The Handyman’s Shop is gone. I just walked by it the other day, but now it is gone. And by gone I mean, no longer in existence. I don’t mean they moved or I forgot what street they were on. The building itself is gone. It has been razed. (Have you ever wondered why raze sounds the same as raise but means the opposite?) I find this mildly disturbing. I mean I know stores open and close all the time, but buildings don’t come and go quite as often and yet it has become a trend in my neighbourhood lately. In other words, my concern has been raised by all this razing. I am down in the dumps because of all of the dumps that have been downed.

In fact, just in my neighbourhood, I can think of at least three places that have become open spaces. One of them is now on its way to becoming a condo, but another has remained a barren gap in the flow of a commercial block that reminds me of an eight-year-olds’ simile. Missing teeth are cute, in an eight-year-old that is, but missing buildings aren’t. They are just a reminder that something used to be there, until someone comes and fills them in.

Now, I don’t want you to worry about me. I am not going to fall apart because of what has been taken apart. I am sure I can handle all the dismantled. After all, life goes on. But, last year when we were back in PEI, I drove by the location that housed the place in which we lived and the church building in which I served and there was nothing to indicate that either one of them was ever there. The highway has been improved and so the house and the church building no longer exist. What once was an essential part of the community has now made way to an easier exodus out of the community. Apparently all it took was a day to wipe out the one bit of PEI that was most familiar to me.

I couldn’t help but reflect on whether we ever really lived on PEI. I know we did. I know we spent six years there, but at the same time, now with all physical evidence gone, it seemed more of a dream than a reality. That led me to ponder what lasting effect our presence in PEI has had. Since there is no longer any physical evidence, is there any lasting spiritual evidence that we ever lived in PEI? It is a good question, albeit a bit unsettling.

Ultimately I am reminded that our investment in people is by far the most lasting of investments we can make. It is possible to have all physical record of your life removed, razed, and rubbed out, but what you have invested in friends and family and community will remain. One day your own abode will be lowered into a grave and all your investments in the gym will rot and become fast food for worms. But all your investments in people will live on—particularly the Investments of the eternal variety.

One last point—ripping down is part of what is necessary to build up. When you have an established community, the only option you have to build something new is to tear something old down. With that in mind, and as we still see the New Year in our rear view mirrors, what, in your life, has to be razed to raise your spiritual infrastructure? What has to be ripped down so that you can be built up? Often less is definitely more.

I am not the smartest guy on the planet and I am certainly not the best looking guy on the planet either. Some of you might find that hard to believe; the rest of you have met me. Neither am I the most agile, the strongest, the funniest, most charming, or even the most cuddly—although I am probably in the top ten in that last category.

I have often wondered what it is that I have that sets me apart from anyone in the crowd, besides my delusions of grandeur, that is. If I were forced to decide and come up with an answer—I am also not the most decisive guy either—I would have to say that it is probably that I am persistent. I don’t give up easily. I keep at it. I work hard. I try hard. If I have any success at the things I attempt, it’s most likely because of my effort, not my talent. Still, what little pride I have in my persistence quotient has now been stripped away by a 68 year-old South Korean woman. You see, Cha Sa-soon, the woman of which I speak, has recently passed her driver’s test. Big deal you say, what is so great about that? Well, the big deal is that it took her 950 tries!

Apparently she has been trying to get her licence since April of 2005. That is 950 tests in four years. Do the math—we are talking roughly 238 tests taken per year, with a cost of 5 million won ($4,200) in application fees. Yes, this is certainly a big deal! Oh and by the way, she has only passed the written test to this point. Now she has to work on the driving exam itself!

I guess I could look at this a couple of different ways: Either I could be concerned that it took her 950 tries to get 60% on a driver’s test, or I could focus on the fact that she has a downright inspiring level of determination. I choose to take the high road with option two because I live on the other side of the world—far, far away from any vehicle she might ever find herself driving.

Cha Sa-soon needed the licence for her vegetable-selling business. In other words, there was a reason for her determination outside of the fact that she wanted a driver’s licence. I doubt that just a desire for a driver’s licence would have put enough gas in her tank to get her to take the test almost a daily for four years!

As Christians we sometimes forget that salvation isn’t our primary goal. It is merely our spiritual driver’s licence that puts us on the road to an adventure that will take us to all kinds of destinations in our relationship with Jesus. Thankfully our salvation doesn’t require the same kind of determination that Cha Sa-soon showed in getting her driver’s test. Jesus has already taken the test for us. But I would suggest that your spiritual journey does require determination, if you are going to get the best mileage from your faith and reach all the destinations along the way that Christ has entered into your Spiritual GPS.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)

source:MSNBC

Have you ever wondered why there have been more comic-book superhero movies showing up in the theatres than almost anything else? Are there any superheroes left to be wooed into the movies? Maybe Aquaman, or my favourite, the Flaming Carrot (yes there really is a Flaming Carrot).

“The Dark Knight” and “Ironman” were the biggest blockbusters of this past summer and the Hulk seems to have redeemed himself as well—despite his unwillingness to practice anger management. Batman, alone, has made a billion dollars since its release. Obviously superhero movies are made because they make money, but why are superhero movies watched?

Part of the attraction, I think, is simply that our society is afraid. Our culture has become a culture of fear. Fear seems to be everywhere. Listen to the news and you’ll find fear behind every story. Fear of the unknown. Fear of terrorism. Fear of global warming. Fear of job security. Fear of a failing economy. In a nutshell, we feel out of control and that scares us.

So, we want a hero that can rescue us. We want happy endings. We want to know someone is still fighting the bad guys. We want to know that, no matter how dangerous or how big the threat is, someone can still restore order. And, since no one really feels that way in real life, we go to the movies.

It has become increasingly difficult to be unaffected by the culture of fear. It surrounds us. We feel ill at ease. We worry too much. We think too much. We speculate too much and our imaginations repeatedly focus on a long list of ‘what ifs’.

Ten or fifteen years ago, we hardly ever heard of anxiety or panic disorders, but now these conditions are common, if not epidemic. I want you to think about this seriously for a moment—have you experienced some sense of fear, anxiety, or worry recently? I was afraid you’d say that!
As Christians, what do we do with all this fear? When the world seems so chaotic, dark, and dangerous what do we do?

One of my all-time favourite passages in the Old Testament is found in Isaiah 6. Isaiah writes about his commissioning as a prophet: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).

King Uzziah had reigned in Israel for fifty years. By all accounts, his rule brought stability and a time of tremendous prosperity and growth. For as long as anyone could remember life had been good, but now the king was dead. For the first time in fifty year massive change was on everyone’s mind. What was going to happen? Could they weather this storm? Was life, as they knew it, over?

As you read on in Isaiah 6, the vision of God only seems to bring more anxiety to Isaiah (v. 5), but ultimately nothing can be further from the truth. Isaiah’s vision of God seated on His throne in the Temple may have shaken him to the core, but it also put everything else into perspective. King Uzziah may have died but the Eternal King was alive and well. On the one hand, life was completely different, but on the other hand nothing had changed—because God was still on His throne.

Paul, speaking of Jesus, reminds us that: “… by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

Is your life ruled by fear? Do your worries worry you? Is “panic” your middle name? Do bully’s kick sand in your face and steal your girl? Forget the superheroes and focus on the One who has already defeated the biggest villain of all. If Jesus is the one who is holds all things together, don’t you think He can hold you together as well?

Things can get a bit scary, that’s expected and it’s what having faith is all about, but God remains on His throne. Why not turn off the news and tune in to a clearer vision of God? Make the only secure investment there is—invest yourself in the unshakeable, unchanging, eternal plans of God.