Lenten Thoughts by Susan Barclay

I didn't grow up with the Lenten tradition, nor do I always participate in its observance. This year I'll be away for part of the season and so I hesitate to make the necessary commitment. Does this sound bad when Christ set aside everything to commit to me...?

As I write this, I'm just three sleeps away from my holiday. I'm tired and I still have a lot to do before we go - laundry, packing, shopping. It's hard to think, much less think clearly. So today I will keep it short. Or at least I'll try.

Lent 2020 begins February 26th and runs to April 9th. 40 days. 40 potentially long days since one is expected to give up something that feels like sacrifice. Of course, those days in the wilderness were long for Jesus as well, without food to nourish his body. And depriving ourselves - not necessarily of nutrition, but of something else to which we perhaps pay too much attention - certainly allows us to share in our Lord's sufferings. I don't make light of that because it is what we are called to as His disciples.

Lent also calls us to reflect on Jesus' life, ministry, and work on the cross. For our sins He died. No one else could make propitiation for us; no one else qualified to be a lamb unblemished. As the songs say, only He can save; there is power in the blood. What could wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Lent can be important if it draws you closer to the One who loved you enough to give His life for you. If it's just a ritual for the sake of checking a box, what's the point? If you're trying to impress others with a high-minded spiritual exercise, where's the glory for God? God examines our motives and knows our hearts. It's all about Him. If you get your applause here, from others or in self-congratulation, you have received your reward in full.

For me this whole year is about centring on the Lord. It's not just a 40-day period but 365. Whom have I in heaven but Him? I'm striving to desire Him more than anything on earth. I'm striving to agree with the psalmist that though my health may fail and my spirit grow weak, God remains the strength of my heart and is mine forever (Psalm 73:25-26). That is more valuable to me than any Lenten exercise, though even in my currently sub-par state I recognize Lent can accomplish this for some.

Celebrating Lent for the right reasons? Excellent. If not, refocus and regroup or give it a pass. God is not looking for lip-service, but for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

We Are In This Together by Alan Anderson

 ^“In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…”—First Timothy 6: 13-14 (RSV).

My philosophy regarding my writing echoes my philosophy of care when I was in pastoral and chaplaincy work. It is to encourage people as we journey through life together in spite of hardship, sorrow or disappointment in the times we live in. Even in a secular culture like Canada the apostle Paul’s charge to the younger minister holds true. “…I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

In being called to be writers we can encourage each other to persevere in whatever area of writing we are involved in. This encouragement, of course, can also be giving to other creatives. We must never give up.

I see Pontius Pilate as representing the secular mindset of when Jesus lived. This mindset also matches the growing and lost secularism of our day. The truth of God is alive and well but most people reject it. Pontius Pilate had the Truth before him yet rejected it.

I love my fellow writers. I have been encouraged by many writers especially those of the InScribe writer family. In turn I want to encourage and spur them on. I know if it wasn’t for the blessing of other writers my words might not come to fruition. We need each other.

I experienced a sense of sadness when I read Ruth Snyder’s final message as InScribe President. She has been President, I believe, since I joined InScribe a few years ago. I sincerely appreciate in her final message as President she encouraged us to spur each other on (FellowScript, Summer 2018 edition).

Ruth’s encouragement reminds me we may be more effective in bringing a message of hope if we realize we are not alone in our craft. We are even more determined to influence our society due to the power of encouraging other writers. In this realization we know our writing has meaning and purpose.

Perhaps as you read this post you are in need of encouragement. You sit in front of your computer to write and words are slow to come. The ones you put on to a page lack meaning and are weak. You get up from your computer and look out a window in hope of giving your mind a rest. This effort to write is all devoid of joy and you are downhearted. I imagine many of us experience this from time to time.

My tendency is to be a loner when I create a story. Perhaps this is due to being an introvert by nature. I’m not shy but I am an introvert. I’m at a point in my life where I enjoy sharing my work with other writers to critique. It’s worth it in the long run and it spurs me on.

I love to encourage other writers. It is a privilege to encourage another writer when I’m asked to critique a work in progress. Is this a joy to you as well my reader friend? What a privilege it is to be a writer.

Secularism may be the call of today but it is also a time when we as writers who are Christian continue to bring stories, articles, and messages of abiding hope to people. Let us not be shaken by the darkness and negativity so prevalent in a society searching for meaning and purpose. Let our writing be pleasing, unstained and free from reproach all in the name of the One we serve. We are in this life together and we are not alone.

https://scarredjoy.ca/

Stay Close to the Source by T. L. Wiens

How many of you have read something and thought this is a very interesting theology? Sometimes I’ve read things and thought, wow, someone else sees the same thing in scripture that I see. Then I continue to read and find there it is, the false teaching that so many times contradicts the very thing the author has set out to point out to other believers.

