http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557 I am glad to be here. AdvancedMinistry I was reminded again this week that I need to be more diligent with my blogs.  To say that I have been neglecting this blog would be an understatement.  I am sorry and will seek to do better.  Thank you for reminding me this past Sunday.  (You know who you are ;)How do you know if you are following someone?  Many people, more than 2 billion by some people's estimates, would say that they are followers of Jesus Christ.  Is someone a follower simply because they say they are a follower?  Are we followers when we wear a cross around our necks?  How about if we get a bumper sticker?  A T-shirt?  Surely we are followers if we go to church at least once and a while.  Again, how do you know if you are following someone?  I want to suggest that you know you are following someone when you go where they lead.  More importantly, you know that you are following someone when they head in a direction that you wouldn't normally go, and yet you still follow.  Let me give an example.  Our family has had many occasions to travel up north to cottage country.  On the long stretch of highway north of Toronto, many families make their way up to the Muskoka area on the weekends.  Every now and then, you can find yourself behind another vehicle for a long period of time.  You may even think, "We have been following that car for a long time now."  But inevitably, the driver in front of you takes a cutoff that you weren't planning on taking, or you come to the exit that leads to your desired destination while the person who was in front of you continues down the highway.  Either way, this is the reality.  Let's make no mistake.  You were never following him.  You just happened to be going in the same direction for a while.  You were in charge the whole time.A final few questions.  Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  How do you know? http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557&comments=34427 34427 Fri, 18 May 2012 13:54:00 +0000 I admit right off the bat that I am not a good blogger.  Life gets going and things happen during the week and all of a sudden it has been a few months since my last blog.  Sorry about that.  Over the past few weeks at St. Anns, we have been talking about being full of the Holy Spirit and what that means to us as believers.  We know that when we are born again, the Spirit of God comes into our lives and indwells us.  But what does it mean to be full of the Spirit?  We looked at the passage found in Ephesians 5 which commands us not to be drunk on wine, but instead to allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit.  As I did this study, I found it very interesting and helpful to follow through with the comparison that Paul brings up between being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit.  In both cases, the influence and the evidence is very real and apparent.  And so, if we are truly full of the Spirit of God, His influence will have an effect on everything we do.  He will cause us to be bold and courageous, because that is His nature.  His love will pour out of us.  His aroma will be evident to everyone we come into contact with.  However, we need to recognize that to some, this aroma will be the stench of death.  And finally, in order to be continually under His influence, we need to continually drink.    http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557&comments=29650 29650 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:48:00 +0000 The word “teachable” came up in a recent conversation.  I’m glad that it did because it caused me once again to ask myself the question, “Am I teachable?”  Of course, I know what the proper response is supposed to be.  But I want to be careful not to answer this question too quickly.  It is far too easy to declare a desired reality rather than taking the time to honestly evaluate my inner self.  What truly goes on inside my soul when I come across someone that I disagree with?  Truth be told, I cannot tell whether I am teachable or not when I spend my time talking only with those that see things the same way I do.  At those times, I am not being taught anything at all.  I am simply being affirmed in my own convictions and conclusions.  No, the way I can tell if I am teachable is to look at my heart when conversing with someone that I disagree with.  As a believer, this does not mean that I should be open to every wind of teaching that comes along.  There are a lot of false thoughts and ideas going on in the world around us and even in the church.  These should be brought to the light, seen for what they are and quickly discarded.  The question is, am I willing to have the light of the Word of God opened to me by the Holy Spirit through someone else?  Am I willing to listen to the words that come from the mouth of God and be shown that I am wrong?  Am I willing to be corrected?  Am I willing to change my life based on those corrections?  Have I embraced humility enough to take the role of student even as everyone calls me pastor?  These are the questions that I need to answer for myself.  How about you?  Are you teachable? http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557&comments=25550 25550 Wed, 3 Aug 2011 12:15:00 +0000 Last night I had an interesting experience.  I was at my son’s baseball game.  The teams were evenly matched in a closely fought game.  As the scoreless innings marched on by, it became apparent that the umpire’s strike zone was a little too generous for both teams.  I felt bad for some of the kids who barely had arms long enough to reach to the other side of the plate.  Needless to say, there were many strikeouts on both sides.  As this continued on, I could not contain my thoughts and found myself offering my critique about the umpire’s decisions.  This was done in a way in which most, if not all of those within earshot would not be offended at all.  I was not yelling or screaming or calling into account the character of the umpire.  I was simply making truthful observations in a socially acceptable way to which no one would disagree.  I was also not alone in this.  Others were making similar remarks and as I said, the strike zone was equally large for both teams.  However, I noticed that as I had these thoughts in my heart, there was a brokenness of fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  These thoughts, and more than that, the spirit behind these thoughts, did not find its origin in God.  These thoughts, although truthful, came from the enemy of my soul and found a welcome home in my sinful flesh.  “But it’s true”, I heard my flesh cry out in self justification.  “It wasn’t fair for the kids”, came the argument from the enemy.  “Something had to be said”, my thoughts proclaimed.  "Nothing you said is 'bad' or 'out of order'", my feelings truthfully observed.  And I would have found supporting voices from most of the parents watching the game with me.  But the only opinion that matters is God’s.  I praise the Lord for the conviction of the Holy Spirit and I also praise Him for a discerning wife.  When we got home from the game, I shared with Karlene what I thought I was hearing the Lord say.  She too knew that my words had not come from a good place.  She did not try to downplay what had happened or comfort me by assuring me that no one else even noticed.  She knows, as I do, that when these things are revealed to us, it is a blessing from the Lord because it gives us an opportunity to be freed from sin and from the enemy who wants us to remain in bondage to sin.  And so there in the kitchen, minutes after we got home from the game, we prayed together.  I confessed my sin.  I declared that I want my thoughts to be God’s thoughts and the words that come out of my mouth to be His words.  I told the enemy that His ways are not welcome in my life and I commanded him to leave.  And then I praised God for His correction.  Who knew that going to a baseball game could lead to such victory?  http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557&comments=24606 24606 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:03:00 +0000 This is a very real question.  Every decision we make leads us somewhere, whether as an individual, a family or a congregation.  These decisions will either lead us closer to God or further away from Him.  Every action, word, tone and thought help contribute to who we are and who we will become.  There have been many times when something comes out of my mouth and I think to myself, "Kevin, is this who you want to be?  Is this who God created you to be?"  At that point I have a choice.  Do I humbly submit to God and repent or do I continue on with choices that are contrary to who He is?  We are continually met by forks in the road, some more significant than others.  And yet, each one makes a contribution to the course that our lives will take. I have determined to live my life according to how God has designed me to live.  This does not mean that there won't be wrong turns during the journey.  Lord knows there will be.  But thanks be to Jesus Christ who made a way where there was no way.  "Lord, I pray for the grace to judge my actions correctly.  I pray for the humility to confess my sins to you and to others.  I pray for the strength to live the life that you have called me to live.  I pray for the determination needed to endure.  And I pray all of this knowing that it is only by the power of your Spirit that any of this will be accomplished.  Amen" http://www.stannscommunitychurch.ca/index.cfm?i=13658&mid=25&blogid=5557&comments=23630 23630 Fri, 27 May 2011 11:46:00 +0000