This weekend was the Cambridge Vineyard Reunion Weekend. It was wonderful to hear the stories of the earliest days, and to hear all that God has done throughout these last 16 years. The stories of faithfulness abounded and I know that there were many more that could have been told. But as we entered into this time of celebration, my heart began to ache, and I realized that this move isn't just about more fully coming into our purpose, it also means a letting go of many very good things. This made me very sad. I wasn't prepared for the grief that I have been feeling.
The Cambridge Vineyard has been a place of amazing healing. We arrived busted up and broken and they ministered to us, spoke the Father's love into our hearts, and loved us just as we were. It is here that our gifts were recognized and called forth. Here is where we were released to wrestle with what the Lord was birthing in us and leading us into. We were challenged, we were stretched, we were corrected and we were affirmed. Here is where we fully encountered the message of the Kingdom of God. What a home! What a family! The Lord has truly blessed us beyond the expectations that we had when we first arrived. Here, we have really felt like a part of the body, knit into the fabric of the church in such a way that we have never experienced before. What a heartwrenching, painful thing it is to leave this place! My heart echoes what Moses said to the Lord; "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here." (Exodus 33:15)
I was working on a poem about a month ago, before we knew that we were leaving...here is part of what I wrote;
"Awake, Awake
the sun is rising.
Awake, Awake,
the cloud is moving.
Awake, the Lord is on the move.
This place has been good for us,
We've grown and become strong,
but in His presence is His rest,
Where He leads is where we belong.
Awake, Awake
daylight has come.
Awake, Awake
it's time to run,
Awake, the Lord is on the move.
We've come so far, can't turn back
Come on, shake off the dust,
We'll follow our King to Zion
Set our eyes on Him and Trust"
I guess this is what it's all about...this has been a very good place for us. But it's time for us to move. And we know that He is calling us to go North, and that He is leading us there. He is on the move, at the Cambrige Vineyard and in all the earth!
So this is where I am right now, celebrating what the Lord has done, and grieving this great loss. We are gratefull for the blessing of the family we've found and the deep friendships that have been forged. We thank the Lord and bless His holy name! We also trust that He will continue to be faithful. What else could He be?
Monday, June 27, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Getting Ready
Wow...there is so much to do before we can go! I just put up a walpaper border in the bathroom to make it look more presentable than what was there (which was half torn down border that was probably 20 years old!) We also did a bit of shopping today and surprised the girls with "funky" luggage of their very own, just to try to get them a little excited about the whole thing. This isn't easy for them, please keep them in your prayers. I've packed so much stuff already and there is still so much to do. We are having a yard sale on Saturday, July 2nd, hopefully everything will go that isn't already gone or spoken for.
That's all for now,
SC
That's all for now,
SC
Sunday, June 19, 2005
The Most Excellent Way - Rooted in Love
The Message Simone spoke on Sunday May 29th, from the Series "For the Common Good" at the Cambridge Vineyard.
Intro:
Sometimes, especially when I'm preparing for something like this I find myself asking this question, "Am I really a disciple of Christ?" It seems like kind of a funny question for the person at the front of the church to be asking themselves, but it is something that I keep coming back to. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not questioning my salvation, I do have a deep assurance of that. I know that Jesus has saved me, forgiven my sins and has brought me into relationship with the Father. What I'm talking about is this...(I'll read from some of the KM1 material)
"The purpose of Jesus' discipling of the 12 and others was that they might continue the ministry that He had modelled to them. The call to follow him was not a flexible suggestion but a strong call to total commitment and service, similar to the commitment and service that the disciples of a rabbi gave to their teacher...Every rabbi expected their disciples to more than simply learn their words. They expected them to imitated their life...Jesus was no exception to this..."
