December 26, 2010 by Wendy Carter.

Happy New Year!

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116.  It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

New Experiences for William by Gary Carter: Since the Burton family were away to Tobermory this weekend, William provided special music.  With Sara’s encouragement he has written a couple of new songs which he performed for us in English with his guitar.  Music is a universal language that captures many a heart.

This week William, with Kaiya Burton and the Carters, also experienced the power and beauty that God has created in our own Niagara Falls – a huge river falling over a cliff.  Gary and Wendy have viewed many falls in the last couple of years in their travels but there is nothing to compare to this wonder of the world particularly at Christmas with the added lighting displays throughout the park.  We often take it for granted until we see it for the first time through someone else’s eyes.  We also viewed the Welland Canal in St. Catharines, another incredible man-made creation that allows huge ships to travel between the Great Lakes.  By God putting an idea within a human’s personality so much more can be accomplished far beyond what one can imagine even with all the limitations.  Because of Jesus’ birth in the obscure village of Bethlehem in the shadow of a castle and His death for our sins we can become the best that each one of us can be as sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Family, although very important (William got to call his family in Myanmar yesterday via Skype), is not the real meaning of Christmas.

Apelles/Aristobulus – Romans 16:10 - by Steve Macdonald: With all of Steve’s research into the names of the people Paul is greeting in this passage, he and Gary will have lots of good material to write a book.

Apelles, one of the 70 Apostles according to Orthodox tradition but not the Catholic church, worked with Andrew and became the Bishop of Heraclea in Trachis. He was “tested and approved in Christ” as described in James1:12 and 2 Timothy 2:15.  He was a faithful, unwavering man of God.

Aristobulus, also one of the 70 Apostles according to Catholic and Orthodox history, was a Jewish native of Cyprus, who quite possibly was Barnabas’ brother and therefore a cousin of Mark (Colossians 4:10). Aristobulus is said to have preached to the Celtic tribes of Northern Spain while on his way to preach the Gospel in Britain and was the first bishop.  Brythonic Celts named a region after him  (Arwystli) which later became a small medieval British kingdom and continues to this day as a district, or “cantref” within the county of Powys, Wales. (Gary’s mom was born in Wales.)

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1; Luke 1) by William: The people of Myanmar find it hard to understand that Joseph was not Jesus’ physical father, but only his legal father. When Joseph learned about the baby’s birth he “took Mary home as his wife.  But he had no union with her until she gave birth …” (Matthew 1:24-25).  Mary had visited her cousin Elizabeth for 3 months so that when she returned to Joseph he would have seen how much the baby had grown.  Matthew 1 is a “Christmas tree” for Jesus.  William learned how to decorate a Christmas tree at the Macdonalds’  home.  The Jews needed to know about the list of names recorded for they are very proud of their ancestry going back to Abraham.  The “tree” contains many kinds of people including women.  No one is higher or lower in God’s eyes e.g. Ruth was a Moabite, a Gentile not an Israelite; David, father of Solomon, killed Uriah.  Mary was only a poor, humble person; her womb was borrowed for Jesus.  God will put His love in our hearts, even though sinners, so that we can be a blessing to others.

Blessings! The Blessing of Servanthood by Gary Carter:  Blessings come, according to Jesus, when you give rather than receive.  He was not really referring to material things or even a family becoming united but to something deeper than anything bound by time or superficiality.  Often we hear about stories of great people and their self-sacrifice e.g. soldiers protecting people who don’t necessarily want to be protected.  John 13:1-17 describes Jesus as a servant; servanthood is the greatest blessing.

The Passover Feast was a social event like our Christmas dinners.  Jesus knew what Judas was going to do but He still washed His feet.  Sometimes people get knocked down due to one event that will colour everything else in that person’s life e.g. humiliation, loss, discouragement.  As a high school teenager Gary vowed he would never speak in public again when he humiliated himself during a speech competition; he stood up and his brain sat down even though he was well prepared.

