“We are careful to be honourable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honourable.” (2 Corinthians 8:21)

The Senior Pastor summoned the volunteer leaders of the youth ministry to his office and told them that they were being asked to step down.

The couple was totally shocked at this unexpected development and wondered why.

He replied: “It has come to my attention that you have bought a house together and moved in months ahead of your upcoming marriage.”

“But, Pastor”, they protested, “We are not sleeping together. We are simply living under the same roof. We are totally honouring God in this relationship.”

“I am by no means questioning the purity of your relationship,” he replied. “But your decision has jeopardized your ability to lead our impressionable youth. Therefore unless you are prepared to change your living arrangements, I am not prepared to let you continue serving as youth ministry leaders.”

The couple did not see anything wrong with what they were doing. After all, they were doing nothing wrong. So, they chose to relinquish the leadership of the ministry rather than reconsider their decision. Eventually, they stopped being part of that church altogether.

If you were the Senior Pastor facing the same situation, how would you respond?

Although he did not state it explicitly, he was simply following the principle laid out by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:21: “We are careful to be honourable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honourable.”

Paul took his calling very seriously. In the first place, he would not compromise his standing with the Lord by doing something that would be dishonourable. But he would not stop there. He would just as carefully ensure that it was apparent, obvious, visible, transparent to everyone else that he was beyond reproach.

That is a lofty standard to set for oneself, wouldn’t you say?

In this specific instance, Paul was talking not about sexual conduct, but financial stewardship. He had been entrusted with taking a huge gift from the Macedonian churches to Jerusalem. It was quite a responsibility.

Paul, of course, was going to be honourable before the Lord in handling other people’s money. But he was also going to make sure that it was evident to those travelling with him. He did not want to even put himself in a position where anyone could accuse him of some kind of impropriety.

We are not told what specific steps he took, but that he took them is an undeniable fact.

Sadly, many ministries today are reluctant to be transparent with their finances. When troubling reports surface about how the money that has been entrusted to them is being spent, there is usually an attempt to justify the expenditure or a simple “no comment.” Or worse: “That is a private matter.” Rarely is there total disclosure.

We are not judging whether someone is pure before the Lord or not, but wouldn’t it be better to also let others see that everything is above board?

Dear DWOD friend, as you keep on advancing toward your destiny, you will also reach higher levels of success. You too will be entrusted with more fiscal, moral, ethical and social responsibility.  Would you make sure that transparent accountability is an integral part of your life in all areas?

Then you too can hold your head high and declare as did the apostle Paul: “We are careful to be honourable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honourable.”

Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 2:8-10)

Raj, a six week-old beautiful Golden Retriever came to us as a wedding gift from the Davidson family who were breeding them just outside of Ponteix, Saskatchewan.

Sulojana was used to having a dog for a pet. I was not.

Needless to say I needed a crash course in raising a dog, especially home-schooling him in Obedience Training. Enter a book from the local library by Barbara Woodhouse, whose famous axiom was: “There are no bad dogs, only bad dog-owners.”

As much as I worked at using her techniques to raise him as a God-fearing and Jeeva-obeying dog, I must admit that once in a while I would discipline him according to the Biblical injunction: “Spare the rod and spoil the puppy.” (Proverbs 13:24, JSV—Jeeva Standard Version)

So, while on the one hand, he would obey me, you could clearly tell that he loved Sulojana. Whenever he saw me, he would still wag his tail and be friendly as he sauntered toward me at celebrity pace.

But when his beady eyes spied Sulojana, it was an altogether different story. He would immediately turn on the after-burners and run to her at breakneck speed, licking her all over and going “woof, woof, woof” followed by a prolonged moan. (Rough Translation from the Caninese: “I just love you to pieces and adore you to bits, Mommy dearest!”)

It was also neat to see what Raj would do when he did do something wrong, such as the time he clearly extended himself, stood on his paws and made sure that there was not a lick of leftover roast chicken for the rest of the family.

He would not dare come near his dog-father, but he would still run to Mommy, snuggle up against her ankles, and look at her with the saddest eyes you ever did see, accompanied by a soft whine, as if to say: “You’re not going to let Big Meanie over there hurt me, are you, Mama?”

Isn’t it true that the way we respond when we have sinned also depends on how we view our Father God? Way back in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to hide themselves, as they were overcome with shame. Fear of how God would respond made them run away from Him or at least stay out of His sight.

Contrast this with the attitude of King David who chooses to run into the arms of his heavenly Father and say: “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4)

He knew that God was the only one to whom He could run and find forgiveness.

Dear DWOD friend, how do you respond when you sin? If you are tempted to run away from God, that urge is from the enemy of our souls, who will do everything in his power to keep you away from your Father.

When you resist the devil and head in the general direction of your Father’s house, you will indeed witness an awesome sight. He is already running toward you! (Luke 15:20).

As Raj would say: “Woof! Woof!” (Ruff translation: “Yup, that’s the gospel truth, human!”)

“Do not turn away; let me see Your face; otherwise, I’ll die and be like all those who have gone to the grave”. (Psalm 143: 7)

 

Jeremy and Connie Sinott have served faithfully as Worship Leaders and Associate Pastors at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (now known as Catch the Fire Toronto) since it began in 1987. They are both incredible teachers as well.