John 13:34-35 " A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
I don't know about you, but for myself sometimes this is hard. Sometimes, the last thing I want to do is love. Sometimes, the reaction I have with people, even those in the Body of Christ is the reaction of wanting to run away and be by myself; just me and God...and Dan! Life would be much simpler then. In fact, sometimes I think it would be much easier to deal with people from a distance, function with my gifts in a nice, clinical style, where no one criticises, everyone understands what I'm trying to say, and no one gets offended by me or offends me. Well, okay, maybe its not that I don't want to love, it's that I want to love on my terms, and from a safe distance...without getting dirty. Unfortunately, this isn't what Jesus called us to do, and as we discover in the epistles, it isn't what the disciples were teaching either. God doesn't love us from a distance, he came right close, right into our world and we are to do the same. We can't function in our gifts apart from one another, without affecting one another, or without being affected by other's actions. This means that we need to commit ourselves to Jesus' comand and love one another.
Today we're continuing the series on 1Corinthians 12-14, which Scott has entitled "For the Common Good". We're looking at chapter 13 which is commonly refered to as the "Love Chapter". This is a widely recognized passage, used often in wedding ceremonies, but today we're pulling it back into the context in which it was written, which is the teaching on the use of spiritual gifts within the body of Christ when they gather together. It begins with the second part of the last verse of chapter 12, which says, "And now I will show you the most excellent way."
In the passages that follow, Paul shows us the PLACE of love; that love is the root off of which our gifts are meant to grow. The foundation upon which our ministry gifts are built. We can do amazing things, but if we don't have love, it means nothing. He talks about the PRACTICE of love; that love in the body of Christ is not self-centred, or self-seeking, but God centred, building up the body. He also talks about the PERMANENCE of love; that after everything else is done, love remains. This is one of the only things that you can take with you when you die.
Love then, is essential to living together as the body of Christ and walking in the fulness of what He has called us to in the use of spiritual gifts. So now, let us examine, the most excellent way.
1. The Place of Love:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I gain nothing." I Cor 13: 1-3
So often we fall into the trap of rating our gifts...it's natural, we are most influence by what we can see, so those gifts that are manifested publicly are the ones we long for, the ones our attention is grabed by. We see them as the "best gifts" because we think that they are the ones that have the most impact on the church, the ones we think will make us most effective. And most of us desire that, we desire to advance the Kingdom of God as effectively and powerfully as possible. BUT, many of us also have a deep longing for affirmation. We may have a need to prove to ourselves and others that we really are saved, that God really does talk to us...and these and other things are often the underlying motivators in the way we use our gifts, and for the hunger with which we desire certain gifts while unknowingly despising others.
I have a friend who is amazingly compassionate, she love the Lord and loves the Lost and loves the Poor and breaks at the brokeness that she senses in others. In fact, I would say that love and compassion, paired with intercession are some of her most exercised gifts. But SHE doesn't think that she HAS any special gifts with which she can serve in the church. She feels that because she's never spoken in tongues, and doesn't really get words of knowledge or prophetic words, that she has less to offer. She understands what scripture says about the place of love, but it's difficult to reconcile that with what she sees in the church. But the truth is that love is the foundation on which all of the others gifts must be built. Everything else without love is nothing. Love is essential, it isn't optional. Love is the essence of God, and as the expression of God in the world, we should exude this same essence in everything we do.
We can speak eloquently, wax poetically, prophecy powerfully, walk boldly into martyrdom, gladly take vows of poverty and do it all with the wrong motivation or out of something other than love. Sometimes its pride, sometimes performance or dreams of bringing glory to the Lord and just a little for ourselves that cause us to do things...Sometimes it's passion, or fear or obligation that drive us...but if we aren't rooted inlove, if our spiritual gifts are functioning out of any other thing...it means nothing, it's just mist, completely void of substance. Love is to be at the root of everything else we do...this is it's place.
2. The Practice of Love
What does love look like? What is the definition of love? In the following verses, Paul defines it quite thoroughly.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1Cor 13: 4-7
At first glance, this is reminiscent to me of the little talks I have with my kids about the way they treat each other and their friends; Remember to take turns! If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! Don't be boastful! Be thankful for what you do have! Speak kind words! Once you've said I forgive you, it's done, so drop it! Make sure that everyone is included and that your friends are being taken care of!
The Corinthian church was very much like the North Americal church today. They were very individualistic and self-absorbed. Their main economy was mirrors (if that says anything) They were very much like children in the way that they felt like the whole world revolved around them. So here is Paul, having to speak to them like a father reminding them of some of the basic rules of the playground. And as I listen to him speak, this is what I hear echoing in me...