It was awkward or humbling for Gary to have a lady help him put on his sandals at someone’s home in Myanmar.  Washing someone else’s dirty, stinky feet is like cleaning the outhouse but Jesus was the only person who did something about it.  Peter initially refused but when he realized the significance he wanted a “bath.”  When you have the cleanliness of a renewed heart you don’t need a bath especially when the day-to-day sin has been taken care of.  Do you understand what Jesus did?  Do you have this same attitude?  We need to do whatever needs to be done.  In the Bible being comes before doing but little is said on feeling.  It’s not what you know that will get you the blessing.  What are you going to do in 2011?  Who are you going to do it for?  Set an example!  Don’t manipulate!  In the next few days why not figure out how you can do what God has called you to do in 2011.

Technical Support for Etch-a-Sketch (shaken not stirred) by Steve Macdonald:
My Etch-a-Sketch has a distorted display.  What should I do?  Pick it up & shake it.
My Etch-a-Sketch has funny little lines all over the screen. Pick it up & shake it.
How do I delete a document from my Etch-a-Sketch? Pick it up & shake it.
What’s the shortcut for undo? Pick it up and shake it.
How do I create a new document window?  Pick it up and shake it.
What is the proper procedure for rebooting my Etch-a Sketch?  Pick it up and shake it.
How can I turn my Etch-a-Sketch off?  Pick it up and shake it.
How can I keep from losing my Etch-a Sketch document?  Stop shaking it.
(Someone please show William what an Etch-a-Sketch is!)

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December 19, 2010 by Wendy Carter.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’” Matthew 1:20-21

Winter officially arrives this coming Tuesday.  It seems as if it appeared two weeks ago particularly for the people in and around such places as Sarnia, London and Collingwood.  William is adjusting quite well to the cold and snow along with everything else.  Are you aware of the verse in Proverbs 9:9 which says, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”?  We are all continuing to have a lot of fun being involved in William’s learning process.  He even got to have his first taste of pizza the other day when we took him to visit Stratford to show him some real snow with our son Lee, his wife Melissa and their baby boy.  William fell in love with Aiden (5 months old).  Tonight for the first time he gets to watch a hockey game with Steve Macdonald and Chris Burton playing.  Now, that will be cold.

How’s your coin collecting coming along for FAIR (money for Haiti)?  Are your boxes filling up?  How many eggs did you have in your house this past week?  1 cent per egg.  How about the number of socks?  2 cents for each pair.

Please continue to pray for Debbie Macdonald who is still facing possible surgery with her broken upper arm.

Unfortunately there will be no Home Group happening this week.

May you enjoy this season of celebration with your family and friends,

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116.  It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

Why Christmas? by Gary Carter: It must have been very embarrassing when Joseph learned that his 15 year old girlfriend had become pregnant.  Even though it wasn’t easy he decided to move forward.  The angel then appeared (see verses above) and his day became very confusing as something like this had never happened before.  The Son was to be called Jesus or Joshua which means “saviour”.  Our world does not understand that we have Christmas because Jesus came to “save his people from their sins.”

A Canadian government study with 15,000 people revealed that if people go to church each week they will be half as likely get divorced. This is a reflection of just one way in which Jesus Saves! Jesus gave Himself up for the church.  Last week Gary learned from a colleague that when he was around 18 or 19 he was required by the Bible School he was attending to do Christian service.  Even though untrained, he taught five Grade seven boys.  Three out of five of these boys are today in full time Christian service.  Jesus gives us structure for life so that we don’t fall into the bad stuff of the world.  His life is not just a fantasy story like Santa Claus.

Urbanus & Stachys – Romans 16:9 - by Steve Macdonald: These gentlemen were also listed in this passage of scripture by Paul.  Probably  Stachys was personally known to Paul because he is called “a dear friend” like his friends Priscilla & Aquila; whereas Urbanus, a “co-worker in Christ” was not likely a fellow worker with Paul, but part of the same Christian brotherhood.  Paul has obviously heard about Urbanus (on the 6 o`clock news or in a blog ) and the work being done in Rome.  He is associating  himself with Urbanus as he speaks to the church of Rome.  The name Urbanus means “citizen” and Stachys means “ear of corn” - both names common to slaves or those that had been slaves.  These men are also numbered among the 70 Apostles.  Stachys assisted Andrew and was later  ordained by him as the first bishop in Byzantium (Constantinople). His feast day is October 31.

