figured that if it makes camping less stressful, get it. Little did we realize that the reason small is beautiful when camping is that in the chill of the night, it’s good to have a tent small enough so that your body heat can keep your tent from freezing inside. Sure we had space for luggage, but camping in the mountains left us needing arctic sleeping bags.

So after all that we spent, did we use it enough to make up for what we saved on hotel bills? I don’t know, but Fiona’s certainly not too disappointed that we’re no longer trying!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Justice, Kindness and Humility

I don’t know about you, but I feel kind of overwhelmed by the news these days. A cyclone in Myanmar, an earthquake in China, tens of thousands of people killed – probably over 100,000 before all is said and done. And these are just the most devastating disasters being reported. On CNN.com, the article on China’s earthquake contains a video link that says, “Watch workers dig out the body of small child at the site of a collapsed school in China.” My reaction is, “No, I’m sorry, but I don’t I don’t want to watch that. I will not watch it.” And like so many others, I want to shield myself from the pain.

But God calls us to something nobler than that. We as God’s people should not be shielding our eyes from the needs of the nations. Certainly we must pray – pray for help to come quickly and for lives to be saved. That’s good, but if we stop there, we fall short. When people are suffering, God calls His people to action. “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”” (Micah 6:8). Justice, kindness, humility. This requirement was not aimed at some specialized band of aid workers in the Israel of Micah’s day. It was spoken to God’s people in general. And Jesus didn’t hesitate to reinforce it. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes the difference between those who go to heaven and those who go to hell as being how they responded to the poor. In other words, helping the needy is still required of God’s people.

Fast-forward to today, and it’s easy to see that North American Christians have been blessed with enormous resources. Personally, this sobers me. And it leaves me periodically asking myself: As one of the richest people on the planet (my family income level places me in the top 1%), what am I doing with the abundant wealth God has given me? Am I sharing it when I hear that the destitute are experiencing such catastrophes? My assumption in this is that the abundance God has given me is for others beside me and my own. It’s for more than my CDs and DVDs, my Starbucks and my stereos, my internet shopping and my impulse purchases. If I need to change my lifestyle so that I’ve got resources to share, I’d better figure that out, for God expects obedience in this. And as we can become conduits of the blessings God has given us, then the world will surely see “justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” from the people of God (Amos 5:24).

I do understand that nobody can afford to make a meaningful donation to help with every catastrophe that happens in this world. But if we decide in our hearts to be generous, and listen for God’s Spirit to prompt us, we will provide justice and kindness where it is needed and God will bless us for our obedience (Isaiah 58:10-12).

© 2008 by Ken Peters

The Good Part

Does life ever feel crazy-busy to you? There are days when I find that life’s frenzied pace feels like the equivalent of lying on a car, desperately clinging to it as it recklessly speeds through my schedule! And then in the blur of my busyness, I vaguely recall the simple words, “Mary has chosen the good part” (Luke 10:42). How many times have I felt the challenge of those words?

Just those few words, “the good part” (NASB) or “what is better” (NIV) should bring me to a screeching halt, leaving behind that burnt-tire stench of self-initiative. Let’s think about this. Here’s Jesus, the Son of God, doing us the kindness of telling us what He considers “better” or “the good part” of life, and I appear too busy to notice. But let’s get some perspective here. Jesus’ life was extremely demanding. There were times He wasn’t even able to eat due to the pressing crowds (Mark 3:20). And there were times when crowds of thousands sought Him out and found Him even though He was trying to find a quiet place to be alone (Matthew 14:13). But He still somehow found time for what He saw as “the good part” as He made sure to carve out adequate time with His Father (Matthew 14:22-23). So why on earth would I, who am so much needier than Jesus, not take extra special care to make sure that every one of my days includes what Jesus considers “the good part”?

Jesus is calling me to come close, to be near Him, to intimacy, to know His thoughts, to enjoy His company, to hear from Him and dwell on His Words. I ought to consider such a call to be a rescuing hand reaching through my whirlwind of activity, pulling me to the soul-satisfying sanctuary of God’s presence. But as Jesus extends His hand, I still need to choose to grab it in the same way that Mary “chose” to sit and listen to Jesus in Luke 10:42. To discover the encouragement of “the good part”, I must make a choice: my way or His? It’s clear enough to me that Jesus’ way is not some kind of life where we just sit passively at His feet, listening, ever listening, never doing, never busy. But what I see in the story of Mary and Martha is that the only service Jesus desires is an activity that is born out of a life with Him – out of devotion that provides direction from heaven! It’s the branch-that-can-do-nothing-apart-from-the-vine principle. It’s being responsive rather than taking initiative.

