It's Time!!

The big day finally arrived and I "officially" finished my full time employment with iCompass Technologies today. It's been a very good year. I have learned a lot and have come to appreciate many things about life that I had come to take for granted.

After a two week missions trip, I will be ramping up the ministry full time effective January 1 and am looking forward to adding to the traction to we already have.

I heard a song at Harvest City Church a few weeks ago that captured my attention and I want to share it with you today. It's called "It's Time" and speaks about what burns in my heart for our magnificent nation. It's time for Canada to see the great revival that people have been talking about for years. It's time for a revival to sweep our land that will transform every part of our culture and draw men and women, young people and children to the hope of Jesus and the power of the gospel to renew every part of their lives.

Here it is... you'll actually have to click the Media Player button to hear it, but it's very worth it, especially if you close your eyes and see it happen as it plays!!

http://www.leadinginfluence.com/Audio.html

Looking forward to hearing from you...

Device to Root Out Evil...

For those of you who have wondered as to my artistic insight, this is my first (and probably last ...) foray as an art critic... leave your comments at the end!

I'm in Vancouver today attending the Faith Political Interface conference.I'll tell you more about that later, but I wanted to tell you what I saw today when I stepped out for a break. It's called "A Device to Root Out Evil". If you live in Vancouver, you probably know where it is (W Cordova and Butte in Waterfront Park...)

This statue is controversial but in the light of the conference I'm attending, I found it absolutely inspiring. The artist is making some obvious statements about how he sees the church and it's role in the world.

The beauty of art is that it can be interpreted in a number of ways.... If steeples point us to heaven to remind us of our hope in God and in the strength and power He provides, the inverted church, with the steeple being rooted into the ground reminds me of the amazing impact that the church can have in uprooting injustice and dispelling darkness. The only way to rid a garden of weeds is to pull them out by the root and that requires getting on your knees and putting your hands to work. When I stood beside the sculpture, I couldn't help but think of a plow being plunged into the ground to prepare the land for seed. The bible speaks of breaking up our fallow ground because it is time to seek the Lord.

The sculptor (Oppenheim) says that he simply inverted the object to catch the attention of people and that the inverted steeple points us to hell instead of heaven. The words of Jesus "I will build my church" and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" ring particularly true. Perhaps this sculpture is nothing more than a sign pointing to the reality that because of the cross, even a mocking statue points to our overwhelming victory over EVERYTHING that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ.

So - what do you think??

Tim

Canada's Prophetic Destiny

I'm hearing God speak to me about Canada's prophetic destiny. When I googled that term to see what other people were saying, I didn't find much beyond the standard, God is going to send a revival, etc, etc. I don't disagree with any of that, but I was looking for something more unique, because I believe that God has a destiny for our nation that is powerful, especially at this point in history.

When Canada became a nation, she was given the name "The Dominion of Canada". The choice of terminology comes from Ps. 72:8 "And he shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth." Sir Leonard Tilley, one of the Fathers of Confederation, read that verse on the last morning on the final conference of Confederation and suggested that Canada be called a dominion. His peers agreed and the recomendation was sent forward to the Queen for her approval. On July 1st, 1867, Queen Victoria proclaimed "The Dominion of Canada" into existence. There's got to be something tremendously significant between this verse, that prophetically describes the kingdom and rule of Christ and the destiny of our great nation.

As I pondered this, I was reminded of a verse out of Is. 58 that speaks of being repairers of broken walls and restorers of streets to dwell in and suddenly some things came together that I want to share with you. Our nation has a unique international role of being a repairer and restorer. Our international military involvement has been limited to liberation and restoration. We have never gone to war as an act of aggression. As I dug deeper into Is. 58, I began to see some other things that are part of our prophetic destiny as well.

