Tag Archives: will of God

Five coins, 1-Euro… deep thought!

January 25, 2014 By in Events, People, Places Tags: , , , , 1 Comment
  • What you spend your money on says a lot about you!
  • How you spend your time, reveals your priorities.

The Currency of Eternity

Going back to France’s Youth Convention, in November, for today’s post. In his Sunday morning message, Bro. Robert Tisdale spoke on “The Currency of Eternity,” taking his text from Paul’s writings in 2 Corinthians 12.15

“…and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”

His basic tenet was that we are the currency of eternity and God desires to spend us in order to transact his business. The question is… what will we allow ourselves to be spent on?

A coin does not tell its owner to spend or not to spend it, nor does it tell him what it can be spent on. Likewise, we are ill-placed to tell God how he may or may not use us. If we try we are not wholly surrendered to him in the first place.

Ccoin4_smoin Toss

Throughout the whole message, he and Bro. Nowacki tossed 20-cent coins over their shoulders or out onto the stage and floor area, constantly reiterating the question… How will we be spent?  How will we allow ourselves to be spent?

Q: What if Luke, because he never really preached any life changing sermons, deccided not to allow himself to be spent?
A: We’d have neither the books of Luke or Acts (which, combined, have more verses than Paul’s writings).

Q: What if Barnabas, because he was never seen as either a great apostle, preacher or writer, refused to allow himself to be spent?
A: Perhaps there’d have been no apostle Paul and we be missing a great part of the New Testament?

In a Nutshell

We may not find ourselves being used in the capacity that we’d like or expect, but as long as we allow ourselves to be spent for God’s purposes, we’ll leave something worthwhile for the next generation. Our ministry may not be necessarily characterized by “greatness” according to man’s standard, but if we are the one to reach the “Paul” of the next generation, we will have reason to rejoice and will have been well-spent.

The Take-away… the lesson

While we were there listening, our anticipated AIM term was, of course, quite present in our mind. How would we allow ourselves to be spent?

At the end of the message and at one point during the altar, I picked up 5 of those coins off of the floor. One coin to represent each member or my family (Myself, Liz, Sophie, Dominic and Timo) and I had in mind what I wanted to do…

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I would take them home and have them framed in such a way so as to be reminded on a regular basis… our 5 lives represent the currency of eternity and God would like to use us to transact his business.

The question “How do I spend my time, my energy, my life?” must constantly be carefully considered… for I am not my own, I am bought with a price.  (1 Cor. 6.19-20)  I am the currency of Eternity and God wants to use me, my wife… and my children to transact His business.  Will my choices concerning use of time, talent and energy best benefit His business?

I’ve been Framed!

Below you’ll see a photo of all 5 coins… meticulously framed by Mario’s Framing in Saint John.  You’ll perhaps notice that 4 of the 5 coins have the monetary denomination facing up (20 cents). However the one in the center is different… the side showing depicts a sower in a field with a rising sun behind her, accompanied by the letters RF (République Française – see detailed picture above).

Having the RF facing up was intentional (as France was the center of where we wanted to allow God to spend us). What was even more incredible (and this we didn’t realize until afterward) was that the woman depicted, was a sower. That is our purpose in France… to sow the seed of God’s word into the hearts of hungry men, women and children.  Lord, let it be so, let us be spent sowing, for the transacting of your business in France!

coin5_sm

Will of God… more than location

December 25, 2013 By in Process Tags: , Leave a comment

One of the hats I wear, in addition to being assistant to my pastor at MissionPoint and AIMer in preparation, is that of editor for our monthly district publication, The Pentecostal Messenger.  From a recent interview I did with a young churchplanter in our district, I gleaned the following comments on understanding the will of God.  The churchplanter is Kent Carter, pastor of Life Source Church / Église Source de Vie in Shediac, NB. and his comments reveal a wisdom well beyond his years.

While the starting point of my questioning has to do with church planting in particular, his comments quickly point to the process of determining and moving in the will of God in a more general sense. See my questions in black and Kent’s answers in blue:

The Interview:

Me: Why start a church rather than being involved with an existing church where you could grow yourself personally and help grow the existing church?

KC: It happened so naturally for us. My third year of NCC was winding down and I wanted the will of God for my life. I took this thing called the gospel, the good news… and it just seemed right. Although I’d driven by many communities, during Bible college, where I could’ve started a church, I somehow couldn’t imagine driving by that community knowing that no one was there to tell them.

Me: So that community is the will of God for you?

KC: We felt  there was a need there and we wanted to fill it. While the will of God can be tied to a location, it’s more than that. The will of God is righteous living… holy living. That’s the will of God. We can get that mixed up with location. I try to do the will of God: to live righteously, to live a holy life to the best of my ability. If I can fulfill the will of God in my life, then he’ll take me where I need to be.