Jesus Feeds the 5000 – John 6:1-15 - by William: This is an important miracle as it is recorded in all four Gospels in the New Testament.  Jesus and his disciples were seeking a place to rest  but a very large crowd had followed.  Even though Jesus knew what He was going to do he asked Philip personally where they could buy bread for the people to eat.  He was testing Philip.  God wants to hear from as as believers and tests our faith to help us grow.    When gold is first found it is very dirty and mixed with stones and soil.  When tested with fire the gold melts and becomes pure. God will provide and has a plan for us even if we have nothing.  Jesus wanted to use the little boy with his five barley loaves and two small fish.  He wants to use His people even though they are little.  What do you have to give to your God?  Bring it to Him with a humble heart.

Jesus wanted the people to sit down on the grass.  We must sit down before God at His feet before we do anything.  We must listen to Him and then He will bless us.  Remember the story of Mary and Martha.  It is good to be hospitable as Martha was but Mary was not just sitting.  She was in the right position to get a blessing from Jesus.  Sit down before Him with a pure heart.

When the people had had enough to eat Jesus wanted the leftovers to be gathered up so nothing is wasted.  Why does God ask this?  He is not poor.  He wants to use the smallest things.  Jesus then withdrew from the crowd who wanted to make Him King.  He doesn’t want to sit on the throne without the cross.  He wants us to walk on the way of the cross – not a short cut or a popular way.  At the end of His journey Jesus did sit down.  He can use you and me.  Be faithful, humble and generous to God and He will bless you.  Don’t put your trust in your money or your job.  William was asked to translate for a pastors’ conference in Yangon.  Unfortunately they were not able to pay his expenses and even asked him to donate.  At the end of the conference two people came along, asking for prayer and gave him money to cover all his expenses and cover a Buddhist outreach planned in his church.

Communion:  This time of remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection is a very simple act.  It gives us an opportunity to give thanks for His body that became broken beyond belief.  His death was because of and for our sins.

Top Ten Favourite Christmas Songs for Cats by Steve Macdonald:

#10 – Up on the Mousetop
#9 – Have yourself a Furry Little Christmas
#8 – Joy to the Curled
#7 – I saw Mommy Hiss at Santa Claus
#6 – The First Meow
#5 – O come all Ye Fishful
#4 – Silent Mice
#3 – Fluffy, the Snowman
#2 – Jingle Balls
#1 – Wreck the Halls!

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December 12, 2010 by Wendy Carter.

Christmas Greetings Once Again:

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116.  It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

Real Blessings by Gary Carter: William likes our “beautiful” red 2006 Hyundai with windows that roll up when it rains; it can heat up in the winter and cool down in the summer as we wish.  In Myanmar he is used to 1985 Toyota taxis whose windows stay open during the heavy rainy seasons.  We have so many blessings that we take for granted e.g. our homes with so many rooms and dishwashers that wash the dishes.  But real blessings are not in all these things.  The real blessing is in the anniversary we remember and celebrate of the greatest birth of all even though it can be very emotional for some who have lost loved ones.  We need to appreciate what we have. After travelling so many miles a real blessing for our church is William’s visit here with us this Christmas. This week we learned that his Burmese name means “all people should worship” and that his cousin is Richard whose orphanage we have been supporting for several years.

Light of the World – Matthew 5:13-16 - by William:  When we are born again or Jesus is born in our hearts we become like salt on the earth.  Salt gives flavour and preserves food.  There is no refrigeration in Burma. When we don’t want to listen to teachers in school or we don’t want to go to church any more, we no longer become useful as salt.  We misuse our freedom.  We need to encourage and help those who are going to perish.  God has given each one of us a purpose, a vision or a goal to be a light to shine in the world.  The church is a place to charge our batteries and then go out and bring people in.  This is what Jesus wants us to do.  If we don’t love God then we can’t automatically love our brothers.  Buddhists try to find righteousness in works; they must find God first.  Good deeds are signs that we love God.