Is. 58:6a - "to loose the bonds of wickedness" - which speaks of our commitment to justice
Is. 58:6b - "to undo the heavy burdens: - which speaks of mercy
Is. 586c - "to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke" which speaks of deliverance

Is. 58:7 - "to share your bread with the hungry" - generosity and compassion
Is. 58:7b - "to bring to your house the poor who are cast out" - hospitality
Is. 58:7c - "when you see the naked, to cover him" - kindness

Canada does all of these things with excellence all around the world. As I write this, Canadian troops are putting their lives on the line to fulfill Is. 58:6 in Afghanastan. It's hard and dangerous work but it's work that they are doing with excellence and true Canadian passion.

Our international track record in sharing our bread with the hungry, opening our doors to the poor and clothing the naked is stellar. NO ONE ELSE can do what we do the way we do it. Our role in the world is to rebuild and restore hope, dignity, security and peace.

This unique role is something that only we can do. Others have a part of it, but our international image is that of peacemaker, restorer, provider and rebuilder. The result of walking in this path appears in Is. 58:8. God promises that:

1) Our light will break forth like the dawn. This speaks to me of increased favor and stature internationally that surpasses what we already have. I've read words about a coming economic transformation that will propel us to an entire new level and may actually liberate us from the economic "dependency" that we have on the US economy.

2) Our healing will quickly appear. After nearly 140 years of confederation, we are still divided. This is evidenced by the BQ motion in Ottawa that Quebec be recognized as a nation and the Government motion that Quebec be recognized as a nation within Canada. Perhaps the blessing of God to our nation will be a satisfaction of this and other issues and we will truly be able to put regional and territorial issues aside and enjoy the greatness of our amazing nation.

3) Our righteousness will go before us . Righteousness exalts a nation. While on the one hand, we have issues at home that need a prophetic presence and voice, as we continue to move towards righteousness out of relationship rather than legislation (could be a "word" there....) God will undoubtedly bless us in great measure and continue to place his favour upon us!

4) And the glory of God will be our rear guard. Perhaps this is where the great revival and outpouring that we hear so much about comes into play. I don't want to prophesy revival just because everyone else does, nor do I want to I say it isn't coming. I will say that fullfilling our prophetic destiny is connected to a national outpouring of the presence and glory of God and that if we fail to fulfill the prophetic destiny (nationally and internationally) that God has established for us, we won't experience what many are prophesying will happen.

The church's role in this is critical. While we must pray and fast, we must also take up the role of servant leadership within our nation at every level. Because the church is designed to be a leadership culture, we are the greatest national resource in this area, but it comes down to what we believe about ourselves. Until we embrace the role of King and Priest in our nation, we will always be just the tail and never the head. It's time... to step up, step out and step into the fullness of what God has for us as the Church in our land! His DOMINION SHALL BE from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!!

Boarder Babe

Two quick posts today - the first is to tell you about opening day at Sun Peaks. I got a new board so was working out some adjustments, but it's going to be great once there's some more snow on the hill. The boys were fine and got back into things really quickly. Barb was totally amazing! She was carving better than she did all of last year. I spent far more time on the snow than she did.

Today, she's complaining about being stiff and sore and asking how I'm feeling. I keep telling her I feel like a young man and everything is fine. Truth be told, my abs are killing me and my legs are stiff, but I'll keep letting her think that it's only her.

My punnishment for this little prank is that laughing hurts ...

Midlife Moments

As hard as it is for me to believe, I arrived at age 44 today. There's great excitement in our house over this auspicious event, but I'm content to pretend it isn't happening. Here are some "mid-40" thoughts....

1. I used to think people who were 44 were old and should be called "Mister".

2. When my father was 44, I was in my 3rd year of college. My oldest is 13 and in gr. 8.

3. I tried on my birthday gift today and it was "snugger" than I would prefer. Barb said, "it's just a smaller cut honey..." I think it's just a sign of the times!

4. If you keep swimming when you jump off the bridge, you don't drown! Between God's faithfulness and your willingness, bobbing to the top is easier than you might think.

5. Listening is more comfortable than it used to be. I've actually had people on the phone ask me if I'm still there...

6. Respect comes easier if you keep your head down and your mouth shut...

7. Living "Like you were dying" is more fun than "living as though you were dead."

8. Friends matter more because of what you've been through together.

9. I am more in love with Barb than ever before. I am SO BLESSED!

10. I am not perfect! It's been a shock to come to this revelation, but true nonetheless.

11. Brittany can be right and I can be wrong.... (That hurts to admit, but it periodically happens!)

12. God is ALWAYS faithful!! This has been a stretching and challenging year, but one that I will hold as a trophy of God's grace and goodness to me!

