Good News!

I had some good news yesterday. We have had someone new join our church family a couple of months back, and he has been soaking everything in that I have preached over these last few months. He has been embraced by the family and has been accepted as one of us. He has a group of friends now and spends time regularly with them.
Well yesterday we had communion together as a church family. The last time he refrained because he understood what communion meant, the importance of being a follower of Jesus. Well yesterday I asked him if he wanted to participate and he nodded his head yes. He took communion. Afterwards, he told me that he finally understood and said his life was changed. He credited me for his change, and I quickly said it was God which he agreed with, but he credited the attitude of the church for changing his life. And I said, "Welcome to the Family".

Now he had already been embraced by the congregation, but no one had ever pressured him to change or accept Jesus. He was able to belong, without feeling like he had to sign a membership card. He found Jesus by the love we expressed towards him as His followers. He also heard the message preached regularly. He saw the family of God living out the Kingdom before his very eyes. Now comes living out that change in his daily life.

Yesterday, I talked about the Gospel is and always will be Good News. It's news that people really can use. And this time of year especially, is a time where people need some good news. We can't forget how important it is that people see the Good News of Jesus Christ being lived out in our lives.

 I shouldn't be surprised, but I still am when I see people wake up to that Good News of Jesus Christ. It's also an affirmation to me that our church is on the right track, spreading His Good News and seeing God change people one life at a time. I hope I never lose that spark when I see God work.

Praise the Lord!!

Real life has no expiry date

I have been a little overwhelmed of late. In my circle of friends I have seen three people pass away inside of a week. Now admittedly, they were all seniors and had lived a full life, but it still gives me pause. Physical life as we know it, has an expiry date. we may not know when that is, but all of us are like a container of yogurt, we have a date stamped on each of us.
But, I am incredibly thankful for my relationship with God. Thanks to what Jesus Christ did for me, by dying on the cross for my sin, my expiry date gets wiped away. now that doesn't mean my physical life won't end, it will. But what it does mean, is that I have an eternal date stamp that will allow me to spend eternity in paradise. 2 Corinthians 5:1 says, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."
My hope lies in knowing there is something beyond this, and by Jesus' stripes I can access Heaven today and change my time-stamp. It'never too late to change yours.

Mistaken Identity

I was at a meeting last night and one of the attendees asked if the myspace page he saw was mine. The Mark Noonan in question seemed to be talking about the benefit of guns. I assured him, no that wasn't me, although i may find guns more beneficial when my daughters begin to date a few years down the road (ha-ha).

Other than on a computer, I haven't really even been mistaken for someone else. In younger days, I may have jokingly said I wish I was mistaken for someone famous or rich, or somehow create a false identity like Michael J. Fox's character in the movie, "Secret of my Success", but it's never been a real desire.

Now having said all of that as an adult, I have strived with some purpose to be mistaken for someone else. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 3, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (verses 26-28 NIV translation)

As a follower of Jesus, Paul tells me I am clothed in Christ, which in my thinking means I resemble Christ. I remember back in the 80's being infatuated with the TV show Miami Vice. I wanted so much to be like Don Johnson's character Sonny Crocket. I even went to the point of trying to dress like him. I won't dress like Jesus, because they wore different clothing in Biblical times, but I do want to resemble him in other ways. I want people to mistake me for Jesus in the things I say and the things I do. Obviously, the only way for me to do that well is if I am staying close to Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with Mark Noonan, but I think my life has infinite more value and purpose if people can see me as Jesus. Like Paul if I can be all things to all people, some may be transformed by the likeness to Jesus.

The God Hat

I was watching a science show that wanted to answer the question of God. Scientists from around the world were asking themselves if God existed from their particular field. Some were for the existence of God and some weren't. There was a mathematician who was trying to discover the overarching theory that would answer everything. This mathematical theory could possibly tie everything in the universe together. And then there was this neuro-scientist who created this helmet that could stimulate a certain part of the brain and make you think you were having some sort of spiritual experience. You would sense within yourself to be in the presence of someone else in this tiny enclosed room. The scientist went on to say if you had this experience in a church or mosque or synagogue and so forth how would you treat it then? You would likely think you are in the presence of the divine.

I'll admit this guy caught me off guard. I very briefly questioned my own journey and if i somehow made myself think it happened. And then I remembered quite happily that Jesus did actually come to earth. He did perform those miracles, he did rise from the dead, and he said he would send the Holy Spirit after he left. So this guy can make our brains trick itself. It still doesn't negate all that God has done throughout our human history. It also encourages me to know that God continues to work in our present and future too.

The joys and sorrows of daily life.

Today has not been an ideal day. I woke up wondering what the day would hold and so far it hasn't been anything wonderful. I am having trouble with email, it won't work at all. I am keeping kids apart while trying to work, and am generally feeling frustrated.

Surprisingly enough, I was preparing a lesson about winning and losing in the game of life. And there isn't anything in scripture that says life will be easy, that as a follower of Jesus you will win all the time. it seems to be the opposite in fact. 2 Corinthians 1 talks about when we are weighed down with troubles and trials God bring us His comfort to help us through.

I have to admit, I wish life would go more smoothly than it does. Not that it's all bad. I think the worst of it is the mental fatigue it can bring. Sometimes I am not very good at letting go. Thank God He doesn't let go of us either. I think unloading our frustrations at the Father's feet might be a good place to start, and then look at his promises in scripture to be with us, and help us through to the other side of the situation is a good second.

A New Day

It's Monday morning, and I am ready for the week, sort of. I was thinking about my experiences recently from my time in Calgary. I spent a week at the beginning of June for our District Assembly, basically our Annual meeting for our region. It was quite full, but I think it was good overall.

Our District Superintendent, Dr. Dahl, shared some history of the Church of the Nazarene in Western Canada, and he gave a list of communities that used to have a Church of the Nazarene, but now no longer do. I was amazed at how long that list was. I have a bug in me to start new things, so when he spoke of trying to start new works in these areas again, I was intrigued. He asked the Assembly to pray for an area and to pray for God to move people to be part of this new movement. So I said I would pray for Southern Alberta.

I look around me, and all I see is potential. There are communities all around Lethbridge that could use more of God's Kingdom. I don't neccesarily mean they need another church, although as people are changed by the Gospel, they will naturally gather together. So I am praying. I am praying for God to speak to someone else about this dream, and asking Him to raise someone and bring him/her into my midst who would want to go to a new community and start something. I am also praying that God would do something in our faith community that would stir us to boldness and action.

If you read this and something speaks to you, contact me. I believe God has someone already who will join me in this charge. Pray with me that God's Kingdom would come here in Southern Alberta, like it did before.

Birthday Cake or God

Hey all,
It's been a while since I blogged. I got locked out of my other one, so I created a new one. I also entitled it Mark's Meanderings. Catchy eh? Anyway, i realized I still have a few things to say so I am starting fresh.

Last night I had a visit from the Almighty (yes, I mean God). I didn't sleep well, and admittedly it could have been from the birthday cake I had from my son's birthday on Sunday, but I had an epiphany. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I knew who my neighbours were. Now that doesn't sound earth shattering I know, but what struck me was that God gave them to me to pray for and befriend.

In the Church we talk about the need to see the world rescued by God and yet we as His followers fall short of His mission. Now, it isn't up to us to choose whether the person accepts God's message or not. It isn't even up to us to push it on someone. We are just there to plant seeds and love people the way God wants us to. It's up to God to make that seed grow into something beautiful for Him.

Now that may all sound rather common-sensical, but when God speaks to you in the middle of the night and says to pray and enlist others to join you, I think you better listen!