2005: My Year In Review

As a new year approaches, I feel that it is time that I stood back and reflected on this past year. I am not a man who believes in New Year's resolutions; if you want to change something about yourself, why should you wait until a new year? I call it procrastination. Anyways, here are are some of the important things that happened to me this year, for anyone who cares.

This past year has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for me, as I have endured both some of the toughest periods of my life and some of the greatest moments of my life. It was just over a year ago that my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and thus began the toughest 6 months of my life. Diseases like cancer are something that always happen to "other people", until someone you know gets it, and then reality hits. It was a rough time for my entire family, but I thank God that my mom has experienced a complete recovery, as she finished up the last of her treatments in May. Through it all, I was taught what it means to have to rely on God, and He didn't disappoint. After the initial shock, God just filled me with such a great sense of peace that I didn't worry a lot about the situation, but it was still far from easy. I also learned that our plans are not necessarily God's plans, and that He can intervene whenever He pleases.

After that, things began looking up for me. I got a job at the golf course in May, which was like a dream come true. What more could I ask for than to be paid for being at what has become my second home over the summer? Some of my best memories of the summer are of times spent on the golf course with good friends, and fun with golf carts. I am proud to say that I have never hit a golf ball INTO the pro-shop (cough, Nippard, cough, cough). I also spent two awesome weeks at Belle View, one as a counselor and the other as a proud member of Cabin 6, which is perhaps the largest cabin camp has ever seen.

Towards the end of the summer, my dad announced his resignation after 18 years serving as pastor of our church. This came as a huge shock to me, as Cold Lake is the only home that I have ever known. But its now so bad for me, as I will be living in Calgary come September.

I almost forgot. This spring I graduated from high school! The downside is that I have now entered the real world, and am now working full-time at National Oilwell here in town. To me it still seems strange to technically be considered an adult, as I am not sure that I like this thing called work. Then in October, something happened that I had been waiting over an entire year for...HOCKEY CAME BACK!!!!! Anyways thats some of the important things that happened to me this past year. Sorry if I bored you, but if you were bored enough, you wouldn't have read this far. Happy New Year!

I Just Wanna Be A Sheep...

Lately I've been thinking about sheep. I know this may sound a little odd, but hear me out. To me sheep seem to be a very stupid and helpless animal. Without the guidance of a shepherd or sheepdog, I don't know if they would ever be able to find suitable pastures to eat. They are completely unable to defend themselves against predators, although I'm told that they smell extremely bad, which may act as a sort of defense. For all intents and purposes, sheep appear to be useless creatures when left to themselves without a shepherd or a sheepdog to guide and protect them. You may be starting to figure out where I am going with this, but if not, I will explain myself.

In the Bible, it says that "We are his people, the sheep of His pasture." (Psalm 100:3) At first glance, it would appear somewhat insulting to be compared to an animal of such seemingly low intelligence. But upon closer examination, I believe that it paints a very comforting and reassuring picture of our Creator. You see, like sheep, we as Christians must rely on Someone else to guide and protect us throughout our entire lives. Jesus himself said "I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father- and I lay down my life for my sheep." (John 10:14-15) Who better to look after us than the One who knows us completely? Like sheep, we are unable to live life on our own, and it is only through the guidance of the Good Shepherd that we can find fulfillment and contentment.

Psalm 23 beautifully describes this relationship between the Good Shepherd and His sheep:

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside

quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his

name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear

no evil,

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

What I like about this passage is that it shows that we do not need to worry about our future, because is all in God's hands and He will "guide us in paths of righteousness". Because of His presence, we are even able to eat in the sight of our enemies without fear. Like sheep, we are able to completely trust and rely on our Shepherd to guide us through life. In a world where everybody wants to be in control of their own destiny, I find comfort in the fact that I do not have to worry about it, as it is in the hands of One far greater than I.