When William started his own church in Yangon a year ago he had nothing.  Others didn’t think he should begin.  When he prayed, fasted and humbled himself before God the Holy Spirit made it known to him that God is with him.  But no one came for the first 3 months.  Again going for a long walk and praying (his feet were burning it was so hot) he realized in his heart that this was God’s responsibility to bring the people.  The next week his first family came to receive Christ on their own.  Since then they have introduced their friends to the church who have come out.  He has baptized 20 people in one year.  It is important to start and it is important to find one friend.

Ampliatus (Romans 16:8) by Steve Macdonald: This gentleman is another “dear friend in the Lord” of Paul’s.  His Latin name was common in the imperial household so that might have been his background.  He was one of the 70 Apostles and a follower of Andrew.  He became a Bishop in Odessos (in the Balkans, the eastern block) which was an early Christian centre.  All we need to know is that this man was “in the Lord” and “served Him only” (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8).

Martin Luther (Part III) by Chris Burton:  Due to constant attacks from the church and being ordered to recant his teachings on Dec. 10/1520 Martin Luther burned a Papal Bull of excommunication and a book of church law  in Wittenberg. The legend goes: A Wittenberg student, an enthusiastic follower of Luther, was in love with a girl whose grandmother was equally enthusiastic about the old church. On the day of the burning, the woman supposedly wandered to that spot with her granddaughter out of curiosity. There they ran into students who were excitedly talking about what Luther had done. The grandmother was overcome by anger and rammed her walking stick into the ground; while doing this, she swore that the student would not be allowed to marry her granddaughter until the stick had turned green. This student planted a young oak on that very spot. The following spring, the student reported this “miracle” to the grandmother… A Luther Oak stands there today.  Luther was formally excommunicated from the church in January 1521.  From 1520-21 he wrote 3 books which were really the beginning of Protestant ideas.

In Germany there were lots of castles with princes who hoped to weaken the Pope’s political influence through Luther.  One such prince was Friedrich the Wise of Saxon who demanded that he not be outlawed and imprisoned without a hearing.  Luther was given a 21 day free pass to go to the City of Worms for a Diet or general assembly.  He preached along the way and it became more of a victory march than an opportunity to recant as the church hoped for.  Appearing before the Emperor he still did not recant as there was no logical reason why he should.  He was declared an outlaw that any one could kill but Friedrich had staged his kidnapping beforehand which Luther knew about. This guaranteed his safety and a time to disappear for a while to stabilize and strengthen the Reformation.

Blessed are Those that Mourn – Matthew 5:4 – by Gary Carter:  The promised blessing seems like a contradiction in our way of thinking. Jesus encouraged us to mourn to be blessed and receive comfort. Since all the beatitudes deal with spiritual truths we can assume Jesus was not focusing on natural mourning over a loss. He wants us to mourn for our own sins, the sins of his people and the sins of the world. When we mourn about our own sins we must think of our sinful actions but also the things we left out - our sins of inaction.  There is also mourning over the sins of the church and then the sins of the world.  How much mourning do you do?  Are there hidden lights buried under our chairs and tables?   We don’t know when the comfort will come but hearts are stirred deeply when someone responds to the grace of God.  The battle is not done but comfort and rest will await God’s people on the other side (Hebrews 4).

Foreign Affairs(Part III) by Steve Macdonald:

Amicus Puriae: platonic friend
J’y suis, j’y peste: I can stay for the weekend!
Apres Moe, le deluge: Larry & Curly get wet.
L’etat, c’est moo: I am bossy around here.
L’etat, c’est Moe: All the world’s a stooge.
Ca va sans dirt:  And that’s not gossip!

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December 5, 2010 by Wendy Carter.