It’s choosing the good part.

© 2008 by Ken Peters

He wants to Catch our Eye

Today is my wife, Fiona’s birthday. And it’s been just over a year since she had surgery to prepare her for dialysis. What began as an enormous shock to us as we reeled from the news that Fiona’s kidneys had failed and that she would need to go on dialysis has now become something we’re quite used to. And I wonder, is that okay? Sure, we naturally expect to get over the shock of bad news, but it sounds strange to describe that process as getting used to what we had prayed against for so long. I realize that I need to accept what God has allowed to happen, but I don’t want the idea of feeling used to this to cause me to no longer seek God for the miraculous. That’s the tension we live in. Accept it – but pray for change. How many situations in life fit that description? 

Matthew 19 is part of my Bible reading for today, and there Jesus speaks to his disciples about an impossible situation of a different kind: A rich man not being able to enter God’s kingdom. And as I read this familiar story, a small detail caught my attention. Verse 26 says, “And looking at them Jesus said to them, ‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” 

There are no other stories of when Jesus was teaching His disciples when the Gospel writers went out of their way to say Jesus looked at them as He spoke to them. Perhaps this means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn’t help but wonder today if this detail was inserted because Jesus was particularly eager for His disciples to understand something. If the Son of God was looking straight at you and said, “With people this is impossible, but not with God – all things are possible with God”, would you believe Him?

After 18 years of prayer, Fiona’s kidneys failed. I do believe God could have healed her anytime – and still could – but for some reason He hasn’t. And because He’s given me no reasons for why He hasn’t healed her and has just let it get worse and worse, I’m left struggling with the temptation to defeatedly think that He won’t ever heal her (on earth, that is). And that may be true, like it or not. The distance between believing He won’t do something and believing that something is impossible does not seem very far. But when Jesus’ disciples were told about something that was true, like it or not, and which left them feeling rather hopeless regarding somebody’s plight (the rich), Jesus made a point of looking at them as He said, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Jesus didn’t just say this as He walked away or walked along or even as He looked up to heaven. It says in both Matthew and Mark that He looked right at His disciples as he intently assured them that all things are possible in the hands of God. 

There’s comfort in that little detail. So as Fiona and I continue to face a situation that is impossible with people, Jesus is looking at us – and wants to catch our eye as He says, “This is not impossible for God! With God, all things are possible! With God, there’s hope in your situation.” I want the courage to look right back at Him as He shares this hope with us and as we continue to pray for a miracle.


© 2008 by Ken Peters

A new blog

This is my first posting to my blog. And as I write this, I wonder, Why another blog? I'm reminded of a favourite film of mine, "Lawrence of Arabia," when a reporter approaches General Allenby at Lawrence's funeral. The reporter asks, "Any words regarding Lawrence, general?" Allenby replied, "What... more words?"

Precisely. Does this world truly need more words? And do I wish to add to them?

Well, I suppose I do, since here I am posting this entry. That's because my answer to a comment like the scripted General Allenby is that yes, in fact, we do need more words. The problem is not that there are too many words in this world. The problem is that too few of those words point people in the right direction. Among the myriad of words sent to us on television, in newspapers, in magazines, at the theater, in libraries and on the internet, many of them offer no real hope to a hurting world. That's what we need more of: words of hope, words of faith, words of peace. Who would complain about more of those words? Who would ask, "What... more hope?" or "What... more peace?" But lest the world still end up with a glut of unhelpful words, I suggest that we need words that communicate a specific kind of hope or faith or peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you - not as the world gives do I give to you." (John 14:27). The words of peace that Jesus offers are different than the words of peace the world offers. And the same is true of the words of hope and faith Jesus offers. Jesus offers heavenly words, and those are the kind of words I'm hungry for. What he offers will satisfy my soul for eternity, long after my soul no longer needs this earthly body. It's words of hope like those that I want to add to in this world. Let such words multiply as bloggers all over this planet add words of real and certain hope to the many other words of this world.


© 2008 by Ken Peters

A Worship that's Sincere (church bulletin cover)

They sought God. I seek God. They were eager to know God’s ways. I am too. They asked God for just decisions and delighted in His nearness, and I hope the same could be said of me. But God strongly rebukes the people who are described in this way in Isaiah 58:2. Why?

What was so wrong that God would be that upset with a people who seemed so passionate for Him? Isaiah 58 goes on to point out what God knew was missing in the lives of these seemingly devout people. In this passage, God is graciously providing us the clues we so desperately need for knowing if our delight in God and our desire to seek Him are sincere. And the main issue? How God’s people responded to the needs of people around them.