The Fear Of God

The other day I stumbled across the following passage as I was having my daily devotions:

"You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before You when You are angry? From heaven You pronounced judgement, and the land feared and was quiet- when You, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely Your wrath against men brings You praise, and the survivors of Your wrath are restrained. Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth." (Psalm 76:7-12, emphasis added)

This really got me thinking about whether we in today's society truly have a fear of God. How many times have we been told that to fear God really just means to have a healthy respect for Him, not to actually fear Him? Looking back through the Old Testament, it would appear, that at least at times, the people truly feared God and what He was capable of. I think of the plagues in Egypt, the Flood, and Sodom and Gommorah, and believe that events like these were more than enough to instill a certain fear of God in people. When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."(Genesis 22) Could it be that Abraham feared God enough that the loss of his son paled in comparison to the consequences that disobedience to God would bring? Whenever angels, who are merely created beings who serve in the presence of God, appeared to people, they were almost always terrified (Mary, shepherds, women at Jesus' tomb). How much more terrified would they be of God Himself?

I am not by any means suggesting that our actions should be motivated out of fear; I wholly believe that our actions should be motivated out of our love for God and our love for others. However, it does appear to me that we are missing something when it comes to the fear of God. How many of us can actually say that we have been in fear of God? We have felt many emotions directed at God, but fear? I think that part of the problem lies in the advances of science and technology in this day and age. We no longer view natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, as an act of God, but simply as extreme weather phenomena with reasonable scientific explanations. In our attempts to find an explanation for everything, we often leave God, the Creator of all life, out of the picture. It is much harder to fear something when there is a reasonable explanation for it. I do not know what it would look like to live in fear of God, or even how to learn to fear God. However, it does appear that there is a key ingredient missing from our faith, and that is a fear of God. How many of us attempt to justify our sins by telling ourselves that we can just ask for forgiveness after the fact, because God is a loving God. A fear of God might make us think twice before falling into these sins. Maybe I'm missing the point, but these are simply just some of the thoughts that have been rolling around my head these last couple of days. I gladly welcome any insight into this subject, since it is a topic about which I have little or no understanding.
Until next time,
Tyler

Running On Faith

Lately I've been pondering the topic of faith, and how it affects my life. As I begin to plan for my future, I wonder if I have enough faith to fully trust that God has a perfect plan for my life, because right now, I have no idea what my future holds. While many of my friends are off at university preparing for their future careers, I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up (as we used to say as kids, although I still don't feel grown up). This is where faith comes in. Jermiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Yet, while I know this to be true, there is a part of me that still doubts, because I cannot foresee these plans, or even control them. I am the kind of person who likes to have a definite answer for everything, and I cannot stand uncertainty.

Then, at the Ripple Effect, Pastor Shawn pointed out that faith includes both certainty and uncertainty, and that really hit home. He then illustrated his point with the stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3) and of Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). I realized that just because I am uncertain about something, it doesn't necessarily mean that I am lacking faith. I like an analogy that I found in the book The Barbarian Way, by Erwin McManus. In short, it says that a rhino has such poor vision, that it can only see thirty feet in front of its own nose. It has no idea what lies at thirty-one feet, yet that does not stop it from charging ahead. He then goes on to say that as Christians, this is how we should live our lives; trusting God's guidance and following His direction every moment, even if we are unable to see where it may lead us.

This fits in with what Jesus said in Mark 10:15: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." A child is able to trust people completely when they tell them to do or not to do something, knowing that there must be a reason for every rule. They are content, at least at a younger age, to simply accept the facts without questioning why. They do not comprehend the possible consequences of disobedience, but follow their parents instructions never the less. It is this kind of child-like faith that I desire in my own life, being able to completely trust in God's word, never having any shred of doubt. I think that Jars of Clay summarizes these ideas in their song Like A Child, which read:

They say that I can move the mountains

And send them falling to the sea

They say that I can walk on water

If I would follow and believe

With faith like a child

And with that I will leave you.