Making Room 4 God

I am not a coffee connoisseur, but I have been brought to (or should I say dragged to) enough Starbucks boutiques that I can pretty well tell you where most of the Starbucks are located in the Fraser Valley. I like to spend time with my wife - and well - she likes to spend time at Starbucks. People often tell me – “oh I ran into your wife yesterday” - and I can guess, and usually guess right – “don’t tell me, was it at Starbucks?” So my wife is one of those Starbucks queens - Tim Horton’s is looked down on with disdain, and for her, restaurant coffee is given the same consideration as dirty dishwater. 
When we go for “coffee” - I will often stand in line and make the purchase while Virginia finds a good spot for us to sit at. Starbucks has a pretty consistent way of doing things and I remember the first time I heard what are now very familiar words “would you like room for cream?” The first time I was asked that I may have thought how considerate my barista was.

But it didn’t take long for a more cynical perspective to cross my mind. I envisioned a bunch of Starbucks executives meeting in a boardroom discussing stagnant profits and how they could increase their profits with a little question like “would you like room…?” On one cup, the bit of coffee they don’t serve you which far exceeds the few drops of cream that most people add may seem insignificant. But when you multiply it out by the mega millions of cups they serve around the world, in my estimation, that adds up to a significant additional corporate profit.

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One Thursday night, not so many nights ago

One Thursday night, not so many nights ago, I was wandering the halls of the church while my son, Daniel, was at the high school youth group, Elevate. Now, if you don’t know otherwise , you might believe that Northview is fairly quiet in the evening, but au contraire! My partner in my meandering that other night was my two year old percussion obsessed son, Liam. In order to distract him from the allure of the drum kit in the youth center which he had already cast eyes upon, I told him that we were going to look for the “Enchanted Drum Land” which existed somewhere in the depths of the church. So, the quest began.

First, we were drawn by the melodious siren sound of Johnny & his band of merry worshippers rehearsing in Johnny’s office. As we peeked in through the window, it was like peering through the looking glass as we were greeted by a sight of worshipful merriment. If you have not before seen the tight confines of Johnny’s office, the sight was akin to one of those sea going clippers with attending masts & rigging all contained within the narrow embrace of a glass bottle.

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Suffering Well, Part 2

Here’s the second reason I think Paul and Silas suffered so well in prison in Acts 16…

They knew God was in control of their circumstances and he would work them out for their good and his glory.

When you read through the beginning of the book of Philippians, you quickly see Paul’s perspective on his suffering in prison. Here is how verses 12 to 26 read…

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

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Suffering Well

In my sermon this weekend, I mentioned that the watching, unbelieving world sits up and takes note when Christians suffer differently than the rest of society. Our rejoicing amidst our adversities forms a profound argument for the truth of what we believe. I didn’t really have time to develop the reasons why I thought Paul and Silas suffered so well when imprisoned in Philippi, so I thought I would give you a couple of reasons here. I’ll post the first one today and the second one later this week…

Reason #1: They weren’t surprised by adversity, but expected it as part of following Jesus in a fallen world…

I have been musing lately about the subject matter of many Christian songs written in the last 10 years or so. I must admit that I am the furthest thing from an expert in this area, but it has been hard to miss the sheer number of popular songs I have heard recently about suffering and adversity. Certainly Christians throughout the ages have struggled to understand why so many bad things happen in a world where a good God is sovereign. This has probably been the most pressing challenge to Christian faith (just read the Psalms or Lamentations). But, for the most part, this question is more of a difficulty in times of great sorrow than in a time of great prosperity. What I find interesting is that we are living in a time of unprecedented prosperity, but the question is raised today as much as ever. People are wondering about suffering while living in homes larger than anyone has ever lived in before. Why is this?

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The Internet is Eating My Brain

About a year or so ago, author Nicholas Carr wrote an article in the Atlantic Monthly that still has many social critics buzzing. The title of the article was, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (online at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google) and the general thesis of the author was that reading online material (like this blog) has made us “jet skiers” of information. We rarely have the patience to read deep and nuanced arguments anymore because we are so used to flitting about online from one news story to another.

Think about it – you are online now. Is reading this blog post the reason you went onto the internet to begin with? Or did something distract you from your original purpose and now, after visiting several other sites, you are here? And when you are done reading this (likely because you are bored with what I am saying), what will you do next? If you are anything like me, you will just click on the next thing that looks remotely interesting. This kind of repeated behavior, which is what reading on the internet is all about, causes you and me to become prisoners to our whims. We struggle to sustain our interest in detailed discussions, hoping that there is some way to “click” out of them as soon as possible.

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