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Jul
29
10 comments
Christian Life
In about one month, my daughter will have her 4th birthday. I fear for her. My son is rapidly approaching the age of 6, and I certainly fear for him as well. I fear for their purity in a world that sees young ladies as eye candy instead of image-bearers of the living God. Whether from apathy or shame, the issue of modesty and appropriate attire does not appear to be a popular topic within the church, even those who hold to reformed doctrines. It's not hard to see why - few things are as messy to discuss as issues related to sexuality, especially when the discussion involves revealing one's own temptations. Sure, it's easy to discuss being tempted by money, nice stuff, even fear of witnessing - somehow those sins are expected and the understanding is that everyone can identify with the struggle. They almost seem harmless because of their commonality. Yet one of the most common struggles receives very little discussion. Temptations of a sexual nature are most often viewed as a male struggle, something that men who watched too much porn in high school deal with personally or in small accountability groups, and certainly not suited for public discussion. Add to this the natural reaction to ultra-legalists who would mandate every hemline, neckline and fabric choice, and you wind up with generations of young people untaught on the subject of modesty, to the peril and shame of the church. Even one excellent sermon on modesty can't be expected to affect wholesale changes overnight. Where are the older women who are called to faithfully instruct the younger ladies? Where are the dads who are willing to make unpopular decisions about their daughters' wardrobes to protect their purity? Where are the young (and older!) men who are willing to discuss the effect of their female friends' outfits on the purity of their thoughts? Perhaps worst of all, why are people who do seek to address modesty often scorned within the church? It saddens me greatly to view pictures from mission trips to warm climates, or photos from a cottage vacations, and see believing young women revealing their bodies to the world in a way that so closely mirrors the world that there is no distinction. I'm not suggesting a uniform in the style of the mormons or muslims - remember, Jesus hated legalism too! But I fail to see how parading around in a bikini within view of men who are not your husband serves to advance the gospel of Christ. So (for the 3 people who read this blog), I want to open the floor to the discussion of modesty. Understanding that: The bible does not mandate hemlines & necklines Fabric choice can matter just as matter just as much as the cut or style How we dress - especially for women - significantly impacts our ability to share and display the gospel Modesty is less about "covering up" and more about living in a manner that reveals Christ to the world Trying to find modest yet stylish clothing for women is an arduous task not to be taken lightly Modesty is not just an issue for young ladies and their summer clothing, but also for women of all ages Being a little bit better than the world is not our standard - Christ is I want to hear your thoughts on the importance of modesty. How can we create a culture of modesty within the church? How can we change the hearts of the current young generations, and how does their general lack of modesty point to failings in the older generations? Guys: have you ever been distracted in your worship at church by some short-shorts or had to look away when a Mom bent at the waist to pick up a child? How do we address these issues with the people involved without coming across as a lecherous pervert? Perhaps the anonymous nature of commenting on a blog will take some of the fear out of the discussion and allow a better dialogue. I think we ignore this issue to the harm of our daughters, wives and sisters, and to the detriment of our witness to a fallen world.
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Nov
06
0 comments
Ryan
According to Variety, one of my favourite actresses is set to star in a film about a condition I know a little something about:   Milla Jovovich will star in writer-director Julien Magnat's psychological thriller "Faces in the Crowd" for Forecast Pictures, Radar Films and Minds Eye Entertainment. Story centers on a woman who barely survives an attack by a serial killer and wakes up in hospital with a head injury that leaves her "face-blind." No longer able to recognize faces, she must navigate a world in which facial features change each time she loses sight of them. All the while the killer is closing in, determined to eliminate the potential witness. [The screenplay] deals with the real-life neurological disorder called prosopagnosia.   I am really looking forward to seeing how they attempt to reproduce the experience of face-blindness in a way that those without prosopagnosia can understand. Recognizing faces is such an inherently natural ability for most people that they can't even form a conception of the problem. Unlike colour-blindness, which we can all understand having seen black and white photos and TVs, face-blindness is very hard to reproduce. How do you visually portray a lack of detail? Last season (or 2 years ago?) an episode of House MD dealt with prosopagnosia by blurring the enter face, which conveys the effect, but not the experience of face-blindness. It's not that we don't see the facial details ... it's just that we can't retain them well, especially in varying contexts. Filming on this project starts in March, so we likely won't see "Face In The Crowd" until 2011. So to speak...
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Oct
02
1 comment
Ryan
Last night Wesley and I got to go to the Maple Leafs home opener. If you're a hockey fan or live anywhere near Toronto, you understand that these tickets are impossible to get. Often, it's not even a question of money but availability when it comes to high profile games like the home opener, especially against the hated Montréal Canadiens. In this case, we received the tickets as a gift from my Dad's boss.We had an awesome time, and Wesley consumed far more junk food than I ever would've thought physically possible for a boy of his size. For most of the night he was bold and outgoing, cheering loudly talking to people and making his way through crowds without fear.As we consider the special nature of this gift, I took the time to remind Wesley of the most important and most precious gift that we've ever received. The grace of God made available through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of an awesome gift. Worth far more than we could ever hope to earn or pay, it was a gift given in love with the goal of instilling delight in the goodness of the giver and the goodness of the gift.I was surprised and delighted (and humbled!) when Wesley became quiet for a while on the subway on the way to the game and then with concerned look on his face turned to me and said, "Daddy, these people on the train don't know Jesus!" How incredible that where I saw strangers, stereotypes and potential dangers, Wesley saw a large group of people who are in need of a Saviour.
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Sep
21

That You May Be Feared

This morning, I sat down with the intention of reading Psalm 127. As with any compelling text it was hard to put the book down and before long I was at Psalm 130. While I've read this often often enough before, verse 4 stood out for me in light of recent conversations with non-Christians.