Why does this happen so often? It discredits everything—the truth is lost. And I live in fear of being that author. How do we avoid something that seems like a very basic human weakness? The Bible.

We all need to study our Bibles, not with a devotional manual but with the Holy Spirit guiding us. Sometimes this means putting down a lot of preconceived notions put there by our own thoughts on issues, church background and denominational lines. This is not easy but must be done to make sure we’re not sabotaging our own faith. We all want to honour Jesus Christ in the words we write. The only way to do that is by making sure we know His Word first.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Spoiled by T. L. Wiens

I was at the house of an elderly couple. The husband had a severe infection in his leg and the wife was worn out from looking after him. Their daughter came under the guise of helping out Mom and Dad. The husband had a guest and was busy visiting in another room. The wife fell onto the chair next to me and leaned up against the table, gasping for breath. (I was blocked behind the table.) She’d aged ten years in the two weeks since her husband got sick.

Their daughter emerged from the room where the husband was visiting. “Mom, the men need coffee.”

Mom waved her arm and pointed in the general direction of the coffee pot. “It’s right there.” She was too tired to get off her chair.

The daughter stared at her mother and then at the coffee pot before returning to the other room. A few minutes later, she again demanded her mother to come fill the coffee cups in the next room. Finally, the guest came into the kitchen, grabbed the coffee pot and served the coffee.

I wish this was a fiction story but it’s not. When I look at this forty something year old daughter, I’m disgusted at her behaviour. But she’s only acting out from her upbringing—she’s spoiled.

I’m visiting a church. We are asked to sing a last song as a means of ending the service. The worship leader apologizes because this is a youth focused service and this last song will be a hymn. I’m shocked and appalled that there would be that much intolerance to singing a worship hymn simply because it was a hymn. But the people are just following the lead of the decision makers of this church body.

I fear for the church that has become like a spoiled child. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:24,

“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” Discipline? The church cannot even tolerate singing a song that may not fit their style.

Spoiling is not loving as we see in Proverbs. The end result will be the same for both the elderly couple and the church—selfish children, demanding when they should be serving. From I Corinthians 13, we know love is the greatest gift. Jesus demonstrated His love for us by dying on a cross while we were still sinners. How can a spoiled generation find Truth when preoccupied with self-indulgence? How can we as writers help bring love back into focus in the church?

Bona Fide - Ruth L. Snyder

Bona Fide is a Latin expression which literally means, "In good faith." The World Dictionary defines bona fide as "real or genuine: a bona fide manuscript" or "undertaken in good faith: a bona fide agreement."

Lately I have been challenged to consider whether people see me as a bona fide follower of Jesus Christ.  Two recent events in my community brought these thoughts to the forefront of my thinking. Firstly, I was delighted to hear about a grade 12 student from our local K-12 school who called a fault on himself during a badminton tournament match point. Most people watching probably didn't realize that he scooped his shot. If he had not called the fault, he could have won the match and the gold medal. However, this student is a bona fide athlete who realizes that winning at any cost is not what the game of badminton is about. Secondly, I was saddened to read about a priest in our community who has been charged with an immigration scam. He is a man expected to provide spiritual leadership, to be above reproach. Apparently, he caved to the green-eyed monster of greed and chose to participate in illegal acts to temporarily gain money. If convicted of this crime, the priest will not only bring disrepute upon his personal character and beliefs, but also upon the church he served, believers, and ultimately God.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying." The Apostle Peter urges us, "...abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent...so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God..." (I Peter 2:12 NASB)

And so, as I sit here I wonder: When people look at me, do they see someone genuine or do they see a fake? Are my actions above reproach? Do I "fudge" the truth, or am I completely honest? If someone asked my kids about my behavior at home, would it match who I am in public? Am I seeking to please God all the time, not just on Sunday? Do I measure myself against man's standards, or God's?

Each day I make many choices, usually seemingly small and insignificant. However, each choice I make either leads me closer to my Heavenly Father, or farther away from Him. Today, and every day, I need to consciously pursue God. That is the only way others will see me as a truly bona fide follower of Jesus Christ.

Ruth L. Snyder

Check out Ruth's blog on education matters at www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com.
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