Joy in Telling

Chapters 1 &2 of Luke are full of joy.  The words "joy" and "rejoice" and "praise" are found there many times.  It's infectious, really!  I can't help but rejoice as I read it!  The joy begins with the Angel Gabriel's visit to Zechariah when he tells him that he will have a son with his wife Elizabeth and that Zechariah will have "great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. [...] He will prepare people for the coming of the Lord."

After Gabriel visits Mary to tell her of Jesus' coming, she goes to visit Elizabeth, who "gave a glad cry" upon seeing her and says that at the sound of Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb "jumped for joy."  Mary responds with a joyful song of praise to God saying that her "spirit rejoices in God [her] saviour."  

When John (Zechariah's son) is born to Elizabeth, the whole town rejoices for they know he is special.  Zechariah's prophecy about his son shows that his great joy for his son in rooted in what he will do: prepare the way for the Lord, and tell his people how to find salvation.

On the night of Jesus' birth, an Angel brought "good news that will bring great joy to all people" to the shepherds and a vast heavenly host joined the rejoicing.  It was a contagious joy that spurred the shepherds out of their field and into Bethlehem to see and tell of the Saviour's birth.

All the joy in these two chapters is in the telling of the saviour's coming.  Zechariah and Elizabeth were joyful over their son because he was born to be the prepare the way of the Lord.  Unborn baby John was joyful at the presence of unborn baby Jesus.  The armies of Heaven rejoiced and praised God as they told the Good News.  The shepherds joyfully spread the word of the Christ-child.  

It is with great joy in our hearts that we now tell you:  

Jesus is born!  The Messiah is here! 

He has brought salvation to all who believe in Him, his life, death and resurrection.  Furthermore, He is coming again.  We joyfully tell while we wait.

Merry Christmas,

Chanelle

Restoration and Advent

Three days ago at work when we were praying, I imagined violet-red fire rolling down on Waterloo Street. The road was newly paved and the sky was tinted grey. It was like a fiery wind that wound around the corners, burning up any darkness and brokenness. This wind reminded me of the Holy Spirit and the restoration and longing for the return of Christ that He is stirring within us. 

On Wednesday evening after the community supper at John Howard Society building, Phil, our spiritual director, gave a bible teaching. There were about eleven of us in this room reading and praying together. The conversation in the room turned as one gentleman brought up Christmas. The word Advent kept popping up and Phil explained that it means, “coming” referring to the the final return of Christ. This goes hand in hand with restoration, that healing and peace will settle around us on that day.

The beginning of Outflow Ministry's slogan is to restore dignity. I think that God is slowly restoring the city of Saint John. His spirit is moving through the city, claiming it as His own. Claiming us as His children. We want that so much at Outflow Ministry. For restoration and healing and breakthrough to happen.

I pray for restoration for the city of Saint John. I pray for restoration for anyone who walks through our doors at Outflow Ministry. I don't think restoration and healing is too much to ask of God. We know it will happen in the end but we also seek it now. That is why we do what we do at Outflow.

Revelation 21:1-4

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

This is a promise that strengthens one in the darker and bleaker times of life. When the storm is swirling about you tightly - look ahead in the eye of the storm and you will see Jesus, adorned in silver and bronze, with fire burning in his eyes. He will come and wipe away any tear that falls. One promise we can hold onto and long for is our meeting at the gate of heaven. He will be there, ready to welcome you home.

Laura Duncanson

Very Good. Not Ultimate.

One day I was warned.  I can’t recall if I read the warning or if someone said it to me.  The warning is: “Christians working for social justice should stop trying to save the world.  Jesus already did that.”

I thought, at the time, that the warning was equal parts catchy zinger and deep philosophy but I now realize that I did not let it sink in to convict me.  One of the dangers that people involved in the sort of work that the folks like my colleagues and I do is trying to do everything all the time.  In my first post I wrote about the importance of partnership in ministry.  In my second post I wrote about the importance of humility in ministry.  Today I want to write about the importance of rest in ministry.