I’m extremely challenged by how Isaiah 58 helps me to know if my devotion to the Lord is truly from my heart. Verse 7 asks if we “share [our] food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, [do you] clothe him…?” I know I can’t help everyone in that kind of need, but am I consistently doing anything to help with such needs? The way for me to ensure that my relationship with God is sincere is to be sure that my love for God is revealed in my love for my neighbour—and particularly the poor. 1 John 3:17-19 agrees as John declares that it is by putting our love for the needy into action that we can assure our hearts before God and know that we are of the truth.

For this to be the case requires some careful intentionality. I need to be on the lookout regarding needs that God exposes me to in my everyday life. God help each of us to see the needs around us and to respond appropriately! And I trust that Love Winnipeg and Caring for the Core will be valuable incentives for those of us who could use a little help growing in this area of regularly responding to the needs of people living right here in the city of Winnipeg!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Diligent to Hope! (church bulletin cover)

When I feel shaken by the gritty gusts of life and my confidence in God is not so sure, it’s likely that I’ve pulled up what the writer to the Hebrews called “the anchor of the soul”, which is our hope in Christ (Hebrews 6:19). I certainly have my days when I struggle to trust God, and you can be sure that my focus on those days is on me and my circumstances rather than on Jesus. Keeping my focus on Jesus on such days is an effort. But nobody should feel less spiritual just because it’s work to trust in God! We’re in a battle, and to remain confident in the smoke of it ought to call for diligence.

Hope takes work. Hebrews 6:11 speaks of a “diligence” necessary for realizing “the full assurance of hope.” And then warning us of sluggishness, the writer to the Hebrews exhorts us to imitate those who inherited the promises of God “through faith and patience” (6:12). This makes it clear to me that God fulfilling His promises in our lives is not likely to be some short-term, quick-fix, instant-gratification kind of scene. Hoping in God’s promises requires persevering faith in tough times and hard-fought patience as we wait for God’s timing.

But Hebrews 6 makes it abundantly clear that this is no futile exercise. God provides us with great words of hope in this passage so that we can lower the anchor of our soul — our hope in Jesus — into the bedrock of God’s Word, and be deeply encouraged. Words of hope like “I will surely bless you…” (6:14), “...the unchangeableness of His purpose...” (6:17), and “...a hope both sure and steadfast...” (6:19).

God’s Word is Truth, and Jesus is God’s Word made flesh. And I want to make every effort to keep the anchor of my soul hooked on Jesus as I face the aggressive gusts and sea swells of this life. Whatever the circumstances, we can be sure of the hope we have in the One who sits on the throne of grace: Jesus our great High Priest (4:14-16; 6:20)!

© 2008 by Ken Peters

Influenced by His Glory! (church bulletin cover)

It’s been said that Gateway’s South congregation is now moving from being “tent-dwellers” to having a building. But as I consider their move into a building in Fort Rouge, I recall what happened at the completion of the tabernacle in Exodus 40. I’ve always been amazed at the description of God’s glory filling the Tent of Meeting as the tabernacle was completed. What a sight that must have been —this cloud coming and covering the tent and filling the entire tabernacle, and then becoming a fire at night! And it says that Moses, the man with whom God spoke from the cloud at the entrance of his tent — the man whose face would shine from being so near to the LORD — couldn’t even enter the tent of meeting because it was so full of God’s glory! Exodus 40:38 says that “throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.”

That verse shifts my amazement to confusion. With this awesome display of glory ever before the Israelites, how could they have ever shrunk back from the things God told them to do, such as when He urged them to go in and take the land? And as that question occurs to me, I realize that I’m caught. Caught in the same confusing acts of unbelief before God’s awesome glory as the Israelites were so prone to. After all, I’ve seen God’s glory revealed in the love and mercy of His Son on the cross. I’ve experienced the goodness of the Gospel at work in my life as Christ has come and made His tabernacle in my heart! And corporately speaking, we’ve seen God extravagantly provide for us to purchase the building on Rathgar, thereby providing a new home for Gateway South. And yet as human beings, we are so prone to unbelief, often doubting that God will be enough for us as He calls us to obedience, such as the taking of new land in which His glory is to be made known.

What are we to do? As I read Exodus 40 again, I want us as a community of faith to be so influenced by God’s display of His glory through His work in our lives and in our midst, that we would be filled with an unshakeable awe and confidence in the God who chose us to be His children! And with that, let us go into the land that God has placed before us so that His glory will be seen by all around us!

© 2008 by Ken Peters