Why do that?

I remember reading a story that took place in the Soviet Union.  I’m not sure exactly when this happened, but essentially Communist Party people came to some peasants.  The Communist state, of course, was anti-religious, but the peasants had traditionally been quite religious for a very long time.  So these Communists started “preaching” to the peasants, saying (and I paraphrase), “Why pray to God for your crops?  It is the tractor that makes your crops prosper.”  Okay, but what happened when the tractor arrived on the farm?  The peasants came to it, praying in thanksgiving and putting crucifixes on it.  It did not work out the way the Communists might have expected!

Today, we may come across those who wonder why we do what we do as Christians.  Sure, they may respect our activities; I do not wish to paint every non-Christian with the same brush.  But they may still ask “Why?”  I would imagine that giving money to the Church is one of these things that people in the World will look at and go, “Why are they giving away their hard-earned cash?”  Well, for someone asking this kind of question, I suppose you’d first have to convince him or her of the Gospel before they’d understand why we give our money and effort to the Church.  We do it because we believe it is good to physically help the Church in its spiritual work.  And we believe it is pleasing to God when we give and serve with a cheerful heart.

But think about what else our giving does.  A few months ago, we had a giving opportunity through the Church in order to help Middle Eastern refugees in Europe and to help European congregations cope with the sheer numbers of people coming in.  I do not know how much money was raised for that ministry, but however much it was, I am confident it was put to good use.  That’s a ministry with, may I say “tangible,” visible results.  Because of this, how could anyone, spiritual or non-spiritual, argue against helping such an effort?  And that goes for any other ministry we may support as a congregation.  In my view, with our giving and our prayers for that giving, God can work His will through it all, no matter how much or little we may be able to contribute.

~ Christian  Basar

Scars

The human body’s capacity to heal amazes me.   I find it crazy how flesh and bone can rebuild to fix an injury or wound.  I can’t explain the science, but I don’t need to understand it to see how powerful the body’s healing process is.  Unfortunately, as fascinating and complete as healing can be, it does not always heal everything.  We still carry scars from past injuries.  I have a scar on my left hand from an “axe”-ident last summer.  Another on my right wrist was from a Costco cookie container – seriously.  Plastic is deadly.  And, though I think it has pretty much fully healed, my left eyelid got scratched when my glasses were broken.  If you play soccer, wear contacts.

And then there are the so-called “spiritual wounds” we all carry.  We get these when we have been lustful, proud, told lies, or when we’ve done any other bad thing.  Not only do these wounds mark ourselves, but they hurt others, too.  We don’t see these scars on our bodies, but we sure feel them.  They torture our consciences and break our relationship with God.

But, as a hymn tells us, “there was One Who was willing to die in my [our] stead.”  The Son of God went to the Cross and died for our forgiveness.  We can read about this in Isaiah chapter 53, an Old Testament passage that tells us a lot about Christ’s role in our salvation.  Verses 4-5 say “Surely He [Christ] has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed.”

The New Testament book of Hebrews continues with this line of thought.  In Hebrews 10 we read about how Christ became the final sacrifice – the only one necessary for our salvation.  Then, starting at verse 19: “Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Communion, or the Lord's Supper, of which we partake of every Sunday, is a testimony to Jesus' sacrifice.  As we participate in it, we are to remember Christ and His earthly Body, which was broken and wounded.  And we remember His Blood which washes us clean from those “spiritual blemishes” I mentioned earlier.  We will fall short of God’s standard, even after we become Christians.  But remember always that there was One willing to take your sins upon Himself, healing you and forgiving you.

~ Christian Basar

Church or God?

A friend of mine posted a good, thought-provoking photo on his Facebook page a little while ago.  It is in Russian, but I will post it and explain what it says.

On the left, one person is going to the door saying "To God."  On the right, a multitude are going to the door saying "To Church" or "To the Church."  (You can see the original photo and a small snippet at this link)  The devotional essentially says this: "God is near us, and He had heard us [our prayers, etc.]; we must open the correct door in order to truly get to the Divine.  But will we open the correct door?"

I agree with this article to a large extent.  However, I must first qualify my response to it.  I do believe that the Church ("big 'C'") is vitally important.  It is, after all, the Body of Christ and those within it have been added to Christ, apart from Whom no one can be saved.  Those in the Church are Christians, and those outside of the Church are not Christians.  See Acts 2:37-41, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Colossians 1:18, and Ephesians 4:1-16 for Biblical evidence of these ideas.  And for people inside the Church, we are still expected to live Godly lives, worship God in spirit and in truth, be there for each other, help others come to know Christ, etc.  You know, those "Church activities." ;)

However, one can "go to church" (note the "small 'c'") and forget God.  It can be easy for us to go to a church building, sing some songs, have fellowship, and give money to the weekly contribution out of habit, without always appreciating what we are doing.  We can easily fall into the trap of doing "church activities" because "We do it all the time," "God will be upset if we don't," or "I grew up doing this."  This is not what being part of the Church should be about.

