You thing YOU have problems...One of the things about being a minister and chaplain is that people entrust information with you that you normally wouldn't hear at parties. Some are very personal, others are just...odd. Then again, when I think back to my life experiences and some of the choices I made (and some that were made for me), I have to stop and ask myself "Was I any different?" I think the answer is an unqualified no.
Religious people get themselves into trouble when they look down their noses at others that aren't walking or talking the way they think they should. We can all fall into this category if we're not careful. When I hear some of the things I hear, often my first reaction is "What is WRONG with people?!" Whenever I start to think like somehow I'm the only normal one in the world, I have people (like my wife) that remind me that I'm still a card-carrying member of "team-idiot". We're all members of this team, we just think we're not. Some of us mature in our normal fallen states and because of this, along with an abundance of stupid decisions made over a lifetime, we can call ourselves 'wise' and pat ourselves on the back for making it through life and can now pass this 'wisdom' off to the next generation that won't listen either. For those of us that are fortunate enough to be a member of God's chosen sheep and are in the process of being sanctified by Him, we too can look back on our previous lives and see how utterly foolish we were, and that by God's grace alone were we able to live through some of the oddities we were guilty of, and can now use this to build up the Kingdom of God, not glorifying ourselves, but glorifying Him.
When we become Christians, God gives us a heart of flesh, and replaces our heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26) which enables us to see God for who He is, and wonderful His ways are, allowing us to love His Law (Psalm 119:97). When I hear some of the worldly wisdom today I cannot help but shake my head. Would it do any good to argue with them? Most definitely not, they don't see the world with the same eyes as I do as a Christian. Yet I can say that once upon a time I would've been in complete agreement with them previous to my conversion. What the world needs most definitively is the gospel. People need to be transformed by the power of God so that they too can come to understand the difference between His ways and our ways (Isaiah 55:9).
Some days it's hard ministering to people. Some are hurting from past sins, some have lived hard lives, some are searching for something they will never find. Many bury their hurt, their sin, their emotions, and plod on like good soldiers with a weight they were never meant to carry. The saddest part is that apart from the gospel, these hurts will never go away, they will never be truly free of them, they will only learn to cope so they can continue to function in a 'normal' way and life. They will continue to see the cross and Christ crucified as 'foolish', yet cannot see the ways of destruction they are currently on. Pray for lost people, pray for hurting people, pray for the sheep, that they would minister to a lost and hurting world instead of snubbing our noses at them.
HCRBC is preparing for our church meetings, beginning in August in our home, then moving into Spray Lakes Sawmills Recreation Centre in September. We will have time for fellowship from 10-10:30, our services will start at 10:30 and end around noon. If you are interested in joining us, drop us a line or email. Our website is almost complete with a sample of sermon given in Canmore of March last year. When the sight is up I will announce it here.
God bless.
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