Check Out the Harvest Muskoka Website!

Since I am swamped with Church plant stuff I am going to take a break from blogging (not that I kept up on it anyway!). If you are actually reading this blog and want to know more about Harvest Muskoka you can check out our website at www.harvestmuskoka.com

I will more than likely get back to blogging in the fall.

Grace and Peace,
Kaj

The Key to Contentment

It has been awhile since I wrote anything here ... no great words of wisdom, just something I came across that was what I needed to hear. One of the books Libby has been reading had something in it that hit me hard. It was something that the author had found in her grandmother's journal. Here it is:

The Key to Contentment

• Never allow yourself to complain about anything – not even the weather.
• Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.
• Never compare your lot with another’s.
• Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.
• Never dwell on tomorrow – remember that tomorrow is God’s, not ours.

Searching For Treasure

It was just last week that McKinley and I were hanging out in Barnes & Noble … she was playing with the Thomas the Train setup they have there and I was reading (don’t you just love that they have comfy chairs in these big book stores … it’s like a library with all new books … and Thomas the Train … I think I may buy a book one day, just to say thanks). The book I had grabbed was not as good as I had hoped so I was looking for something else to read. Not wanting to leave McKinley I reached up and grabbed one of the kid’s books. It was a really cool picture/activity book about ancient Egypt. One of the pages covered the story of Howard Carter and his search for hidden treasure and artifacts.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

(Prov. 2:1-5, ESV)

We are told to listen, concentrate, cry out and search for God’s wisdom, understanding and insight. We are to look for it like hidden treasure.

Howard Carter had been searching for 6 years in The Valley of the Kings in Egypt; so long that his boss told him that he would be fired because he had found nothing significant in so long. In 1922, after another long day of searching without success, he poked his head through an opening and was in awe of what he saw:

Over 3,000 pieces of treasure, 4 gilded shrines, inside which was a red quartzite coffin containing three nesting coffins. In the innermost coffin, which is made of solid gold and weighs about 250 pounds was a King wrapped in linen with an intricate golden mask … it was King Tutankhamen. For 6 long years he searched and had now found the treasure.

What diligence! Once again, we are told to listen, concentrate, cry out and search for God’s wisdom, understanding and insight. We are to "search for it like hidden treasures." We have the opportunity to be with Christ all the time and I sometimes find it hard to wake up 20 minutes earlier to read my bible … how much are we willing to search in scripture, in prayer, in silence and solitude, in Bible studies, with friends and spouses for an even greater treasure than Carter found… a vibrant, passionate relationship with Christ?

Junior High Retreat

Just a couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to speak at a Junior High Retreat for Harvest Bible Chapel Davenport. The retreat was about 4 hours south of Chicagoland (that's over 8 hours of American talk radio ... I am a gluten for punishment ... if anyone wants to know what conservative talk radio show hosts think about the US election just give me a shout ... quick answer - they don't like anyone) at Lake Williams Christian Retreat Center ... for those in Muskoka - picture MBC with more money and facilities but far less scenery and beauty.

The theme was "Live the Adventure" with the theme verse, John 10:10. I had never spoken to a group of Junior High kids before ... I wondered if I would need to up my 'toilet humour' quotient. Turns out that Junior Highers (at least these ones) were just super interested in getting a better understanding of God's Word and how to live it out.

It was a great weekend where we saw God speak into the lives of the 40 or so kids there. Two girls made a first time decision to follow Jesus and lots of others made strong commitments to really live the adventure of following Jesus with everything.

My heart now looks forward to March and my next visit home.

A Whirlwind Update ...

Well, a lot has happened since my last post ... so here is a list of some of the highlights:

"Nana & Papa Bear are here!?"

Christmas was great in Chicago although we missed the scenery of Muskoka and our friends and family. My parents (or Nana and Papa Bear as they are known by McKinley and Ellie) came down for a surprise visit. McKinley went nuts (more nuts than she normally is).

Then in the first of January I had the opportunity to preach in Prescott, AZ at a Harvest Bible Chapel. Such a great church with super friendly people. Libby, Ellie and I went and it felt like a mini-vacation. It was also good to get a chance to preach more (2 services) and to get out of the winter cold ... I think I have become more of a wimp since leaving Summit ... yes, even more!

Just a couple of weeks ago we all had a chance to go hear Mark Driscoll speak about preaching. I have been out of the Church loop my whole time at Summit, so I had only recently heard about Driscoll. He is the kind of guy who would have fit in well at Summit as he has a hand grasped tightly around the Word of God and doctrine and yet someone who understands what is truly important is not the way you look, dress, etc. He is someone who doesn't fall into the trap of legalism one one side or relativism on the other. His book, Confessions of a Reformission Rev was encouraging, challenging and also felt like a breath of fresh air as I continue on this journey of planting a church. His talk on preaching was great ... you can check it out here. Just one more word about the guy ... I am not endorsing everything about the dude ... for one thing I am no where nearly as manly as this guy ("I don't cry, I work out" - Starsky and Hutch).

