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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Homecoming
Dear Ones,
The LAMP community is mourning the loss of Rev. Steve Dreher, who went to be home with his Lord on Thursday, November 10th, 2011. Pastor Steve's plane went down just after leaving the Alamosa, Colorado airport. Please keep his wife Sarah and daughter Katie in your prayers, as well as all of his family and friends. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Thank you.
The LAMP Staff
The LAMP community is mourning the loss of Rev. Steve Dreher, who went to be home with his Lord on Thursday, November 10th, 2011. Pastor Steve's plane went down just after leaving the Alamosa, Colorado airport. Please keep his wife Sarah and daughter Katie in your prayers, as well as all of his family and friends. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Thank you.
The LAMP Staff
Sunday, October 30, 2011
November Devotion:
God’s Word:
“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house’. . . and Jesus said, ‘Today slavation has come to this house . . . For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” Luke 19:5,9,10 (NASB)
Devotional Thought:
The Anglican Church building in Fort Severn is condemned. The floor flexes under your feet, the ceiling drips with rain drops, and the frigid winter air blows through the cracks in the walls. This spring I called my friend Moses to set up the summer’s Vacation Bible School. He was humming and hawing and eventually told me he didn’t have a place large enough for LAMP’s small team of three VBS teachers to work with the kids. It was clear he was concerned for the security of the children telling me his church just wasn’t a safe place anymore.
Well, sometimes these things happen. As I tell my VBS teachers, “You have to be flexible.” I didn’t want to say it, but it came out of my mouth, that maybe after thirty years of VBS in Fort Severn we should skip a year and pray that a new church will be constructed for the following year. This was totally out of the question. Moses told me Bible school is very important in his community. In fact, he said, “Two weeks after the VBS team leaves our village, the children continue coming to the church every day, looking for the Bible School teachers.”
Realizing the positive impact of this one special week for the children of Fort Severn, Moses did some scrambling and sure enough there was another building in town that became available for our planned week of VBS.
In our relationship with God, sometimes it seems our “place of meeting” has become condemned. Our prayers barely reach the ceiling as we struggle to keep our footing on solid ground. Life doesn’t seem fair, and if there is a God, He is not moving too fast to fix this discrepancy. The walls of communication seem to be falling apart with no promise of repairs. Everything we try seems to be in vain. David in Psalm 6 says, “I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears”(NASB). Sometimes we are left without an answer to prayer.
However, God comes to us, looking for us as He searched for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness….As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Ps. 103:8,12 (NASB). God finds a way, and opens the door for our salvation. (John 10).
Prayer:
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; . . . In the day of my trouble I shall call upon Thee . . . There is no one like Thee among the gods, O Lord; . . . For thou art great and doest wondrous deeds; Thou alone art God. Ps 86 (NSB).
“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house’. . . and Jesus said, ‘Today slavation has come to this house . . . For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” Luke 19:5,9,10 (NASB)
Devotional Thought:
The Anglican Church building in Fort Severn is condemned. The floor flexes under your feet, the ceiling drips with rain drops, and the frigid winter air blows through the cracks in the walls. This spring I called my friend Moses to set up the summer’s Vacation Bible School. He was humming and hawing and eventually told me he didn’t have a place large enough for LAMP’s small team of three VBS teachers to work with the kids. It was clear he was concerned for the security of the children telling me his church just wasn’t a safe place anymore.
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| Condemned Anglican Church in Fort Severn |
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| The kids in Fort Severn love VBS |
In our relationship with God, sometimes it seems our “place of meeting” has become condemned. Our prayers barely reach the ceiling as we struggle to keep our footing on solid ground. Life doesn’t seem fair, and if there is a God, He is not moving too fast to fix this discrepancy. The walls of communication seem to be falling apart with no promise of repairs. Everything we try seems to be in vain. David in Psalm 6 says, “I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears”(NASB). Sometimes we are left without an answer to prayer.
However, God comes to us, looking for us as He searched for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness….As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Ps. 103:8,12 (NASB). God finds a way, and opens the door for our salvation. (John 10).
Prayer:
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; . . . In the day of my trouble I shall call upon Thee . . . There is no one like Thee among the gods, O Lord; . . . For thou art great and doest wondrous deeds; Thou alone art God. Ps 86 (NSB).