Blessed...

We've had quite an exciting time in our lives over the past week or so... God has been incredibly good to us AGAIN!! Here's the latest!

I had the unique experience of being awakened in the night last week and hearing God ask me to "speak to my deals". I tried to put this off but there was no way I was going back to sleep until I did what He asked. These deals are important because they are going to "pay the bills" for a few months in the new year so it's important that they come through for me and my employer. The next day, I spoke with a customer who said "no" in spring but wanted to know if the same pricing would apply if they did a deal with us now. Within an hour, a second customer told me they would be ready to proceed with a deal by early next week. Total value is over 30K!! MONEY COMETH!! :-) I think this is the coolest thing! God is AWESOME!!

I had the privilege of preaching in our home church on Sunday morning. Our pastor pumped this for two weeks and gave me the kindest introduction to compliment the tremendous opportunity of preaching on a Sunday morning. The people were amazing and very responsive. A good number responded indicating that they were interested in becoming partners which is pretty cool too.

All in all, God is VERY GOOD!! But you already knew that!!

Bill Clinton

I went to hear Bill Clinton on Friday night. He's a great speaker who shared with humility, transparency and passion about his work with AIDS, Global Warming, Economic Development and Disaster Relief. He shared a number of fascinating stories, but I wanted to pass this one on to you because it really rang true within me.

He told about when Ariel Sharon went up on the Temple Mount several years ago with a group of Israeli policemen. This was the first time in years that a Jewish PM had been there because of the political and religious tensions. Yasser Arafat who was the leader of the PLO at that time saw the incident as a provocation (which it was) and launched another violent uprising on the West Bank. Clinton invited Arafat to a meeting a pleaded with him to meet Sharon's actions with peace rather than violence. His suggestion was to meet Sharon on the Temple mount along with a little girl and some flowers for the Israeli PM and offer to give him a tour of the sites there. He pointed out that Arafat was allowing Sharon to determine his actions and responses and that in the end, Sharon was manipulating Arafat to make him do what he wanted him to do.

He contrasted that story with Nelson Mandella who was imprisoned for 14 years for his resistance against the government. He talked about the personal cost to Mandella and how he missed seeing his kids grow up, lost his wife and years of "family" time, not to mention his freedom. Clinton asked Mandella if he hated his oppressors and jailers. Mandella said he did for a while, but came to the conclusion that while his jailers could lock him up, separate him, torture and potentially kill him, they were powerless to take his heart and mind unless Mandella let them. Mandella realized that even as he was being released hatred and unforgiveness would keep him a prisoner if he wouldn't let it go and so he did. He went so far as to invite his jailers to sit in his cabinet when he was president of South Africa.

Hatred and resentment make you small and keep you small. Forgiveness and grace make you a bigger person... and a better person. No wonder Jesus said, forgive those who hurt you. It's not always easy, but it makes for a much better life, for you and those around you.

Later!

Taking the Plunge...

After a year of thinking, praying, planning and preparing, I took the plunge this morning by communicating my intent to leave to my employer. iCompass has been a blessing and I have learned a lot while working here, but "it's time for the dream to come to pass". So, effective Nov 3o, I will conclude my full time employment here. I am off to speak at a pastor's conference overseas (details later) in early December and then I'll continue to book speaking engagements and move towards full time engagement in the ministry as soon as possible.

This is yet one more step in a journey of faith. We keep telling ourselves that the wind and waves don't matter as much as walking towards Jesus, but the spray hitting your face is a little un-nerving even if your feet aren't sinking into the water. I find myself singing "Jehovah Jireh, my provider..." a lot lately. Maybe it's declaration, maybe it's affirmation, maybe it's celebration. Whatever the case, it feels good to sing it and to know that it's true!!

Love to hear from you on this one!