happy birthday 2 darren hailes,dave laboss,melissa wight,dan white,jeremy strain,nate irvine,jessica bryant,janet munn

in cell this week we read Deuteronomy 11. good stuff.
part of the chapter was talking about "remember the miraculous deeds of the Lord," specifically His might in delivering His people from Egypt.

we were asked the question, "what miraculous deeds has the Lord done in your life?"

people were mentioning being delivered from addiction (that was the most recurring), fast recovery from injury, and the like.
as i tried to reflect on the most obviously Divine miracle in my life what i came to was--
the restoration of my relationship with my mother.

i briefly explained how we were broken apart for a few years, but how He has TOTALLY turned our hearts back towards each other, closer than ever before.
in my recollection, that's the most miraculous thing in my life.
:o)
what a miracle. He has always been good to us.

this will tie in later on.

after a kickin time of worship last night, a gang of us crammed into the van and got pizza. as we drove, we did "drive by blessings."
we'd roll down the windows and yell blessings or prayers or encouragement to passers by. we were ESPECIALLY cool because of our aviator "csm" sunglasses, and our trip hop music.

sounds quirky, but the Lord TOTALLY used it, even in a way visible to us.

first we saw a lady shivering and coughing under a blanket right outside of the Salvation Army Grace Mansion. Nicole was working there that night, and she was outside talking to her, trying to help her out.
so we pulled up, and got her to come into our car. her name is Joleen. we hooked her up with some chamomile tea, clean dry shoes and a scarf, and drove her to a newly discovered women's shelter.
as we sat in the (sauna) car, waiting for the shelter to open, we talked with her about her life.
she told us that she moved to BC with her mother.
i asked her if they were still close.
she said they used to be, but now they refuse to speak.
interesting timing, as i've been reflecting on the restoration in that area of my life. so we prayed for reconciliation, for healing, and for truth.
i pray that she experienced the love of Christ.

then we drove by some of Dan's teens at a party.
we're so proud of them-- because they were the only ones not drinking! :o) yay!
so we kidnapped 2 of them and took them to 7-11 to get slurpees.
mm.

what miraculous deeds has the Lord done in your life?
remember.

uh, i dunno.

"what must i do to be saved?" the rich young ruler asked Jesus.

hm.

how would you respond if you were faced with this question?

to be honest, i'm terrified of God. i'm just so aware of my own depravity, and of His perfection, that i can barely even stand in His presence. when i get a shadow of a glimpse behind the curtain, the weight of His glory pushes me to the ground. i am justly exposed to the wrath of God--

and so i'm working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

i've been taking a bit of an informal survey, asking believers around me, "what is required of us for salvation?"

what i'm picking up is that a big percentage of the Church doesn't know the gospel.
we are barely even able to explain what we believe about grace, faith, repentance, works, hell, heaven, judgement, Jesus...
these things are key. and i'd like to know the truth.

wanna know my opinion? :o)
i think ("think" being a key word-- like i said, i'm working this through) that maybe (another key word) we've been wrong for generations and generations.
only in the past few months have i been trying to read the Bible without twisting it to match my own opinions.
and as i read it, i find a lot of things that contradict, or are held in paradoxical tension with, Church traditions.
i wonder if what we preach-- "just believe in Jesus, and accept Him as Saviour"--might not be enough.

where is repentance involved?

what about predestination? Romans 9 would seem to infer that God chooses who He will have mercy on and who He will harden, and we shouldn't dare to question His choices.

what about those verses that tell us that we will be judged on our deeds?

"Look, i am coming soon! my reward is with Me, and i will give to everyone according to what they have done." Revelation 22:12
"And i saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throng, and books were opened. another book was opened, which is the book of life. the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." Revelation 20:12

and then there's Matthew 25. Jesus divides the sheep (the saved) from the goats (the unsaved) based on whether or not they gave water to the thirsty, invited in the stranger, gave clothes to the naked, and visited the sick and in prison.

i REALLY want to be saved from punishment and hell.
i also REALLY want everyone else to be-- so i need to make sure that what i'm preaching to them is the truth. i don't want to be held accountable for telling someone that they're saved, when in reality, they aren't.

what must i do to be saved?
He has shown us the grace, He has ransomed us, now what is OUR part?
what do YOU think?

can anything good come from Nazareth?

Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

"1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD;
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;(G) her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law.
5The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but the unjust knows no shame."

hm. Zephaniah describes Jerusalem, a rebellious and defiled city.
i think i live in a rebellious and defiled, and oppressing city too.

"5 But the Lord is still there in the city,
and he does no wrong."
"5 Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
At evening he's still at it, strong as ever."

in the midst of the city, the Lord is good. He's the Treasure buried in a field. He's the Rose amongst thorns. and He is still here...even here.