Yes, proper worship, living, and service is important to the Christian life, as is being part of the Church.  But to truly experience the "Divine," as the above article suggests, let us focus on also building a healthy relationship with God.  Let us draw near to Him with all prayers and requests and let us have hearts ready to do His will.  Going with God involves far more than just "going to church" on Sunday; it is a lifestyle and a relationship with the Lord.

~ Christian Basar

Whose is it?

Over the last few years, I have been learning the Russian language.  It is quite a difficult language.  For example, when you want to describe your trip to the store, you must say a different word depending on how you get there.  If you are walking to the store, you must use the appropriate form of the verb "ходить" (hoh-deet).  But if you are driving or riding to the store, you say "ездить" (yehz-deet).  And this is a rather simple rule when describing the Russian verbs of motion.  You also have to use different verbs depending on whether or not you regularly go to the store, whether you have "completed" going to the store, whether you will go to the store....  What a Pandora's box of motion!  One Russian guy told me that even Russians have trouble with these words.  Что это ужас! (Shto eh-tuh oo-zhuss!)  "What a horror!"

Walking, driving, and horrors aside, there are some interesting aspects of Russian.  For example, if I want to tell you how old I am, I must say "Мне 28 лет."  (Mn-yeh dvad-tzat vo-sim lyet).  Literally, this means "To me is 28 years."  So I suppose I could say "I have been given 28 years."

If you think about it, this lesson could apply to every area of our lives.  I have been given the gift of 28 years on this earth, despite the scrapes, illnesses, troubles, and difficulties along my way.  I could not have made it without the help of God, my parents, friends, etc.  But what about my other things - clothing, shelter, education, relationships?  Sure, I have worked hard to gain and earn these things, and I will not deny that.  I have certainly done my part, and I shall continue to do so.  But without help and God's providence, I would not have been able to enjoy them.  One of my favourite verses is 1 Timothy 6:17.  I have mentioned this verse before on this blog, but it is worth repeating:

"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." (English Standard Version)

Note how it is God who gives us everything to enjoy.  We should not only trust in Him to provide for all of our current and future needs, but we should also thank Him and give Him credit for doing so.

But in the end, whose is it?  Yes, we are able to and should enjoy the things God has given us.  But with that privilege comes responsibility.  Perhaps the best Biblical passage describing this principle is the Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30.  For the sake of brevity, I'll allow you to read it on your own. ;)  But basically, this story describes a master who gives his servants some money to invest.  While two wisely use this money to increase the master's profit, a third does not, and he is punished for his foolishness.  This idea applies to our spiritual lives.  God has given us so much, and He expects us to use what we have to help Him, glorify Him, and grow His Kingdom (the Church) on Earth.

Here are some other passages that are much shorter.  1 Corinithians 3:23 says to those who have accepted Jesus: "...you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." (New Living Translation)   And 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 says: "You are not your own: you were bought at a price." (New International Version)

So there you have it.  When we have become Christians, we have been given many gifts and treasures.  But we also have responsibilities to "give back to God" of what He has given us.  How can we do this?  Perhaps by giving at church on Sundays?  By spending time with and reaching out to our friends who do not yet know the Lord?  There are many ways we could do this, and this is where prayer comes in.  Let us all pray that God will give us the desire, skill, and wisdom to effectively use His gifts to us for His ultimate good.

- Christian Basar

Campus Bible Talk is Resuming

Hello everyone,

Hope that you have had a good, restful, peaceful Christmas holiday season and New Year.  As they say, a new year is a new beginning, and we hope that your 2016 will be great!

This is just a quick note to say that Campus Bible Talk is continuing, starting today, on January 4, 2016.  We will be meeting on Mondays at 6:00 PM on campus in Athabasca Hall, specifically in the Heritage Lounge room, on the 1st Floor.  We hope that you can join us for an informal Bible discussion and for hanging out and chatting afterwards.

Christian Basar

P.S.  Great apologies!  I had written that we meet in the Alumni Lounge, but we actually meet in the Heritage Lounge.  (CB: January 23, 2016)

Be Still and Know...

Psalms 46:10:

Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

1. What does it mean to “be still”?

To not move around. To be in deep silence.

