CFCM

Have you ever seen children that become so used to what they have that they treat their blessings as entitlements? I’ve observed kids treat their cell phones, video games, internet, sports, transportation, etc. as if they were all owed to them. It’s easy for us to look at the younger generation and be frustrated by their sense of entitlement and demanding of rights.

However, I wonder how much we as the adults have fed that attitude into that generation unintentionally. How many of us actually live with a sense of entitlement, even with God?

Deuteronomy 8:11-20 gives a warning to the Israelites that, when they have experienced the great blessings of God, they might forget Him and assume they gained these things for themselves, by themselves. This is what entitlement is like. We receive the blessings of God and begin to act as if He owes them to us because of the covenant He made with us.

1 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV) — 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

It is such an easy trap to make our covenant and faith into demands and entitlement. Everything we have and are is a gift from God. Let us not treat Him with comtempt by acting as if He owes us anything. Let us rather be thankful that His love so extends to us that He would bless us.

Thank you Father for loving me so much. May I never take for granted any blessing that I have received from You. May I never treat you as One who owes me something but rather as the One to Whom I owe my very life. Amen.

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

Psalms 16:7(b) says that ‘in the night, my heart also instructs me’.

Reading this verse this morning, I am struck with the question of ‘why in the night’?  We’re all aware that God still speaks to us in various and sundry (for us inveterate King James lovers) ways; The Bible, the Holy Spirit, friends, circumstances; even the newspapers and other media hold a capacity for creating a moment of revelation where truth can break through, and even if just for a second, reveal a portion of the Divine Mind.  I might add this often leaves me with an overwhelming sense of the goodness of God coupled with an awareness of how truly clever I am (hmmm I may need to work on that a bit).

So, why ‘the night’?  That seems such a misplaced thought.  After all, in the night the newspapers, media and voices of friends and enemies alike are more or less silent, and generally nothing more than faint and indirect voices already fading into irrelevancy.  It must be the silence, the information’s fading then, that is important.

Perhaps it’s only after the stimulus of the day is gone that our hearts are able to be heard speaking with their own voices. In the noisy days in which we live it becomes increasingly important to not only learn to hear the voice of our heart in those early morning wake up moments – those moments between dark and light when truth can impose itself on our minds free of prejudice, but we must also learn to cultivate an inner life, even in the midst of turmoil, where that sacred line of communication can be kept safe from all intruders and we can rest assured that the voice we’re hearing is pure and untainted.

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

No, it’s not a typo in the title. I really mean, have a happy new new year. The grammar may seem bad but the meaning is biblical.

There are two basic Greek words translated ‘new’ in the New Testament. One is neos, meaning new in respect of time. Something that has not previously existed. It is chronological in nature. 2011 is a new year because is has never existed before. It is chronologically new. When someone has a baby, they have a new child. Once there was none, now there is one.

The other Greek word translated ‘new’ in the New Testament is kainos, meaning new as to form or quality, of a different nature. This word is not chronological but rather qualitative. When someone purchases a vehicle to replace their current one, they say, “I bought a new car”. The car may not be brand new. It may be used. It may even be an older model than their previous one. But it is different in quality.

This is the word used to describe the New Covenant – what we have in Christ. It is also used to describe what happens to us when we put our faith in Christ – we become a new (in quality) creation:

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) — 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The second part of wishing you a new year is that of quality. May this be a year that is not only new chronologically, but may it also be a new year qualitatively. May you experience God in greater depth and reality. May you see Him work in your life in new and greater ways. May you become more like the new creation you were designed to be.

Happy New New Year!

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

We are all quick to recognize the consumerism that has permeated the Christmas season. We live in a land of such abundance. Yet we are told we need more stuff. My parents lived through the great depression and WWII. Their Christmas presents were fruit – because they didn’t get it during the year. When I was a kid, I got one toy and a basic necessity, such as a pair of pants. It seems that, since the 80′s, people already have what they need and get what they want – mostly. Then there’s the point at which we have all we want and people have to brainstorm ideas for a gift because there is nothing evident to get us. Wow, how far we have come (or gone)!