Lastly, Libby, McKinley, Ellie and I were able to get back to Muskoka ... it was a very busy visit but so refreshing at the same time. It was great to connect with everyone and share in the excitement and anticipation of Harvest Muskoka. A few breakfast meetings at Westside Fish and Chips, a lot of Tim Horton's coffee, and a good amount of time talking, dreaming, planning and praying with everyone. It will be no time before we are worshiping together and see "the word of God continue to increase, and the number of the disciples multiply greatly" (Acts 6:7).

I also had the privilege on this visit to preach at an induction service for a new church plant in north Toronto. Rob Cripps (close friend, former student and staff of Summit College, and all around good guy) is the pastor and I am looking forward to seeing where God takes this church plant. It was a sweet time to see lots of old friends. Some of which threw a great birthday party for Libby (the hottest 30 year old I know).

Oh, and McKinley was also excited to see Mya!

Merry Christmas to the Plant Group!

Merry Christmas from Chicago ... Libby and I wanted to send you all a video to encourage you in the work you have ahead of you. Keep on in prayer and building relationships and seeking Christ in all you do!

We miss you all and are excited to return and join with you all in the work.




If you can't view the video here you can download it from this address (you will need to cut and paste it into your navigation bar ... for some reason blogger doesn't let you just click on it):
http://www.sendspace.com/file/pgl2f5

The Journey of the Cross

In grace God offers us forgiveness, cleansing, liberation and healing as he meets us in the places of our lives that are most alienated from him; he is involved in the most terrible aspects our hearts. I think this is what makes this journey uncomfortable. This journey towards wholeness in Christ, or the process of being conformed to Christ-likeness, primarily takes place at the points of our unlikeness.

Why can’t he meet me where I rock? Start where I am doing well? How much of my devos, church life, and worship are set up simply to affirm myself in the areas I am already doing well in?

It is obvious that if spiritual formation is about us in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ, it is going to take place in those spots not yet conformed. As the spirit pushes at some area in our lives it will always be confrontational as he challenges us to come out of brokenness of self into wholeness in Christ. The confrontation will come through various channels like the Word, worship, preaching, a friend, an enemy, a situation. The reason this is such a struggle at times is that this part of unlikeness—this brokenness—is who we are! It is not something we wear that needs to be taken off. It is us!

Christ tells us in Luke 9:23 to “Deny yourself.” I noticed that he doesn’t say deny sin, or deny the world, or deny a particular enjoyment …he says deny yourself. That part of me not conformed to the image is not a thing in me – it is an essential part of who I am. Jesus knew that in order to deny ourselves we would need a radical change. In order to deny our total self he goes on to say, “take up the cross.” All of me must die so that Christ can live through me.

Do we fully get what taking up the cross really means? Those who first heard this call knew exactly what it meant. If you took up a cross you had said good-bye to everything; you were going to die.

There seems to be a new cross in our churches today. It is like the old cross, but different: It comes with a padded shoulder rest; it is more compact and comes in three choices of popular colours. A.W. Tozer talked about the difference between the new cross and the old cross and how from the new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian Life – a philosophy of “redirecting the person”, and offering everything the world does, but cleaner. The new cross encourages a new life but not denial or the surrendering of the old life before this new life can be received. But the old cross would have nothing to do with the world. It meant the end of that journey and a new one beginning.

“The cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The person in Roman times who took up their cross and started down the road had already said good bye to their friends. They were not coming back. They were not going out to have their life redirected; they were going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the person, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the person was no more. God salvages the person by liquidating them and then raising them again to newness of life.”
A.W. Tozer

In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. This is the daily journey … a journey of dying daily to myself and allowing God to raise me up again to wholeness in the image of Christ. And with so many other voices telling me how to have a full life, it is not an easy journey without spending a significant amount of time in prayer in the Word and with other believers, and serving Christ every day.

Prayer and Church Planting ...

I was recently thinking about our church plant and how we may set up the greatest church programs, have the best worship and preaching, reach out to the lost and hurting of Muskoka, and try all we can to foster a community of love and grace … and yet nothing we do physically will change hearts. We need a spiritual work to accomplish a spiritual goal. This is where the power of prayer comes in. John Wesley said that “God does nothing but in the answering of prayer”

I was completely blown away when we visited another Harvest church plant and heard of prayer after prayer being answered. They saw God's Spirit do some amazing things when people were on their knees in a humble place, and in a position to receive more of God. Our church plant group is meeting in different homes tomorrow evening to pray together and hopefully begin a pattern and habit of doing this – humbly putting Christ first in everything about this plant and in everything in our lives.

