Pastor’s Garage December 3rd, 2020

Here is another well written Pastor’s Garage from Pastor Mike. Just one
housekeeping item is that we will be celebrating communion at our
gatherings this Sunday and Wednesday. We have some prepackaged communion
cups on hand for that. God bless!

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*Pastor Mike Garage, Dec 3/2020*

Is my love growing cold? Is our love growing cold? There is a verse in
Matthew that has been on my mind as of late. It has to do with the end
times. Now hear me on this, I’m not declaring we’re entering the last
days,….I’m not saying we’re not,….we may be,….but that’s not the
point I’m trying to make. I want to centre in on one verse in that passage.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately,
saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of
your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that
no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the
Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and
rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place,
but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated
by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray
one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and
lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of
many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And
this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as
a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:3-14

The verse that has haunted me a bit as of late is “and because
lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” To be
honest, this season has been, shall I say, more than a little interesting
navigating the covid waters as a pastor. Many of our church body has seemed
distant, some have outright disappeared. Others have expressed their
concerns, suggestions and opinions on the direction we should be taking.
The problem being not all of those opinions are in agreement and some are
polar opposites. I readily admit we have not likely made every decision
with perfection and excellence. Quite likely some of the decisions we have
made are real stinkers. Let me let you in on a little secret, we don’t
actually know what we’re doing! We’ve never been here before either! There
is no handbook or section in our church bylaws on how to deal with this. We
are as broken and fallible as anyone else. Now I’m not sharing this to get
you to feel sorry for us, that’s not my intention or point.

I’m not especially proud of this but I met my wife on a Christian
dating site called Christian Cafe. I am in no way endorsing this as a
healthy means of finding a life partner. Now God did use it in our case, I
have no regrets. But I would say this, I think the success of sites like
this, albeit at times they do seem to get the job done, are more of a
indicator of how unhealthy our society has become. One thing I found
interesting was how many times people treated others with less than love,
in fact less than respect, and at times with extreme rudeness because of
the ambiguity of being online and not face to face. It would seem that most
of our communication these days is done through email, text, facebook, or
the many other means that allows for no real personal contact. Do we still
remember that those we are addressing are real, fallible, people with
insecurities and feelings? Even though someone may have a view or opinion
that vastly differs than mine, does that make them less of a person? We may
not like or agree with everything Premier Moe and Dr. Shahab suggest or
mandate we incorporate into our daily routine, does that give us licence to
ridicule and disdain them. Is it not possible that they too go home after a
long day and hang their heads in despair because of the ridicule they have
faced that day even though they’ve never been through all of this before
either? I personally do not agree with many of the ideals of our Prime
Minister, does that give me the right to hate him as a person? I’m not
saying we should cease to have our own thoughts and opinions and express
them. But with what manner do we do that?

Is our love growing cold? Is my love growing cold? I will leave you
with this verse from John. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By
this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.” John 14:34,35

Pastor Mike