When asked about their sin, many people from various religious backgrounds will tell you that they expect God to just forgive their sins. This forgiveness might come from good works, ritualistic religion, or the belief that God is love and we're all headed for some cosmic group hug.

 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
 4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

Psalm 130

The problem with this attitude of assumed forgiveness is there is no fear. There is none of the healthy and God-honouring respectful fear that should be present when confronted with the almighty and perfectly holy God.

With the God of the bible, there is forgiveness in spades - bountiful forgiveness available to any who would repent and believe. But this forgiveness does not come cheaply, but cost the blood of Jesus, God's own Son. To lazily presume upon that forgiveness is to reject the fear that is the beginning of wisdom, and dishonour the holiness of God - and ultimately, to miss out on that forgiveness.

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Sep
21

Answered Prayer

Like most Christians, I think, I find it very easy to come to God each day with a laundry list of requests. However, I know I'm guilty of not often enough reflecting on the ways that God answers prayer.

This morning I was opening my notebook to write out a list of Pros & Cons for an important decision I needed to pray about. I flipped to the back of the book and found a bullet point list of prayer requests Id written down from the week of Sept 14-20, 2008. Reading through that list was a good reminder to me of where our family was a year ago, what was on our minds, and of all the ways the Lord has answered these requests throughout the last year. I can happily report that He has been completely faithful and met every need.

Here are a few highlights:

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Jun
30

Sister, Show Mercy

It has been on my mind for a few weeks to dig up an old post on Christian modesty that takes the clothing issue beyond "Is it pretty?" and asks: "Is it helpful, or is it hurtful, to my brothers in Christ?" In my mind I had incorrectly attributed authorship to Paul Martin, so it wasn't until I expanded my search that I found the article was actually published on the Pyromaniacs blog. Annually. Ya - I'm out of the loop. Deal with it :)

 

While I strongly recommend reading the entire article, "Sister, Show Mercy!," here are a couple of quotes: 

Sister, if there's one thing you and I can certainly agree on, it's this: I don't know what it's like to be a woman, and you don't know what it's like to be a man. We're both probably wrong where we're sure we're right, try as we might. So let me try to dart a telegram from my camp over to the distaff side.

and

This is... church? So here comes this brother into the assembly of the saints, hoping for a rest from the battles of the week, a moment to regroup, sing, pray, get the Word, fellowship. He looks up to the choir, or to his left or his right — and in a tick of the clock, he's facing the same struggle he faced every time he turned on his TV, opened a magazine, or went down a city street. He's seeing things that make it far too easy for him not to keep his mind focused where it needs to be focused.

 

Dan Phillips does an excellent job of treading the line between excusing men from accountability for our thoughts and giving women the freedom to freely display all the assets God has blessed them with. 

My beloved GFC is not immune to this problem, and while I doubt there is malicious intent, I am certain there is a lack of consideration. Since Dan is a much more gifted author than I, I will leave you to read the entire piece.

Bonus: Just in case the you need a little more provocation, be sure to read through the comments from previous years!

 

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Jun
30

Eager Anticipation

There are few better things in life than being greeted joyfully by your kids. Most mornings I can expect to see a very excited pair of brown eyes peeking over the child gate and bouncing with anticipation as I come down the hall. Each day as I come home from work I am attacked by two pint-sized blurs desiring hugs and smooches, who are simultaneously trying to talk over each other to tell me about their activities of the day. 

One more than one occasion last week Janis and I were out for evening activities and we relied on babysitters to watch over our kids. The LORD has blessed our church family with many amazing young ladies, single and married, who are very willing to serve families in this way. A strange thing happens, though, on the mornings after Mom & Dad have been away. 

Rather than waking up and calling for or seeking out Mom and Dad, it's not unusual to hear cries of: "April?" or "Caroline?" or "Cora?" or "Jill?" coming from the back of the house. On those mornings our kids are not desiring their parents - sometimes they are even a little disappointed when we come into view.

The usual eager anticipation of seeing Mom and Dad has often reminded me of how the church is supposed to eagerly await the return of Jesus. But I wonder, too, how often do we get distracted by the temporary things God has given for us to enjoy in the moment, that we lose focus on Christ? How often are we like me children who wake with their minds still on the last night's fun with an awesome yet temporary babysitter instead of the parents who love and provide for them daily?

So, Church of God ... what's on your mind this morning? Are you (we) thinking more of the temporary than of the fulfillment and the sustainer? If told that Christ were returning at this moment, would we rejoice wholeheartedly or would you feel even a little disappointment at some earthly thing left undone?

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