There are times when he’ll call you to the desert, like with Philip, but the will of God is greater than simply a location. Why Shediac? I can’t be sure. I really think the community is one of the coolest in New Brunswick. I’m young. I love the vibe. It’s a very vibrant community (Now it sounds like I’m trying to pitch it to everyone to come and move there!).

I thought it was a place that we could grow and if we could grow there, then a church could grow there and other people could join us in that growth.

Me: Tell me more about your experience of the call of God because it seems there are two schools of thought: some wait for God to indicate, without question, a definite location, while it seems that some of the ministers of yesteryear simply went wherever they saw a need.

KC: The lightning-bolt moment never happened for me. If I had been waiting for that, I’d probably still be waiting. Sometimes God is not in the storm or the hurricane, but in the still small voice. For us, that still small voice gently nudged and pushed us toward that community. There were also confirmations by men and women of God, but never a lightning-bolt moment.

Me: How did your wife experience things?

KC: My wife wasn’t completely against me so that’s a good thing!  No seriously… she was happy to go and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. I told her that I never wanted our ministry to look like she simply followed my call. I want to be like Priscilla and Aquila, where we are a team. That’s how we went into it in May. We’re a team.

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In an upcoming series of posts, my wife will describe how she experienced my sense of a call to France and making that call her own as well. In the meantime, I can say that while I had a very definite moment of clarity (what some might call a lightning bolt moment), it came after a number of years of simply trying to add something of value to the field of France, while I had opportunity to be there.

I have heard both the loud thundering as well as the still small voice.
Thank you Kent Carter… you have taught me by your example!

Invitation to Dream

December 18, 2013 By in Process Tags: , , 2 Comments

Has God ever asked you to dream?

I don’t mean daydream. I don’t mean… new car, new house, great Christmas, etc. I don’t mean “What would you do with a bank-account full of money? kind of dream.” I mean a daring kind of dream. Something that it would take God to accomplish or fulfill because it’s so big. God did that for me some time ago.

Let me quote you from my personal journal:

“I will do what you ask, but you’ve got to ask. I’m not only (asking you) to work for and fulfill someone else’s dreams, I’m asking you to dream as well, because I want to fulfill your dreams also. I want you to know what it feels like to put something impossible in my hands and see it come to pass. I want you to know what it feels like to put yourself in my hands and see what I can do in and through you. I want you to know what it’s like to be an instrument for my glory: Not that the instrument gains more intrinsic value… it only has value as long as it’s associated with my glory. Like the branches that only bear fruit and are worth keeping so long as they are attached to the vine (John. 15).” 

Uncomfortable

This is something that the Lord spoke to me during one of the darkest periods of my walk with, and service to, Him… and it was uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable?

Yes, uncomfortable.

Why?

Because we’re not all that used to dreaming. We’re used to our day to day life, for the most part. We are comfortable with what we know… what is familiar, and while a dream may represent a desired-state… it takes risk to get there and the perceived pain involved in taking the risk overcomes our desire for change. So we put the dream back on the shelf and say “One day….”  (we say this with a wistful look in our eye, a bit of a sigh on our lips and a bit of deflation in our heart…. but we say it).

Uncomfortable …also because it’s much easier to buy into someone else’s dream (note that he mentions that and note… there is a time and a place for buying into someone else’s dream – it’s often the training ground for ministry) than it is to put your own dreams on the line.… it requires less vulnerability.

Uncomfortable …also because we are so unaccustomed to dreaming for ourselves that we’re “rusty”. A child dreams frequently and so has little difficulty when asked to dream. Adults on the other hand have become so conditioned to practicality that we can forget how to dream.

Where & Why?

Where do I start? 
Why start?

God said it… because he wants me to know what it feels like to see that impossible dream take shape. Talk about the ultimate thrill-seeker.

But here’s the catch…

In the end… it’s not about me. It’s about him. It’s about his plan. It’s about his glory.  The kind of dreams that God takes pleasure in fulfilling are not those that will bring me any notoriety, but those that will:

  • advance his kingdom
  • bring him glory
  • see lives changed

So I’ve been dreaming and that dream has been slowly taking shape over a period of numerous months.  Has it completely taken shape? Not yet, but as I take definite steps toward a certain direction, God hones the vision and clarifies the details.

This dream called AIMLong is taking shape slowly but surely.
Thank you for being part of it.

What about you?

Has God issued you an invitation to dream?

,

Sensing God’s Direction…

December 14, 2013 By in Process Tags: , 8 Comments

OK, God has said something distinct…. now what?

In this post I want to tell you about a jewel of a find!