On to the multilingual piece. There is a great book entitled The Five Love Languages that presents and explains the ways in which we express and receive love. There are five basic ways we do that. Each of us has a one or two that are dominant in our lives. Here’s the list:

• Physical touch
• Words of affirmation
• Quality time
• Acts of service
• Gifts

We all express and receive love in a couple of these unique languages. Think about which of these ‘fills your tank’. Think about how you most often express love. It gets interesting between couples when they speak difference love languages. They need to learn to become ‘bilingual’.

Society has made Christmas primarily about the love language of gifts – tangible stuff we give and receive. That’s great for those with that love language but what about all the others. The overemphasis of gifts can result in the neglect of the other expressions of love that should be just as much a part of Christmas.

Hugs, affirmation, time, serving one another – these are all expressions of the love God has put in our hearts and should not be neglected for the sake of gifts.

As you celebrate Christmas this year, keep in mind all the ways you can express love. Think of how what love language your family and friends speak and give them more than just gifts – give them love in their language.

Have a multilingual Christmas!

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

Genesis 13:14-15 (NIV) “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring* forever.’”

Genesis 13:17 (NIV) “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Matthew 23:37-39 (NIV) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

These passages show God-given spheres of authority. Abraham was being shown what God was giving him and his offspring. Jesus was addressing the core of Israel – Jerusalem.

As Abraham looked and walked the land it was placed into his heart. As Jesus looked over Jerusalem, what was already in His heart was shown to us.

When was the last time you took a walk, or a drive, or looked at your sphere of God-given influence? I used to drive around my city, praying on a regular basis. As I drove the city recently, I was reminded of how easily we can lose our heart for the very sphere God has given us.

Take the time to revisit your sphere. Look at what God has called you to. Let it become big in your heart.

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

What is normal? What is normal Christianity?

I had a conversation with someone a few years back about the difference between normal and normative. We were talking about human behaviour and defining what normal is.

Normative is the preferred word when dealing with society because it is based on the established, accepted norms within a given society. People don’t go to church shirtless. It is not normative. It has nothing to do with normalcy but rather the accepted norms of church culture. We have no problem with a shirtless man at the beach. That is normative. You get the point.

We have also developed our own kind of normative Christianity. Each congregation has its own culture so to speak. However, there is a general norm for Christian behaviour in the church of Canada. It’s not necessarily evil. It’s just the acceptable.

Enter the word normal. When defining normal, we need an absolute standard. That which is not normal is, well, abnormal. Have you ever wondered what God’s definition of normal Christianity is? I would hazard a guess it’s not the same as our normative Christianity – what we would call normal.

Steve Gray commented at the conference that what we call revival is what God considers normal Christianity. Our normative Christianity is so far off that God’s version of normal is our version of revival.

It’s time to get normal – God’s version. Let’s pursue His version of Christianity and not settle for our own.

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.

Have you ever seen an orchestra live? Or a jazz band? There is such a difference between canned music, even recorded live music, from the live experience. Those of us who are pastors also understand that on multiple levels. There is a vast difference between listening to a recorded teaching of Sunday’s message and actually being in church on Sunday. It’s not just about the information. It’s about the context, the relationships, the corporate presence of God, and the personal ministry. These things can’t be canned.

We live in a day where access to information is greater than ever in history. This is a time where a few clicks can get you audio or video of the greatest ministry gifts in the world. It is also a time where there is great disconnectedness among ministry leaders. The information does not replace the context.

I find it interesting that Israel was commanded to hold three festivals a year. God called people to stop their routines and take a trip to be together on a grand scale. During these times people called out to God, celebrated His deliverance from Egypt, offered worship, heard the teachings of the Torah, and experienced God together. Seems to me even God is into conferences.

Why make the time and spend the money for a conference? A few reasons come to my mind.

• You remove yourself from the familiar, enabling you to open your heart differently to God
• You remove distractions that could otherwise impede what God is wanting to do in your life
• You are exposed to different ministry styles through which you can grow and stretch
• You place yourself where there is more two-way conversation through fellowship
• You experience the spirit of the context, not just the content
• You see bigger than your own sphere of ministry and influence
• You place yourself where God can establish divine connections and relationships for your benefit
• You are able to receive personal ministry

I have attended conferences at both high points and low points in ministry. They have been beneficial either way. Not only that, but it has provided opportunities to be a blessing to others as well.

Come to the festival! Experience what God has for you in all its fulness.

Marc Brule is pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Welland, Ontario and a CFCM National Director.