The Conscious Water Saw Its Master & Blushed

Ravi Zacharius says, “A word is worth a thousand pictures, try to draw this… 

Capturing the beauty of Jesus’ first miracle or sign, the conversion of the water into wine (John 2:1-11), the poet Alexander Pope said, “The conscious water saw its Master and blushed.” That sublime description could be reworked to explain each one of the miracles of Jesus.

Was it any different in principle for a broken body to mend at the command of its Maker? Was it far-fetched for the Creator of the universe, who fashioned matter out of nothing, to multiply bread for the crowd? Was it not within the power of the One who called all the molecules into existence to interlock them that they might bear His footsteps? How could it be inconceivable for God who breathed life in Adam to raise Lazarus? 

Why did Jesus come to Earth before the invention of photography and video? Couldn’t He have reached more people if everyone could see Him? After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Another time, when Christ calmed a storm with the words, “Quiet! Be still,” His stunned disciples asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:39, 41). Later, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the crowd did not praise Him, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Even the rocks know who He is.

John tells us, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory” (John 1:14). Out of that eyewitness experience John also wrote, “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen… He is the Word of life” (1 John 1:1 NLT). Like John, we can use our words to introduce others to Jesus whom wind and water obey.

The seven signs in John’s Gospel record. 

  1. Changing water into wine at Cana in John 2:1-11 – “the first of the signs”
  2. Healing the royal official’s son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54
  3. Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-15
  4. Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14
  5. Jesus walking on water in John 6:16-24
  6. Healing the man blind from birth in John 9:1-7
  7. The raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45

Of course the greatest sign is the resurrection of Jesus on the third day!!

God’s People; a Beautify Tapestry – The Church

We, as God’s people, form a beautify tapestry, called the church.
When we are properly woven together by God as one, we form the tapestry God wants us to be for His Kingdom building purposes. When that happens we will perform like the church and minister to the people who need to hear the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
    • We are all one body, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
    • We each person or part of the body has their function, 1 Corinthians 12:18 & 19, But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?
    • We each have different spiritual gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12–14 & Ephesians 4) to be used for the betterment of the church
    • Each of us has different personalities, skills and abilities that allow us do the work of the Kingdom of God. 

This shows up at Muskoka Bible Centre in our staff. Each of us has different roles and responsibilities, gifts and talents, personalities and quirks. YET, as John Friesen, MBC’s CEO, recently wrote in his email update, “I certainly take my hat off to our team members who have stepped up and created a robust and yet safe environment for our guests this summer, COVID-19 notwithstanding.” John explains more in the rest of his email. An except is below. 

Over the past year we refined our core values that will also be the key principles for growing resiliency among families. I have seen these values lived out by our team members this season as we have experienced rapid and significant changes starting on March 24, 2020 when businesses were declared closed by the provincial government. Here are some brief examples of how these values were lived out by our team:

  • Christ Centred – our team was unflinching in their commitment to trust God and not operate out of a place of fear. The courage I saw demonstrated by each team member was humbling. Even during our ‘lay off’ season our team members met weekly via zoom to encourage one another and pray together.
  • Growing in Grace – each team member had varying responses to the cover pandemic and I saw our team rally together and show grace and love to those who were more sensitive and cautious regarding the risk of infection. I witnessed team members put their needs aside in an effort to focus on doing the best for the guest experience in the midst of difficult circumstances. That is grace.
  • Walking in Unity – when I asked our year round team last week to describe the team experience these past few months, many stated the word ‘unity’. Our team focused on our common mission of blessing our guests and they put aside individual and department needs in deference to the larger group needs.
  • Engaged in Community – the federal wage subsidy allowed us to bring team members back to work but many were asked to do things that were not connected to their normal work. Our office team began to phone our guests from their homes and pray for the families they called. In total, they called more than 1,000 families to encourage and pray for them and ask if there was anything we could do to help. That is ‘community’. We have so many great stories of God’s goodness that came through these connections.
  • Serving Together – this value is continuing to be lived out as so many of our team members, including our summer students, are working in various departments (not necessarily what they originally signed up for) to make the guest experience a great one! So many team members are crossing department lines in their efforts to serve as ‘one’ team.
  • Stewardship – our team is committed to living ‘within our means’. As hard as it was, each team member carried their share of ‘cost cutting’ beginning back in March. They recognized that our end goal is the long term sustainability of this ministry for the Kingdom and they, without grumbling, accepted the measures taken to ensure that could happen. Many offered to volunteer even while they were on layoff or reduced work hours. We have a team that values being faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

