Bringing Symbols of Repentance

[Kevin Vance is husband to Lisa, and father to Kelly, Caleb, and Carissa.  Formerly the president of Western Christian, Kevin is now leading the Gentle Road Church of Christ in north-central Regina.]

Please begin by watching this video…

It is of a man named Lowell who gets baptized.  As a symbol of his repentance, he brings the Merck Index, a pharmaceutical manual containing the chemical composition of drugs.  His confession was, that he thought he could use it to control the people around him, get rich, and have everything he ever wanted.  Instead, it turned out to be a disaster.

When We All Shall Truly See

[Jill Slywka is a prairie girl, who finds herself, for the time being, amidst the mountains of BC. She spends her days working as an optometrist, and in her spare time, loves to curl up with a good book, or go exploring.]

In John 9:1-7, as Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Teacher,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?”

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins, “ Jesus answered. “He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all works comes to an end. But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing!

I’m Still Here

[Jonathan is the husband of Sarah, the son of Ed and Barb, and the brother of Jill and Alicia. He loves winter but also can't wait till spring to start riding his bike again.]

I have really enjoyed our scripture readings this advent season. Sometimes God whacks me over the head with the significance of his word. When I begin to read the scriptures as one big story – rather than a loose collection of bedtime stories – I find deep meaning that I otherwise might have missed. For one, I realize the significance of advent – this season of conscious, expectant waiting. Secondly, I find echoes of the Christmas story in places that I never would have guessed: in Psalms and Jeremiah and especially Isaiah. I have been delighted to trace, throughout our readings thus far, the story of how God has always been preparing the way for the Saviour.

The Light that Saves

[Logan Krogsgaard lives in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan México.  He enjoys playing with friends, going to school and Karate, and speaking better Spanish than his parents. Logan is 10 years old.]

I think that life is a bit like an obstacle course.

You have to make choices about everything that comes your way.  On one turn of your life you may find that you have a “friend” who isn’t really very nice to you—maybe even mean to you.  You have to choose what you will do with this “obstacle”—Will you pretend he’s not even there, will you try to go around him, or will you try to talk to him?

The choice is YOURS.

From today’s reading (John 3:16-21), I learned that God loves the world so much that He gave us His Son, the ULTIMATE Christmas gift!  Now THAT’S LOVE!!!!  Jesus came to SAVE us, not to CONDEMN us, because we are already condemned as a result of our own sin.  We have become lovers of darkness, and we don’t want to go into the light for fear that our deeds will be exposed.  But, if we choose to believe in Jesus and His promises, we are no longer condemned, but saved!

God LOVES us!!  He came to SAVE us.  He does not CONDEMN us.  Yet, people say, “Why would God send anyone to hell?”  So, my mom showed me this quote by a man named Charles Stanley (I don’t know him).  He shows the “obstacle course” of getting to hell, and it’s not GOD making the choices:

 “Getting to hell is no easy task.  You must trample over the cross of Jesus Christ to get to hell.  You have to tread through His blood, go past the empty tomb, over the prayers that people have offered for you, across the hymns you have sung, the sermons you have heard, and the writings that others have borne to you.  You have to step on the Word of God that is all around you, as well as the evidence of Himself that God has left in all creation (Rom. 1:20).  In other worlds, you have to fight your way into hell, crossing all the barriers God has placed in your path to keep you from a life of selfish rebellion and disregard for Him.  God does not send people to hell; He lays down His life in front of them, and they have to deliberately, wilfully choose to trample over Him to get there.”

 In our obstacle course called “life”, let’s choose the LIGHT who SAVES!

Walking in the Light

[Bernard is the blessed to be the husband of Alicia and is thankful to be the father of Kresten, Ashley and Logan. He is privileged to serve in the Father's kingdom in Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico.]

Stuart (not his real name), at one time, a frequent visitor, hadn’t dropped by in 2011.  Then today, just before noon, he called from the sidewalk, interrupting my reading of Joel 2:32, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Stuart had skipped work due to sleep deprivation.  He was troubled. He opened up about his dark depression.  The previous night he had tortured his heart by playing his well known video – The 42 Years of Stuart.  The story highlights are:  broken marriage, the absentee father, failure of the most recent relationship and chemical abuse.  In an emotional state of despondency and isolation Stuart contemplated the urge to end his dark, meaningless life through strangulation, cutting or consumption.  Thankfully, his lack of resolve achieved only violent vomiting.