3. The Permanence of Love
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disapears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1Cor 13: 8-13
Everything we have now is only a taste of the powers of the coming age (Heb 6:4). They are just glimpses of the reality of God and of the power and majesty and glory that are His and His alone. When Christ returns, all prophecies will cease, and tongues will be stilled. All of the knowledge that we have now will pass away as we are face to face with God; the Eternal Living God! Love is eternal, because God is love. (1Jn 4:8)
So we set our sights on the eternal, not looking to please ourselves and others, not looking to our ambitions or the things the world tells us to value. We know that those things that are eternal are to be sought after above all else. Faith, hope and love are truly gifts to be treasured and desired. But the greatest of these, the one that most reveals the character of God, is love. Love that is not self-seeking, or self-gratifying, but God-seeking, bringing life to the body and glory to God. Love, like Christ's love;
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Phil 2:5-8
This love, the love that Christ showed the church and continues to pour out over us...is our example. The love we aspire to walk in. This is permanent...it will not pass away.
So what's the point? The gift of the Spirit are just that...gifts. They do not imply super spirituallity or great favor or maturity. They flow from God and it is according to His great mercy and grace that He distributes them. I pray that God would pour out His gifts upon the church according to His will. That we would grow in love, maturity and grace as we learn to use them; Forgiving one another as we make mistakes, restoring those who have been hurt, and rejoicing with one another as the Lord uses the gifts through us. The most excellent way in which to function as the body of Christ and move in the gifts of the Spirit is to remember the PLACE of love; that our gifts need to flow out of love, not ambition, self-promotion or fear. We must remember the PRACTICE of love, putting others first, treating others with respect and dignity. Growing up in the maturity that Paul was calling the Corinthians too. And the PERMANENCE of love; that love never fails, in the end, this is what we will have. Love; not ministries, not callings, not anything else, but love. As we remember these three things...we will grow more and more into a body that is able to move in the fulness of what God has for us individually and as a church..."And they will know that we are Christians by our LOVE."
Intro:
Sometimes, especially when I'm preparing for something like this I find myself asking this question, "Am I really a disciple of Christ?" It seems like kind of a funny question for the person at the front of the church to be asking themselves, but it is something that I keep coming back to. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not questioning my salvation, I do have a deep assurance of that. I know that Jesus has saved me, forgiven my sins and has brought me into relationship with the Father. What I'm talking about is this...(I'll read from some of the KM1 material)
"The purpose of Jesus' discipling of the 12 and others was that they might continue the ministry that He had modelled to them. The call to follow him was not a flexible suggestion but a strong call to total commitment and service, similar to the commitment and service that the disciples of a rabbi gave to their teacher...Every rabbi expected their disciples to more than simply learn their words. They expected them to imitated their life...Jesus was no exception to this..."
John 13:34-35 " A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
I don't know about you, but for myself sometimes this is hard. Sometimes, the last thing I want to do is love. Sometimes, the reaction I have with people, even those in the Body of Christ is the reaction of wanting to run away and be by myself; just me and God...and Dan! Life would be much simpler then. In fact, sometimes I think it would be much easier to deal with people from a distance, function with my gifts in a nice, clinical style, where no one criticises, everyone understands what I'm trying to say, and no one gets offended by me or offends me. Well, okay, maybe its not that I don't want to love, it's that I want to love on my terms, and from a safe distance...without getting dirty. Unfortunately, this isn't what Jesus called us to do, and as we discover in the epistles, it isn't what the disciples were teaching either. God doesn't love us from a distance, he came right close, right into our world and we are to do the same. We can't function in our gifts apart from one another, without affecting one another, or without being affected by other's actions. This means that we need to commit ourselves to Jesus' comand and love one another.
Today we're continuing the series on 1Corinthians 12-14, which Scott has entitled "For the Common Good". We're looking at chapter 13 which is commonly refered to as the "Love Chapter". This is a widely recognized passage, used often in wedding ceremonies, but today we're pulling it back into the context in which it was written, which is the teaching on the use of spiritual gifts within the body of Christ when they gather together. It begins with the second part of the last verse of chapter 12, which says, "And now I will show you the most excellent way."