I don’t share these things to boast (although I would not be wrong to boast about the great year round and seasonal team God has given us this year). I do this to let you be encouraged as you see our core values lived out amongst our own team. These are the same core values and principles that we want to encourage you to take on as a family. We firmly believe that as we grow in living out these values we will grow in our resiliency to face adversity. And we do know that adversity is coming to the Church in ever increasing measure.

By God’s grace, we can stand together and face the uncertainty of the future and we believe that these basic values can help do that. As a family. As a Church. To the glory of God.

12 Legions of Angels

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night He was betrayed, He said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53.

A Roman Legion at the time of Jesus was 6,000 soldiers and they were  very well trained men. Therefore twelve legions of angels would have been 72,000 angels. And we don’t have any idea more legions He could have called. But Jesus said the Father would give Him more than twelve legions of angels; therefore, you can conclude that there were potentially many additional thousands of angels available to Jesus the night He was arrested!

What would be the combined strength in this number of angels? Angels are powerful! In fact, Isaiah records that a single angel obliterated 185,000 men in one night. So if a single angel had that kind of power, how much combined strength would there be in twelve legions of angels? “And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” Isaiah 37:36

Since a single angel was able to obliterate 185,000 men in one night, it would mean the combined strength in a legion of 6,000 angels would be enough to destroy 1,110,000,000 men (that is, one billion, one hundred ten million men) — and that’s just the combined power in one legion of angels!

Now let’s multiply this same number 185,000 by twelve legions, or at least 72,000 angels. Doing the math tells me that the strength at Jesus’ disposal to have annihilated at least 13,320,000,000 men (that is, thirteen billion, three hundred twenty million men) — which is more than twice the number of people living on earth!

Jesus didn’t need Peter’s sword to defend Him in Gethsemane. Had He chosen to do so, Jesus could have summoned 72,000 magnificent, mighty, dazzling, glorious, overwhelmingly powerful angels to the Garden of Gethsemane to obliterate the Roman soldiers and the temple police who had come to arrest Him. In fact, the combined strength in twelve legions of angels could have wiped out the entire human race! But Jesus didn’t call on the supernatural help that was available to Him, because He knew it was time for Him to voluntarily lay down His life for the sin of the human race.

It is certainly obvious that there was no human force on earth strong enough to take Jesus against His will. The only way He was going to be taken was if He allowed Himself to be taken! This is why He later told Pilate, “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11).

How To Get Ahead By Being Meek…

How to get ahead by being meek. Meek? Really? Yes indeed!

What is meekness? Meekness often describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won’t speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly. A meek person can also be humble, but these words aren’t quite synonyms. By this definition a person seems unlikely to succeed. I think the meaning has changed over time. 

BUT, a biblical definition of meekness would be an attribute of human nature and behaviour defined by righteous, humility, teachable, patient under suffering, long suffering, willing to follow the gospel teachings; an attribute of a true disciple. This definition makes much greater sense in the light of Jesus’ teaching. Meekness is strength under control. 

In the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:5, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The saying implies that those who forgo worldly power will be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven. 

Also consider the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (meekness) and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 

A spiritually meek person is not self-willed – not continually concerned with his own ways, ideas and wishes. They are willing to put themselves in second place and submit themselves to achieve what is good for others. Meekness is therefore the antithesis of self-will, self-interest, and self-assertiveness.

How then do you get ahead by being meek? You start by recognizing that “It’s not about you!”  Focus on others. Build them up. Show them kindness, demonstrate love, forgive, honour, live in harmony, encourage, serve, be loyal, don’t judge, be kind, be patient, be compassionate, be gentle & humble, show hospitality, live in peace, don’t grumble, and not least, pray for others. (These are all part of the “One Another” verses in the Bible).