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Video of VBS in Cat Lake, Ontario
We have very talented VBS teachers go north to teach about the love, grace and forgiveness of God through His son Jesus. This video is the work of Gordon Gilbey, VBS teacher and missionary from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thank you Gordon ! (It is worth the download wait time).
Saturday, October 1, 2011
October Devotional Thought
God’s Word:
“The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount. How great are his signs. How mighty his wonders! His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:2-3
Devotional Thought:
My weather briefing from Canada Fight Service indicated a low front moving into the area by late afternoon and should move through my desired flight path by tomorrow morning. If I am to return after 4:00 pm local, I should be aware that the air will be very unstable and I could expect imbedded towering cumulous.
When I left Bearskin Lake, a native community 250 miles north of Red Lake, Ontario (the end of the road as we know it) the sky looked rather dark and the wind was kicking up. My native friends and I both agreed it was time for me to get home. It didn’t take long after my departure when I experienced the accuracy of my morning flight briefing. There in front of me was a huge storm cell. Before I knew it, I was seeing flashes of bright light all around me. Without notice, I was blinded by a streak; no it was a bolt of lightening ripping out of the cloud next to me striking the ground with consuming power. The earth below tore apart as if it had been blasted by dynamite. My first thought was, “Wow that was awesome!” My next thought was, “I think I am flying way too close to this storm cell.”
In one second, I experienced the power of God which could have been my fate, and the grace of God keeping me in his everlasting protection. In both cases, I was humbled by the overwhelming power of judgment and the awesome comfort of grace.
There are numerous experiences in our lives that cause us to fear the judgment of God. For many individuals God’s judgment, His lightning strike is what drives their relationship with the creator God. They worship a God of fear, seeking to get out of God’s way.
As Christians, we worship a God of Grace who has not reached out to us with the thunder bolt of judgment. God has reached out to us through the love and obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s lightning strike of judgment hit Jesus squarely in His heart when Jesus became our sin on the cross of Calvary. Jesus has taken God’s punishment, earning for us forgiveness from all of our sins.
As a church in mission, we now strike out in love and gratitude. The Christian message, LAMP’s message, my message, as a Pastor/ Pilot, our message is not the all-consuming power of the judgment of God but the power of God unto salvation, His love in Jesus to all who believe.
Prayer:
Thank you God of power and might for reaching out to me in grace and love.
“The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount. How great are his signs. How mighty his wonders! His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:2-3
Devotional Thought:
My weather briefing from Canada Fight Service indicated a low front moving into the area by late afternoon and should move through my desired flight path by tomorrow morning. If I am to return after 4:00 pm local, I should be aware that the air will be very unstable and I could expect imbedded towering cumulous.
When I left Bearskin Lake, a native community 250 miles north of Red Lake, Ontario (the end of the road as we know it) the sky looked rather dark and the wind was kicking up. My native friends and I both agreed it was time for me to get home. It didn’t take long after my departure when I experienced the accuracy of my morning flight briefing. There in front of me was a huge storm cell. Before I knew it, I was seeing flashes of bright light all around me. Without notice, I was blinded by a streak; no it was a bolt of lightening ripping out of the cloud next to me striking the ground with consuming power. The earth below tore apart as if it had been blasted by dynamite. My first thought was, “Wow that was awesome!” My next thought was, “I think I am flying way too close to this storm cell.”
In one second, I experienced the power of God which could have been my fate, and the grace of God keeping me in his everlasting protection. In both cases, I was humbled by the overwhelming power of judgment and the awesome comfort of grace.
There are numerous experiences in our lives that cause us to fear the judgment of God. For many individuals God’s judgment, His lightning strike is what drives their relationship with the creator God. They worship a God of fear, seeking to get out of God’s way.
As Christians, we worship a God of Grace who has not reached out to us with the thunder bolt of judgment. God has reached out to us through the love and obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s lightning strike of judgment hit Jesus squarely in His heart when Jesus became our sin on the cross of Calvary. Jesus has taken God’s punishment, earning for us forgiveness from all of our sins.
As a church in mission, we now strike out in love and gratitude. The Christian message, LAMP’s message, my message, as a Pastor/ Pilot, our message is not the all-consuming power of the judgment of God but the power of God unto salvation, His love in Jesus to all who believe.