In the passages that follow, Paul shows us the PLACE of love; that love is the root off of which our gifts are meant to grow. The foundation upon which our ministry gifts are built. We can do amazing things, but if we don't have love, it means nothing. He talks about the PRACTICE of love; that love in the body of Christ is not self-centred, or self-seeking, but God centred, building up the body. He also talks about the PERMANENCE of love; that after everything else is done, love remains. This is one of the only things that you can take with you when you die.
Love then, is essential to living together as the body of Christ and walking in the fulness of what He has called us to in the use of spiritual gifts. So now, let us examine, the most excellent way.
1. The Place of Love:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I gain nothing." I Cor 13: 1-3
So often we fall into the trap of rating our gifts...it's natural, we are most influence by what we can see, so those gifts that are manifested publicly are the ones we long for, the ones our attention is grabed by. We see them as the "best gifts" because we think that they are the ones that have the most impact on the church, the ones we think will make us most effective. And most of us desire that, we desire to advance the Kingdom of God as effectively and powerfully as possible. BUT, many of us also have a deep longing for affirmation. We may have a need to prove to ourselves and others that we really are saved, that God really does talk to us...and these and other things are often the underlying motivators in the way we use our gifts, and for the hunger with which we desire certain gifts while unknowingly despising others.
I have a friend who is amazingly compassionate, she love the Lord and loves the Lost and loves the Poor and breaks at the brokeness that she senses in others. In fact, I would say that love and compassion, paired with intercession are some of her most exercised gifts. But SHE doesn't think that she HAS any special gifts with which she can serve in the church. She feels that because she's never spoken in tongues, and doesn't really get words of knowledge or prophetic words, that she has less to offer. She understands what scripture says about the place of love, but it's difficult to reconcile that with what she sees in the church. But the truth is that love is the foundation on which all of the others gifts must be built. Everything else without love is nothing. Love is essential, it isn't optional. Love is the essence of God, and as the expression of God in the world, we should exude this same essence in everything we do.
We can speak eloquently, wax poetically, prophecy powerfully, walk boldly into martyrdom, gladly take vows of poverty and do it all with the wrong motivation or out of something other than love. Sometimes its pride, sometimes performance or dreams of bringing glory to the Lord and just a little for ourselves that cause us to do things...Sometimes it's passion, or fear or obligation that drive us...but if we aren't rooted inlove, if our spiritual gifts are functioning out of any other thing...it means nothing, it's just mist, completely void of substance. Love is to be at the root of everything else we do...this is it's place.
2. The Practice of Love
What does love look like? What is the definition of love? In the following verses, Paul defines it quite thoroughly.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1Cor 13: 4-7
At first glance, this is reminiscent to me of the little talks I have with my kids about the way they treat each other and their friends; Remember to take turns! If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! Don't be boastful! Be thankful for what you do have! Speak kind words! Once you've said I forgive you, it's done, so drop it! Make sure that everyone is included and that your friends are being taken care of!
The Corinthian church was very much like the North Americal church today. They were very individualistic and self-absorbed. Their main economy was mirrors (if that says anything) They were very much like children in the way that they felt like the whole world revolved around them. So here is Paul, having to speak to them like a father reminding them of some of the basic rules of the playground. And as I listen to him speak, this is what I hear echoing in me...
- Simone...don't give up on anyone! Even when it seems someone just doesn't get it be patient, like God is with you!
- Put others first. You may be more experiences, you may even think you're more gifted, but let others use their gifts, give them a chance to use them.
- Be thankful for the gifts you have, develop them, and be glad for other's giftings, they are a blessing to you and the whole church, just as yours are!
- Don't brag about what you've done. You haven't gotten to where you are on your own, and neither will anyone else, you all need one another's help and God's!
- Remember that these are gifts, not rewards...don't be proud, remember your dependance on God!
- Take turns, if 3 or 4 ofyou have words, line up and wait. God may be building something here that you only have part of the puzzle for.
- Don't interrupt when someone else is speaking.
- Simone, don't try to build your own ministry! You are here to make God famous.