Stuart chatted about the glory days of his marriage when joy reigned and the relationship was rich.  Back then there was always money at the end of the month.  He declared that things were good when, as a couple, he and his wife were part of a fellowship of believers that worshipped God.

Basking in the Light

[Alicia is currently church planting on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán. Bernard and Alicia’s vision, along with lead church planter, Malcolm Pointon, is to mature this “Mother Church”, while raising up teams to plant in other Pacific Coastal cities in Mexico.  !Que Dios les bendiga!]

Oh, the things that Moses had seen!

A burning bush would make anyone do a double-take; a parting sea would be bring fear and trembling simply from the thunderous roar of the walls of water held in place by the unseen hand; a healing snake on a post, lifted up for all to see, would be the only hope for someone facing certain death—fascinating, surreal, undeniably GOD!  Oh, but the glory that was “put upon” Moses in that personal encounter with the presence of God on that mountain is, for me, simply unimaginable.  How could one bear to be exposed to such a great light—to such extreme holiness?  The presence was so pure that Moses “glowed” from God’s glory, so much so, that he had to veil the radiance that was God’s mark on him.  The people couldn’t even look at the reflected glow on Moses, much less, the real deal of God Himself.

Paul tells us that those of us in Christ also reflect the Lord’s glory, and that we are being transformed into His likeness, not with FADING glory, as was the case of Moses, but with EVER-INCREASING glory that is from the Lord. (II Cor. 3:18)

So, how can folks miss that light?  LIGHT, Himself walked the roads of this earth, and many people missed it—missed His radiance, missed His purity, missed His glory, missed THE LIGHT.  Yes, God’s light is powerful, but the enemy’s veil of darkness casts shadows upon that light deceiving those who focus on the darkness, blinding them to the freedom of the Light.

During this Advent Season, may we bask in the Light, which will then be reflected upon us, and within us, so that those who are perishing may see and recognize that light, to no longer be blinded by the god of this age.  Yes, come, Jesus come—shining light out of the darkness!

Light in the Darkness

[Alicia Slywka is an outreach worker, trying to better the lives and health of some of Regina's most disadvantaged people. Day by day, she is learning what it means to live an uncomfortable life, as well as trying to let god stretch, change and use her.]

Arise, Jerusalem, and shine like the sun;
The glory of the Lord is shining on you!
Other nations will be covered by darkness,
but on you the light of the Lord will shine;
The brightness of his presence will be with you.
Nations will be drawn to your light,
and kings to the dawning of your new day.
–Isaiah 60:1-3

Nations will be covered by darkness.

We live in a world filled with brokenness and darkness. Everywhere we turn, we see pain and suffering, poverty and injustice, discrimination and racism; everywhere we turn, we see satan at work. He is rejoicing in our sin and brokenness; he is rejoicing in darkness.

But on you, the light of the Lord will shine; the brightness of his presence will be with you.

There is hope though – hope in a dark world; hope in light.  As Christians, we are called to be light; we are called to shine in a world that is filled with so much darkness; filled with so much brokenness, pain and suffering.  There is hope through God, a father, who loves us unconditionally.  A Father who sent his only son to die for us, so that we may be saved from darkness.  There is hope through a son.  A son who took on the weight of the world so that we could know the father.  There is hope through light; hope through love, through new life, through forgiveness. Hope.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. - Martin Luther King Jr.

Nations will be drawn to your light.

So, let’s do what we are called to do; shine! Shine his light so that the world can see; shine his light so that the darkness is lit; shine his light so that people can know his goodness, his truth, his love. We have been given so much hope that we must share.  Share it with the world, so they can also feel that hope. Share it with the world, so that people will be drawn to his light. “Darkness doesn’t drive out darkness; only light can do that.”  Let’s drive out darkness with the beautiful light we have been given.

Living Lights

[Jason Bandura works with the Glen Elm Church of Christ and hopes to increase the attention he gives to Advent in this, his second year of observing the season.  Anything that rescues meaning from the madness of Christmas for him and his family--wife Shannon and two sweet daughters--has his attention!]

Let there be light!

The theme of light has been evident in numerous posts during this Advent season, and that is hardly surprising.  The Christmas story famously describes a brilliant star leading foreign rulers toward Bethlehem, where they find a baby whose birth is nothing less than the light of truth entering the realm of men, according to John 1.

One of my favourite paintings is titled “Rest On the Flight Into Egypt”.  It was painted in 1879 by French artist Luc Olivier Merson and can been seen below.