Prayer:
Thank you God of power and might for reaching out to me in grace and love.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
September Adventures
Last week, September 17-24, I spent time in Thompson, MB north of the 55th parallel. There was much to do. Pastor/Pilot Bill Ney was in need of some flight review. I visited with the Deputy Chief of Wunnummin Lake concerning a request from a Minnesota university student asking if it might be possible for her to live in a northern community for six weeks fulfilling a class requirement. I visited a pastor’s daughter from Kitchener, ON who is teaching grade eight in a northern community. VBS in Cross Lake, MB and Sachigo, ON are now scheduled and awaiting VBS teams. I visited some great friends in Sandy Lake, Cross Lake and Muskrat Dam. And, I accompanied Pastor Bill to the communities he needed to visit. If you are interested in the ministry of Pastor Bill check out his blog at: flyingney.com
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| Every morning we waited for the sun to melt the frost off the wings of the airplane |
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| Churchill, MB on the Hudson Bay is one of Bill's communities to visit |
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| Pastor Bill in ministry |
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| This is as close as we got to a polar bear. They are major threats to the people of Churchill |
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| One of the signs along the beach we were walking. Yikes ! |
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| Fall colors from the air |
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| My friends, the Fiddlers, dressing out a freshly killed moose. |
Sunday, September 4, 2011
September Devotional Thought
God's Word:
“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NASB)
Devotional Thought:
9:30 am on a cold Sabbath morning, north of the fifty-fifth parallel, I am looking out a church window facing east. Along the outside wall of the next building cluttered with trash on the ground, huddled eight men sharing a bottle containing a liquid I am sure was not orange juice.
What was most interesting to me was how the empty mickey was disposed. The last guy stepped away from the group and tossed the bottle into a near-by stand of trees. Had the bottle been dropped outside the circle of friends, the environment around the guys would not have changed much for the worse. However, the method of disposal was to toss the empty container away from the group as if to say, “We are not associated with this litter.”
It is easy to make pious judgments on this team of eight while standing inside a nice warm well-kept place of worship on a Sunday morning. It is also easy to have feelings of guilt, thinking as a Christian I have somehow failed to reach these comrades with the Gospel. However, in my heart I realize I too am nothing more than a sinner symbolically lurking behind a building and yet in eyesight of the creator God, trying to toss any evidence of my connection with sin as far as I am able.
A wonderful attribute of God is He doesn’t just stand and watch our sin with disgust. He has taken action by reaching out to us in love and compassion. Our Creator entered into our lives even when we were not looking for His help. Our hiding from God is fruitless. He comes seeking us as He did Adam and Eve. He sees our sins, He calls our name, He reaches out to us with the blood-stained hands of Jesus. In love He declares our sins are forgiven.
Privileged with the knowledge of God’s grace and mercy, one can only ask for His forgiveness. In humility, our hearts turn to thanksgiving and gratitude to our Creator for His love, poured out on us through the blood of Jesus. “If it is possible,” we pray, “Lord, make my heart be as Yours.”
Prayer:
Forgive my sin O Lord and help me to be the person you called me to be. Empower me to serve You with Joy.
“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NASB)
Devotional Thought:
9:30 am on a cold Sabbath morning, north of the fifty-fifth parallel, I am looking out a church window facing east. Along the outside wall of the next building cluttered with trash on the ground, huddled eight men sharing a bottle containing a liquid I am sure was not orange juice.
What was most interesting to me was how the empty mickey was disposed. The last guy stepped away from the group and tossed the bottle into a near-by stand of trees. Had the bottle been dropped outside the circle of friends, the environment around the guys would not have changed much for the worse. However, the method of disposal was to toss the empty container away from the group as if to say, “We are not associated with this litter.”
It is easy to make pious judgments on this team of eight while standing inside a nice warm well-kept place of worship on a Sunday morning. It is also easy to have feelings of guilt, thinking as a Christian I have somehow failed to reach these comrades with the Gospel. However, in my heart I realize I too am nothing more than a sinner symbolically lurking behind a building and yet in eyesight of the creator God, trying to toss any evidence of my connection with sin as far as I am able.
A wonderful attribute of God is He doesn’t just stand and watch our sin with disgust. He has taken action by reaching out to us in love and compassion. Our Creator entered into our lives even when we were not looking for His help. Our hiding from God is fruitless. He comes seeking us as He did Adam and Eve. He sees our sins, He calls our name, He reaches out to us with the blood-stained hands of Jesus. In love He declares our sins are forgiven.
Prayer:
Forgive my sin O Lord and help me to be the person you called me to be. Empower me to serve You with Joy.
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