God is the primary actor in ministry.  Everyone else is his body, ministering on his behalf and bearing his image.  The fact that God lets people minister with him and lets people bear his image is significant so I do not want to belittle the high and very good role God gives to people.  God only gives us the high role, however.  He does not give us the ultimate role. 

Rest acknowledges God’s preeminence and our sub-ordinance.  When we rest we are implicitly leaving things in God’s hands, acknowledging that he is the actor who does the saving and that it is his grace that allows us to join in this work.  At the end of Sabbath or a longer period of time, such as vacation, the world is still here and we still have a role in it.  God does not say, “Hold up folks.  One of my disciples is on vacation.  Looks like we have a few days where nothing is going to get done.”  Instead he continues his mission using his body, ministering on his behalf and bearing his image.

When I don’t take a break I am implicitly saying that it is my job to save the world, not God’s.  Putting myself in the role of savior is a constant temptation, which I expect that others face as well.  It is hard to look at the need we witness daily and say, “I am not called to meet this particular need at this particular moment.  That is for another member of the body.” 

Practicing Sabbath is a gentle shout that we place our hope in the resurrection.  This is hard to do.  Despite the birth we will celebrate in two weeks’ time and despite the resurrection we will rejoice in a few months later, the world can seem pretty dark.  It is not always obvious that God has saved it.  The instinct is to help God out a bit, to shout not so gently that we are in control and we can fix things for God.  Sabbath counters this instinct because it takes us completely out of the equation for a short period of time.  It says that his ability to save is more powerful than our ability to save.  It acknowledges he is ultimate.

God has a lot of disciples joining his mission.  Rest well.  We are in good hands.

Tony Dickinson

Joining Friends with Rock Bottom Prayers

"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."  Hebrews 4:16

 
   We can do a lot for people and become busy about justice issues, but forget to look at the person we're trying to help and simply just be with them, pointing them to the greatest helper of all.  We all need to be rescued.  Together in our brokenness we must pray and boldly approach the throne of our gracious God.  This is something I now want more than ever!  Learning to walk slower, listen better and welcome daily interruptions so God can determine my steps and show me His ways.  God is powerful, lives among us and wants to save us.  Zephaniah 3:17 says, "For the LORD your God is living among you.  He is a mighty saviour.  He will take delight in you with gladness.  With His love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."  As individuals and as a ministry, we desperately need to be willing to pray for one another as it says in Galatians 6:2, "Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."

    
     The other day I sat with a friend whose life has been consistently filled with misery.  There's really no other way to put it.  Abuse started at a very young age and for over 50 years, "darkness became his closest lover," Psalm 88:18.  We needed to pray.  He prayed from the depths of despair and his words were few, simply asking Jesus to save him!  He physically looked like the Psalm 88:4 description of one "counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength."  He spent all of his money on cocaine, VLT machines and wild living.  He sat in our shelter lounge ready for change.  He was boldly approaching God for salvation.  I believe God can handle our bold, unedited prayers because the Bible tells me so.

     
     When Outflow Ministry began, we were homeless.  We had no building to call our own, which forced us  for years to be on the streets.  I'm thankful for this!  I remember the summer of 2008, standing in King's Square on Thursday nights waiting with coffee and some food, hoping to have the opportunity to feed a hungry person.  People from all sorts of backgrounds showed up to help.  We served homeless men, women, kids, youth, whole families, people struggling with substance abuse, those caught in the sex trade and the working poor.  We still do this today.  People from all walks of life join us for supper.  As the ministry continues, I'm learning more and more what I do not know.  Each day is a new day to discover the wonder of God.  God loves people and is the only one who knows all things!  He wants a relationship with all people and as long as we have the breath to breathe, let's expect He can save anyone in any state.  I'm so thankful for the strength of many of my friends that teach me to pray for rescue no matter how I feel.  Approaching God with our rock bottom prayers is okay, and God can handle anything you bring to Him.  From the depths we cry, and by grace alone we stand.  He is mighty to save.  God is so good!