By doing these things you will succeed. In becoming more like Christ. And you’ll be a better friend, husband, wife, dad, mom, child, brother, sister or grandparent. 

Are YOU a New Creation?

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When a contractor starts to build a new house on new land, he has to first create a way to get in all the materials and equipment and people needed to build the house. The way in (or driveway) is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then the contractor has to remove all the stuff in the way of the new build including trees, stumps, rocks, shrubs, grass, the top soil and everything else he finds in the way of the new house. For us this might mean old habits that we want to change to be more like Jesus. Or old ways of thinking, attitudes, sins we like, people we follow, what we do and say, etc. This process is our becoming more like Jesus (sanctification).

If there is an old structure in the way it must be torn down to make way for the new one. A new foundation must be dug out, strong reinforced concrete walls must be formed before anyone can build above ground to create the place where a family will live. Walls, windows, doors, and a roof. These are all put into place as protectors of the people who will live in the house. These include spiritual formations that build us up in Christ; Bible reading, attending church, small group Bible study, service to people for the King and reaching out to others with the good news of the Gospel. 

We’re not talking about a renovation like what you might see on The Property Brothers or Fixer Upper or Island of Bryan or Mike Holmes (shows that I enjoy). It’s not about some new paint or move a wall or strengthening the floor or new cabinets or furnishings. What we’re taking about is a total demolition of the old person you were before coming to Christ and a new build into Christlikeness. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22 & 23. 

Be NEW in Christ!! 

Drift to Destruction

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” D.A. Carson

The prophet Amos confronted the rulers of his day with some very savvy object lessons. He masterfully made points with pictures of locust, fire, fruit baskets, and my favorite – the plumb line.

A plumb line is a long cord, weighted with a bob. As masons erect tall buildings, the plumb line ensures that the walls do not drift away from vertical. The plumb line is absolute, and the bricks must align with it to stay straight, strong.

Amos preached to Israel several years before the Assyrian annihilation. This vision came to him: “The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer .” (Amos 7:7-8)

Israel started out true to plumb with all the stability and strength that accompanies great craftsmanship. But now the wall leaned out of alignment becoming vulnerable to collapse. People, families, businesses, churches, and countries can drift dangerously away from plumb. Realign with God’s design and stay safe, and strong.

Dan Bolin
President
Refueling in Flight Ministries

Doer Means MORE Than Do

You’ve heard it before. You’ve maybe even said it to others. But have YOU taken theses words to heart?

James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. Becoming a doer, contains more than just the meaning of doing. Becoming a doer includes mean becoming being a poet, an artist, a maker, a carrier, a performer of the Word-a righteous act. Also note that it’s a verb and it requires action, not just mental ascent to the idea of becoming a doer. We all know Nike’s famous slogan, “Just do it!”. 

But, it’s not just about doing stuff. It’s about how we do it, why we do it. It’s about doing the right thing in the right way for the right purpose. 

  • Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
  • Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
  • You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 & Matthew 22:37
  • Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
  • Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
  • I Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
  • James 1:19-25 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James continues to describe what the life of genuine, trusting, saving faith looks like. How do people who truly trust God the Father live from day to day? James makes it clear that those who trust God don’t merely become experts at listening to God’s Word. To believe is to act on what we hear.

As the previous verse stated, we are definitely called to accept the Word. We should accept it in our minds, and agree to it in our hearts. Those who believe, stop talking long enough to listen (James 1:19). They take the time to hear and understand. But the faithful don’t stop there. Faith in Christ is not just the map; it’s the actual journey. Merely nodding our heads at the Word is not enough—we need to do what the Word tells us to do. We need to figure out which way God wants us to go, and then actually go that way.

If we don’t, we demonstrate that we don’t truly trust the Father, at least not in that moment.

The Best of Times

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That certainly applies to the past few months. Friends have grumbled about being cooped up at home but also enjoyed uninterrupted family time. Some have complained about their loss of work but were happy to finish overdue home projects.

