This is not usually the time of month I post my blog but we have something new and exciting here at GBC. We have a leadership intern here for the summer named Peter Lewis. Peter is part of the GBC family who is studying at Bible College and is considering a calling to music ministry. He has some thoughts to share on music and worship so I'd like to make this forum available to him. So with no further adieu, here's Peter!
Peter's Blog: Creation to Salvation This past year, I was on a travelling worship band with my college. The band ended off the year with a tour to Alberta where we went around to different churches to lead worship, do worship workshops, and play games with youth groups. Although this trip was enjoyable, it was, as you can imagine, mentally draining. So, we took one day off to visit Jasper National Park; one of the countries most beautiful places. Seeing the mountains up close for the first time with the deep turquoise coloured lakes surrounding them made my heart sing God’s praise. God created the universe in all of its beauty and put humanity on this planet for our good and, despite our continual rebellion, he continues to hold the world together for our good. This is grace. Just recently, a close friend of mine from school told me about a lesser-known Christian musician, Drakeford. Despite having a similar name to a well known secular artist, Drakeford has encouraged me through much of his music. The song Creation to Salvation still gives me shivers when I listen to it. Drakeford intended for it to be spoken work poetry but added music to it and turned it into a song. It starts by describing creation and its perfection and contrasts that by describing the hopelessness that resulted from the fall. “In a world of desperation and trial and tribulation and disorientation… this is what it’s like when we live in separation from God” The second verse dives into the feelings of guilt. Guilt can be good, but it can also be bad. Good guilt leads to repentance and is from God. Evidently, bad guilt is from Satan and he poisons us with it to encourage us to run from God. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says “godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation but worldly grief produces death.” No one would be saved without guilt! It is the first step to salvation; recognizing our sin. God gives it to us as a loving Father corrects His son or daughter; so that we would repent and stop doing what harms ourselves, others, and ultimately God Himself. “Worldly grief” it the lie that God can never forgive us. It is the lie that something is wrong when it is not. This does lead to death because it does not lead to Christ. Once we are saved, once we see our sin as sin and trust in Christ alone to pay for it, then we can have a full assurance that we are forgiven. Any guilt that makes us, as Drakeford puts it “run from the voice of the Lord, scared that He’ll release all the wrath that was stored for the sons and daughters of hell, Satan and all of his angels that fell” is from Satan. Nothing can change that, even our disobedience of God. This is grace. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23) I would encourage you to listen to the song and read through the lyrics.
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![]() The other week we finished our youth study group looking at questions they’d submitted. I call it “The Question Bowl” (I think it’s a clever name!) and youth can ask questions about God, the Bible or their faith journey. I’m amazed at the depth and sincerity of the ones I get. One point I continued to emphasize whether it was how the Bible was translated or questions on women in leadership was the issue of truth and understanding how that impacts our relationship with God. I guess it’s still on my mind so it got me thinking [always a dangerous thing!!]. I think back to the old series the X-Files [okay, I’m drifting a bit but there is a point] and their handle: ‘the truth is out there’. Truth used to be something, I think anyway, that was taken for granted because it was known. Society knew what was real, accurate and absolute. A consensus existed. But today that’s not the case. Truth now is presented as something that is fluid at best and unknowable at the worst. A common thought now is: how can we know the truth when it’s constructed based on our own reality? While this may seem like a liberating thought coming out of the age of legalism especially in the church it’s a dangerous recipe for dissatisfaction with life and a lack of peace. With no truth, no absolute reality, how do you measure anything? Life then becomes a series of unconnected episodes with no point of reference. We end up isolated and alone with little connection or commonality- hardly satisfying. No, truth gives us parameters and understanding allowing us to not only function but thrive. Truth is liberating. The Bible tells us there is truth, A truth, and we can know it. Jesus said: you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). What truth is He referring to? That we are slaves to our negative and destructive natures but through His death, burial and resurrection we have been set free. We try to do things our way, like rewriting truth, and the result is a tension-filled reality which looks a lot like a child throwing a temper tantrum because they want to do things their own way. Truth, boundaries, absolutes, free us to live secure in the knowledge of what is and isn’t expected of us. Jesus went further than that, He also said He is THE Truth when he declared He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). This idea builds on the previous statement. He is not just ‘A’ way or truth or life, but ‘THE’ way, an absolute. He is the way to God, life is fulfilled in and through Him and what He has shared with us is the truth. This is a hard truth to accept since it requires surrender, an accepting of this truth rather than one of our own creation. But as with the truth of the law of gravity, when we accept and don’t fight it, we become grounded. So what does this mean for us? We cannot make the truth what we’d like it to be; it’s not a construct or something of our making. But it is a choice. Truth about God, eternity and morality are absolute, they are not relative and they are found in the Bible. It’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a choice. We choose who we’ll follow based on His criteria. What choice have you made? Do you know the Truth? Have you been set free? Are you living the life God has created you for? If not, why not? Seek after it, the Truth is out there. Accept the free gift of THE Truth and LIVE the freedom to enjoy the life God has planned for you! |
Pastor Chris"At GBC we're serious about the Bible, serious about the truths that are found in it and living in Him but also like to laugh, cry and experience life together." Archives
January 2024
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