- Don't be so easily offended! Don't be so easily put off! Be quick to forgive and forgive forever!
- When someone falls or is hurt or attacked, defend them, pray for them, don't rejoice in the bad news or say "I told you so"
- When revelation of truth comes, rejoice, even if it hurts...it will bring freedom to many.
- Fight for one another, defend one another, protect one another!
- Hope for the fulness of what God has for each of you, and don't give up!
- Persevere even when times are tough.
3. The Permanence of Love
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disapears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1Cor 13: 8-13
Everything we have now is only a taste of the powers of the coming age (Heb 6:4). They are just glimpses of the reality of God and of the power and majesty and glory that are His and His alone. When Christ returns, all prophecies will cease, and tongues will be stilled. All of the knowledge that we have now will pass away as we are face to face with God; the Eternal Living God! Love is eternal, because God is love. (1Jn 4:8)
So we set our sights on the eternal, not looking to please ourselves and others, not looking to our ambitions or the things the world tells us to value. We know that those things that are eternal are to be sought after above all else. Faith, hope and love are truly gifts to be treasured and desired. But the greatest of these, the one that most reveals the character of God, is love. Love that is not self-seeking, or self-gratifying, but God-seeking, bringing life to the body and glory to God. Love, like Christ's love;
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Phil 2:5-8
This love, the love that Christ showed the church and continues to pour out over us...is our example. The love we aspire to walk in. This is permanent...it will not pass away.
So what's the point? The gift of the Spirit are just that...gifts. They do not imply super spirituallity or great favor or maturity. They flow from God and it is according to His great mercy and grace that He distributes them. I pray that God would pour out His gifts upon the church according to His will. That we would grow in love, maturity and grace as we learn to use them; Forgiving one another as we make mistakes, restoring those who have been hurt, and rejoicing with one another as the Lord uses the gifts through us. The most excellent way in which to function as the body of Christ and move in the gifts of the Spirit is to remember the PLACE of love; that our gifts need to flow out of love, not ambition, self-promotion or fear. We must remember the PRACTICE of love, putting others first, treating others with respect and dignity. Growing up in the maturity that Paul was calling the Corinthians too. And the PERMANENCE of love; that love never fails, in the end, this is what we will have. Love; not ministries, not callings, not anything else, but love. As we remember these three things...we will grow more and more into a body that is able to move in the fulness of what God has for us individually and as a church..."And they will know that we are Christians by our LOVE."
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The Lord is on the Move
Okay, I admit it...I had come to the place of letting it die, the blog, the call to the North. Dan and I had just surmized that it would be years before we would be walking it out, so we agreed to just persue what God had us doing here with all our hearts. The same day, we got a message on our answering machine telling us that Northwest had an offer for us! We sort of rolled our eyes and said "okay, we'll check it out, but it's probably just another distraction, we won't get excited or allow any emotion to get tangled up with this." When we did get to speak to them, we were floored with the offer; they had a position for us in Iqaluit, where we have been praying to go all along. Dan's hours were cut from 50-55/week to 37 1/2. They didn't require that I work until the kids were nicely settled in, and there was the option of working part-time. The school is English, so we wouldn't have to "supplement their education" (read: homeschool) They had told us that we would never be able to get a spot in Iqaluit, because of the housing crisis...there just weren't homes available to families. Also, the church we are already in some relationship with is there.
Hmmm...this was quite the offer. But what about our having just decided to put it away, die to it and do what we have to do here? I don't know...Maybe that's what God was waiting for. Maybe it's just a timing thing...But it felt like a big green light. So we accepted the offer. We're heading to Iqaluit July 25th. That gives us 5 weeks to pack up what we want to keep, and get rid of everything else. Pray for us, it doesn't give us much time.
Blessings,
SC
Hmmm...this was quite the offer. But what about our having just decided to put it away, die to it and do what we have to do here? I don't know...Maybe that's what God was waiting for. Maybe it's just a timing thing...But it felt like a big green light. So we accepted the offer. We're heading to Iqaluit July 25th. That gives us 5 weeks to pack up what we want to keep, and get rid of everything else. Pray for us, it doesn't give us much time.
Blessings,
SC
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