The word still is a translation of the Hebrew word rapa, meaning “to slacken, let down, or cease.” In some instances, the word carries the idea of “to drop, be weak, or faint.” It connotes two people fighting until someone separates them and makes them drop their weapons.

The phrase means to stop frantic activity, to let down, and to be still. For God’s people being “still” would involve looking to the Lord for help.

What happens when someone is still mentally and physically?

Exodus 14:13: And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever."

Isaiah 30:15: For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

When we are still, we can trust that God will take care of our situation.

What are some examples from our life today when we do not stay still?

Something happens in the church and we feel we need to rush in and save the day.

Something happens at work, family, school. When we are not still, we are rushed and make the wrong decisions, wrong choices, or do things that we may not be able to change later on, or at least it would be very hard to do so.

James 1:19: So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

In the Bible we have the example of Sarah rushing God’s promise to Abraham. This led to extremely bad consequences.

Genesis 16: 1-2: 1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

James 4:13-17: 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will[a] go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Philippians 4:6-7: 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

2. What does it mean to “know”?

To be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information.

Know – have the information that God is: omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), omnipotent (all-powerful), holy, sovereign, faithful, infinite, and good. Acknowledging God implies that we can trust Him and surrender to His plan because we understand who He is.

How do we know that He is God? By knowing what the Bible says about God.

How does knowing or acknowledging God impact our stillness?

Psalm 46:1: God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Being still and knowing allows God to work in our lives. Did you know that we can stop God from working in our lives? How do we do that? By doing what we should not or not doing what we should. What are some examples?

Know how much God for us:

Romans 8:32: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

3. What does it mean to “be still and know”?

We can’t just “be still” or just “know.” The two need to work together. Why? What happens when we are just “still”? Or when we just “know”?

Mark 4:39: Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Read the verses surrounding this one. What was going on in the disciples' and Jesus’ lives?

Romans 12:2 tells us to "renew our minds" so that we can be still.

Matthew 6:34: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Conclusions

Let us be still and know that God is our Lord. Let us know that He knows and will take care of all our problems, struggles and situations.

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Please note that we are not meeting for Campus Bible Talk over the Christmas Holidays. Our next meeting will be on Monday, January 4, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the Heritage Lounge of Athabasca Hall. May God bless you all over the holiday season!

Running the Races

Running is not my thing.  Oh, I can sprint if I need to, and I run up stairs often, perhaps to my peril.  But I much prefer going for a slow, relaxing walk or playing a soccer game than I do going for a long jog. 

Having said this, though, I admire marathon runners, joggers, and sprint racers.  The amount of hard work they put into these activities is amazing. But not only does a marathon require hard work, it also requires patience.  Whenever I run, many times I ask myself, "When will this end?  I cannot wait to get there so I can rest!"  Runs can take a long time to complete, and hard physical exertion only makes them seem longer.

This is a perfect metaphor for life.  Very rarely is a life goal achieved quickly.  "Get Rich Quick," "Get Your License Tomorrow," "Become Fluent in this Language in Two Weeks," etc. sound too good to be true, don't they?  Real life requires hard work, sweat, tears, and blood (figuratively).  As university students, this is all too familiar to us.  But in the midst of exam time, paper writing, and lab reports, we know in our hearts that our efforts will pay off in the end.  That degree and subsequent career are going to be ours, Lord willing.  We just have to trudge through, endure, and attain them.

The same is true in the Christian walk (or race).  Christianity demands a lot from us.  We need to change bad habits (repent), reevaluate our beliefs from time to time, overcome hurdles in our mindsets, and actively live out our faith.  This is difficult.  Sometimes our convictions will cause us pain.  But that is not the end of the story.  At the end of this hard Christian life is a far better afterlife. 

In more than one instance, the Bible compares the Christian lifestyle to a race.  The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-7 (NIV):

^"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

And the writer of Hebrews says this in the 12th chapter, verses 1-3:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Please note something here.  Note how the Christian race is to be focused on Christ, the "pioneer and perfecter of faith."  Yes, we do need to make godly decisions in our Christian life.  We do need to "put our time in," or as Paul says, to "go into strict training."

But we cannot do it alone.  Our race depends on Jesus, through Whom salvation comes in the first place.  When Paul talked about the Old Testament vs. the New, he said in Romans 9:16: " It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy."  I believe the same can be applied to Christian life.  That is why calling upon God in prayer is so important as we live our faith.

And at the end of the Christian race, remember that a grand prize awaits.  Keep these words in mind as you run with God in your race:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Christian Basar