"I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me."
Galatians 2:20

As I begin to think more deeply about looking to Christ for a new church my thoughts were drawn to Galatians 2:20. We all need to have Christ in, over, and through us. He needs to be in me … and not just in the "Jesus, come into my heart" sense of 'in me.' He needs to have full access to everything in my heart … he needs to be allowed to see even the dark spaces no one else has ever seen.

He needs to be over me … no more hierarchy of Jesus, family, ministry, hobbies, etc. It is all Jesus … everything else finds its meaning and purpose and place in Him. It is all in Christ … I need to seek Him first and allow His the authority in all of it … then I can stop with the competing needs that pull me in all directions.

He then needs to be able to live through me. I need to be nothing—except Christ like. I need to allow Him to transform the way I live and interact with people. He has already changed me … I now need to allow the change to live out in my life. I can be so prideful sometimes and want people to recognize me for my accomplishments, my humour, my personality, etc. It seems I want to be known for things other than Christ-likeness. This has got to change … I want people to be able to see Christ in me - living out in love, grace, holiness, meekness, humility, and wisdom.

Christ in us, over us, and through us.

A Different Kind of Retreat

When I heard we were going on a retreat I envisioned a rustic setting surrounded by creation with time for quiet reflection and group interaction. Well, when the camp in northern Wisconsin was booked the back-up plan for our retreat was the largest indoor waterpark in the United States. Different? Yes … I am sure McKinley enjoyed this type of retreat much more than the typical living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

We went to a place called, Kalahari. More waterslides than had I ever seen! Unfortunately, McKinley is your typical 2-year old … they can watch the same episode of Blue’s Clues over and over AND they can ride on the same waterslide 400 times in a row. “McKinley, do you want to try another slide?” “No, daddy, let’s do the yellow slide again!” No real spiritual insight or analogy from this – a good time, a good break and a sweet day with my girls.

Be Still & Know That I Am God

"Busyness is the enemy of spirituality”
Eugene H. Peterson

McKinley enjoying a break on a busy shopping day

Yesterday, our daughter, McKinley asked Libby, “Why are we always in a rush?” At first we figured it was such a cute thing to say … and then we thought about our poor little girl who felt the hurriedness of our new lives here in Chicago. And then this morning, I wondered if God was speaking through my 3 year-old about something even bigger.

Richard Foster says, "In contemporary society, our adversary majors in 3 things: noise, hurry and crowds. The world screams at us - faster, louder, more. God calls to us - slower, softer, less." Psalm 46 is filled with all sorts of action. The earth is shaking, mountains crumbling, waters crashing … and in verse 10 God tells us to “be still, and know that I am God.” How do we do this? Where do we find time for stillness? How can we slow things down in order to find more time to spend with our loving, gentle Creator and Father?

It seems that in the hurriedness I have missed out on real time with my daughter (obviously, she sensed it, too) and the same thing can be said about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. So, as I look at changing things in my life to have more ‘real time’ with McKinley I also want to begin to see how we all can do the same in our relationship with God.

Firstly, some things have to be cut out of our schedules. Are we just plain too busy to have any sort of deep relationship with God? What about lives filled with good things like ministry? It's so easy for us to assume that just because we're busy with so called Godly things that it's o.k. when the reality is that just because we’re busy with church or religion doesn't make it right or healthy. And it doesn't necessarily mean that you're getting to know God more. The greatest worship takes place when we find ourselves with no agenda other than to be with God … to be in His presence, to love Him, to listen to His voice, to meditate on His Word, to fully enjoy Him.

But we don’t have the luxury of a monastic life of being able to fully cease all activity. How do we live a life of ‘stillness’ and un-hurry … we all have things we need to accomplish in our schedules. It is then that we need to intentionally seek God in the midst of life. We can look to actively worship God in the depth of our soul by praising Him, speaking with Him, listening to Him, looking for Him all throughout the day. It is something that I have been trying (and failing at) for the last while … an ongoing conversation with God.

Scripture tells us to “pray continually”, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”, “give thanks to God the Father for everything”, “delight in the law of the LORD, and on it meditate day and night”, “rejoice in the Lord always”, etc. A man by the name of Brother Lawrence called it, “Practicing the Presence of God”. Although a humble cook, he learned the greatest secret of living a life of stillness and knowing God: communing with the Lord throughout our daily schedules. He mastered the art of living in the presence of God throughout the day.

God forgive us for being too busy to notice You. Help us be still, slow down, and take the scripture we read in the morning with us all day long. Let’s join with McKinley and ask ourselves, “Why are we always in a rush?”

“The stillness in which we find God is not superficial,
a mere absence of fidgeting or talking.
It is a deliberate and quiet attentiveness --
receptive, alert, and ready.
I think of what Jim wrote in his journal,
‘Wherever you are, be all there –
live to the hilt every situation
you believe to be the will of God’”
Elisabeth Elliot