I was used to seeing them from a distance as they led worship at virtually every Conference at this world-renowned center of revival. I did get an opportunity to get close to them when they taught and ministered at a Soaking School in January 2006.

Later that year, I became part of the Visiting Ministry Team, (which meant that I was authorized to pray with those who were on the prayer lines during Conferences). Quite often, I would find myself seated close to where they would sit after leading worship. We would be in one another’s line of sight on occasion.

They really had no idea who I was, what my name was or any other detail. Conversely, I had never really made an attempt to introduce myself to them either.

Once, when I was at a Conference, Jeremy was speeding down the aisle, guitar in hand, on his way to the parking lot. He smiled at me and simply walked on by with a twinkle in his eyes. This scene would repeat itself several times at subsequent Conferences. We still had not met formally. There had been no handshakes. No exchange of business cards.

But there was something about that glint of recognition that always warmed my heart. As a matter of fact, there were times when a smile from Jeremy was all it took to brighten my day and sometimes the entire weekend.

As peculiar as it may seem, the Lord was ministering to me through Jeremy’s eyes, especially when I was going through a difficult stretch in life when my ministry was not being recognized. In fact, it was being ridiculed and rejected.

The cry of David in Psalm 147 underscores the significance of knowing that God’s face is always turned toward us. Yes, it would be great to hear a word from God at any given time. But, in those moments when we are not hearing God’s voice, all we need is the assurance that God still knows that we exist, He knows our name, He cares for us in the midst of our troubles. A simple look is all it takes.

The Lord has been speaking to me about how important it is for us to be God’s face to one another as well. For we all have a need to be known, to be recognized, even simply to be acknowledged as a person of worth.

Everyone with whom we come into contact has the same need as well. Perhaps we are not sure about saying ‘hi’ to them or getting a conversation going (as we mentioned in the DWOD for Aug. 18).

Why not simply offer the gift of eye-to-eye contact? In our busy lives today, not everyone takes the time to even do something so simple.

That person walking by you could very well be at the point of simply needing some affirmation from another human being that they have value. They, like me at that time, may be going through a period of non-appreciation, even condemnation.

That connection could very well lead to conversation, resulting in transformation, as it did with Jesus and the Samaritan woman by the well.

But even if it didn’t go anywhere beyond the initial contact, you would’ve at least ministered to them with your eyes, as Jeremy Sinnott did to me. Amen?

 

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

Earlier this week the Bluetooth headset in my car decided to go AWOL.

As one who averages 2 hours a day in an automobile, I had gotten into the habit of getting a fair bit of work done over the phone while driving back and forth. Thanks to a  wireless plan that offered unlimited long distance anywhere in North America, I could not only keep in touch with members of our churches locally, but also with family, friends and ministry associates in Canada and the United States while I was on the road.

All of a sudden, that blessing was taken away from me. I tried using the speaker on the IPhone, but it was not the same. Road noise affected the clarity of the communication to the point where it was very frustrating. So I would let the calls go to Voicemail and return them when I got off the road.

Needless to say I searched in the usual spots where one would expect it to remain hidden. The glove compartment? No. The all-purpose storage cavity that houses the cigarette lighter? No cigar! The much deeper armrest storage space with the CD’s. Nosiree.

Perhaps it fell on the floor. I lifted up the floor mat on the driver’s side. Not there. Ditto for the passenger’s side. No Bluetooth.

Did I bring it into the house to get it charged? The sight of the poor charger curled up all by its lonesome disproved that theory in a hurry. Was it accidentally left in one of my shirt or pant pockets? No luck there either.

It had to be in the car, for sure. But where? I even got down on my knees and searched under the seats. Still no sign of the prodigal headset.

One day went by. Two days. Three days. I am now seriously contemplating the possibility of procuring a replacement. Then I sensed a nudge to go look again under the car seats yesterday afternoon.

On the passenger’s side I saw something I hadn’t noticed before–a gas receipt that had fallen down. I figured I might as well pick it up and take it into the house. No sooner had I started to remove it than I noticed the Bluetooth. It had been under that receipt all along. Finally earlobe and headset were reunited. And there was great rejoicing!

The entire experience reminded me of a recent DWOD entitled: “Not Lost, Just Not Been Found Yet.”  You may recall reading about our experiences with a Treasure Hunt, where we sought and found God’s treasures according to the clues He had given us.

This morning, as Sulojana and I sat with our good friend Peter Kumar at the breakfast table, he talked about how many Christians get so excited about supporting missions initiatives in nations other than their own. He ministers in at least 30 countries a year and confirmed that this is true of the “western” church for the most part.

Many Christians are not all that excited about reaching out to their neighbours in the “local village.”  They would rather write a cheque for someone else to fulfill the Great Commission by proxy!

But the fact remains that there are millions in our own backyard who still need to be reached for Christ. Are we perhaps simply travelling along life’s road blissfully unaware that these “head-sets” are hidden at arm’s length? Yes, it takes extra effort to find them. Yet, what price tag can we place on one who “once was lost, but now is found?”

Dear DWOD friend, would you ask the Lord to make you like the woman in Jesus’ parable who simply would not rest, but swept and sweat until she found the precious lost coin?