It was a Sunday night and earlier that day I had been involved in two services in Western France, the first in an established church, the second in a hotel meeting room with only two other people present. Despite the small number, however, the presence of God was as thick as I’ve ever felt it!  He was writing something on my heart. For the rest of the 4-hour drive back to my home-base I was in a strange place… wanting to glean as much information from the missionary as I could without necessarily wanting to specifically discuss what I’d felt earlier in the day. It’s tough to speak intelligibly about something so new after all.

Once back in the hotel room and by myself… I prayed and then went looking for something that could help. I didn’t even know what I was looking for, but I did find it.

Sensing God’s Direction booklet

Sensing God’s Direction (SGD) is an incredible sensing gods direction cover smalllittle booklet written by Rev. James Poitras (Director of Education and AIM, UPCI) with collaboration from Rev. Bruce Howell (Global Missions Director, UPCI).  With over 80 pages, SGD will detail some of the things that you can do to foster a sensitivity to the quiet voice of the Lord, leading you into the center of his will (cultivating a love for souls, embracing solitude, being open to both surrender and sacrifice, etc.).  Over and above the incredibly practical content provided by Rev. Poitras, various stories and anecdotes from contributors such as Rev. Howell and Melinda Poitras (MK – missionary kid – from Ghana, West Africa) bring context to the content.

While SGD is written by United Pentecostal ministers and can be purchased here, through The Pentecostal Publishing House, the content is not limited to the pentecostal experience. The principles are broad enough yet practical enough that people from any Christian background would find it a beneficial read… and I highly recommend it!

If you’re interested in knowing more about short-term missions opportunities, check out www.AIM2Go.org for information on the AIM and Next Steps programs. As of December 2013 there are 207 AIMers or AIM families serving around the world… You could be next on that list!

Let’s come back to my initial statement…
“God has said something distinct… Now what?”

Now…

  • get yourself a copy of Sensing God’s Direction
  • spend time prayerfully going through it
  • talk about it with your pastor
    (watch for an upcoming post about this)

God has spoken and you’re wanting to answer… the possibilities are endless!
Have you read “Sensing God’s Direction”? What did you think?

Not a Suffering-Kind-of-Sacrifice

December 9, 2013 By in Process Tags: , Leave a comment

In a previous post, it only took roughly 598 words to summarize nearly 26 years of my life… I’m either great at writing or I have a really dull life!

Have you ever heard or gotten the following idea: “If missions represents a sacrifice, then forget about going someplace I love… sacrifice means suffering!”  The result of this kind of thinking is that we expect God to call us someplace that we will not particularly love!  This has not been my experience.

The places that I went during my teen years were not chosen because I felt a particular call there. I went because this is where the group was going and I was part of the group. Someone else made the decision and someone else oversaw the planning, I simply followed.

The first time this changed was in 1988 as I was afforded the choice of either going to Bolivia or Belglium for a 2-month stint the following summer. That’s a rather large choice, but it came at a particular point in my life as well… I had graduated from high school and was already in college. I had chosen to move away from my parents’ home. I had chosen to go to another city. I had chosen the school and I had chosen the courses. Through the standard process of maturing as an individual, I was also learning how to evaluate options and make informed choices in everyday aspects of my life.

The process of maturing spiritually mirrors the process of growing socially, intellectually, emotionally and even physically. Making spiritually informed choices involved a healthy balance of evaluating what made sense, what fit my desires & personality and what I felt the will of the Lord to be.

Ah yes… the will of the Lord. Often seen to be this cavernous place of great mystery, it need not be the case. In fact, I’d say that the will of God expressed itself simply by the practical choice of language back in 1988.

From there… one thing led to another: two months turned into two years, which later turned into three short-term summer tours in French-speaking Europe, which led to three multi-week teaching sessions at the Bible School in France which led to the current plan that we’re hatching.  Let me be perfectly clear on this point… None of this has EVER felt like a drudgery or a “suffering-kind-of-sacrifice”!  On the contrary, these times represent some of the greatest memories of my life as well as keen faith-building moments.  Without question, God knows that there must be a love for the place of your calling, because it will be necessary in order to sustain you or keep you there on difficult days.

Feel free to fall head-over-heels in love with the place God is calling you to… it’s actually a very healthy thing. Imagine not being head over heels in love with the person that God was calling you to spend the rest of your life with…. that’d make for quite a marriage!  The Lord wants and expects you to derive joy from being in his will, so I would say… look at the places that you already have an affinity to and see if that affinity is there for the right reason. The next step is to say… “God, is there a place for me to fulfill my calling here? Is there a role for me here? Is there a way that I can contribute to the furthering of your Kingdom in this place?”

If you answered yes to any or all of those questions… then that’s a positive thing to consider as you’re weighing all things together, seeking to make a spiritually mature decision. Let God’s Spirit lead you… he specializes in that!