Life is filled with ups and downs; good days and bad days are often the same days! In the best of times we may feel confident and capable with no need for God. In the worst of times we may feel frustrated, angry, and alone. Where is God when we need him?

David knew a little about the highs and lows of life and God’s presence in both. He said, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” (Psalm 139:8)

Life can never be so good that we do not need God. And life can never be so bad that He abandons us. His love flows from who He is and is not based upon our success or failure. Whether you are walking through the best or the worst of times, remember to stay close to God. His Word tells us He always stays near to us.

Dan Bolin
President
Refueling in Flight

Widji turns 51 & 90 in 2020

arcadia lodge
Arcadia Lodge, Mary Lake

Whether you spell it Widji or Widjii, did you know that Camp Widjiitiwin turns both 51 and 90 this year? Our history goes back to Muskoka Baptist Camp (now Muskoka Bible Centre) that was created in 1930 so that youth and young adults would have a place to hear the Word of God preached faithfully. That’s our 90th anniversary.

We also have a 51st anniversary because those campers from the early years grew up and MBC became a conference centre for families that in turn, started a youth camp in 1969. And it was then that Camp Widjiitiwin was created. Fifty-one is a good age to be!

The first home for Widji was across and down the river from our current site on the land of the former Arcadia Lodge (picture above at right). It was 4.5 acres of fun!

In 1973, a group of individuals provided funding to purchase the 26 acres of the current Camp Widjiitiwin. The dining and chapel hall consisted of three army tents joined together with a sand floor. The original cabins were built in 1979. The current Tub and Tubbette served as washrooms until the current ones were built in the 90’s and those building became staff accommodations. The Longhouse was built in 1984 and serves for both dining hall and chapel. (Side note, the main stove is from 1964, the dishwasher from 1978 and the original water heaters from 1976! WOW, they have served us well and are soon to be upgraded.)

The camp committee was inspired to name the camp Widjiitiwin because of the inclusive nature of Indigenous cultures in Canada, and to pay respect to the original inhabitants of the area where Camp Widjiitiwin is located. Widjiitiwin is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) word for fellowship.

In this, our 90th year, we had to cancel our summer on site programs and move them to online and camp-in-a-box in order to keep our ministry going and impacting the lives of camper, staff and partners. It was one of the hardest decision we have ever had to make. We were heart broken to have to tell 600 plus campers, 50 plus staff, Ignite partners, donors, alumni and camp pastors, that they would not be spending their summer at Widji. 

Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” God has built this ministry and used many faithful available people to do it. He has sustained MBC/Widji over these 90 years and we pray He will continue to provide for us as we look forward to a great summer of camp in 2021. We ask and invite you to pray with and for us though this season of uncertainly.

Celebrate with us! – Camp Widjiitiwin – the way camp was meant to be… relational, central, natural, reaching out, a loving community focused on Christ. It’s like coming home! It’s my camp!

Highs, Lows and Plateaus

We’ve all gone through highs, lows and plateaus in our spiritual lives. Sometimes all in the same week. The highs of a well lead Bible study or an amazing service of praise to God or knowing you have had influence in someone becoming a Christian. The lows of pain or illness or hurt or injustice or the death of a loved one. And plateaus of just standing still, not growing, Bible on a shelf or ignoring God.

We need to set behind us the successes and the failures of the past so that we don’t dwell on our own actions, but rather on what Christ has done for us. We have not yet arrived and we need to press on to become more like Christ. 

Paul says it so well in Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

I heard it somewhere and have said it before that we have three stages on our seeking God. Discipline, desire and delight. 

  • My pastor Darrell said, “discipline is a momentum of habit“. It takes work. You need a plan. Life is SO busy that you can’t just happen into it. You need something that triggers a response in you. They say a habit takes 21 days to form. But you don’t want to! My friend Tim says, “it’s easier to act you way into a new way of feeling than feel your way into a new way of acting“. 
  • Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. This second step is more than discipline. We want to learn and grow
  • Desire comes less often for me. 

Wherever you are on that journey with Jesus, there’s room for growth! If the Apostle Paul had room for growth, so do we all. Keep growing in your faith in Jesus Christ!