Christmas Greetings:“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”(I Peter 5:6)

Gary and I were very excited Friday afternoon when we saw William come out of the arrival gate at the Toronto airport.  We learned he got his Canadian visa last Wednesday and he was on the plane the next day.  We are all still quite amazed that he passed this challenging test; our country is very afraid that this young man will not return home.  It took him an hour to plead his case with the Thai lady in Bangkok who was representing our Canadian government (where the temperature was 90 degrees!).  He wasn’t exactly sure whether Toronto customs would let him through, but he entered quite easily with only a few questions asked.   We immediately shopped for warm clothes on our way home and took him to Swiss Chalet for supper.  He has never eaten French Fries.  The Macdonald family brought him along with them after church today to buy a Christmas tree for their home.  He has so much to learn as he has just come to us with only his English language.  Please pray for a quick adjustment and good health during this cold and flu season.  A big thank you to everyone as you have him in your homes for meals, take him to ordinary events that happen day by day in your lives or contribute to his needs financially.  Also thank you Nghiem family for giving him a room in your home to stay for the next six months.  God, indeed, has His hand in all this.  The above verse is William’s favourite.

So did you start filling your Christmas boxes for Haiti this past week?  How many pairs of pants or skirts do you own or how many electrical base plugs do you have in your home?  We were to put in 5 cents for each one.  This collected money will go to FAIR, a part of our Fellowship denomination, that will forward these funds to this very needy country in January.

Continue to pray for Debbie Macdonald contending with her broken arm.  Last Monday she was able to receive a lighter cast and no surgery is required.  If she moves quickly she still feels a lot of pain.

Home Group will happen this coming Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Burton home.  We will continue watching the video  on the 400th Anniversary of the printing of the King James Version Bible.

Everyone is sending around the youtube video,  www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7Jr9oKVE. Have you seen it yet?  Amazing how so many in the world can be reached so quickly.  If you can’t see it right away just go to www.youtube.com and search on the longer form above.

Enjoy that good old white stuff that may get here this week!

Wendy
wendy.carter@kainos.org
This blog is a summary of our 9:00 Sunday morning services held at 7777 Churchville Rd., Brampton, ON L6Y 0H3, 905-230-8116.  It can always be found at www.blog.heartlandfellowship.ca.

William’s Story by Gary Carter & William:  Adoniram Judson travelled to Burma (now Myanmar) by boat from the US in the early 1800s.  He was sick many times, jailed, and lost 3 wives to death and yet was able  to translate the Bible for this country.  The Gospel took root.  There are about 180 tribes of people in Burma.  William is from the small Chin tribe which is mostly Christian but very much disrespected.  About five years ago Gary began a relationship with our friend, Richard who ran an orphanage.  Gary and Steve visited him last spring.  Near the end of their visit they met William and his parents in Yangon where millions of Buddhists live.  His father is a pastor and they had moved there to reach these people.  William became a pastor as well.  Now that William is visiting us we need to help him become more fluent in English and he needs to ask us questions so he can learn all the little things he needs to know to teach English well in his country e.g. distinguishing between “he” and “she”.

William says he is very thankful to Heartland for inviting him over to Canada and is praising His God for helping him to cross many “rivers” to get here.  Even though no more than five people are legally allowed to gather together in a home in Myanmar Christians invite as many unbelievers as possible to their homes for they are willing and open to come at this time of the year.  They will have several Christmas parties starting on December 1.  Christmas is explained and many are won for Christ.

Even though we try our best we cannot do everything.  William submitted his desire of coming to Canada to God.  He travelled to Bangkok and there his visa was denied during the first interview.  He prepared much better for his second interview and the second lady seemed to listen more carefully.  He told her about his church and said, “My God is a living God in me.”  Burmese people don’t respect his Chin people but God has used the smallest things to make big things happen.  God has brought him from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the richest.  He is very blessed and so are we - particularly for the freedoms we experience in Canada. Myanmar is a spiritually bankrupt country with lots of oppression; the people are looking for a solution, not a Saviour.  Check out I Corinthians 1:26-31.

Andronicus & Junias/Junia (Romans 16:7) by Steve Macdonald: So who are these two friends of Paul?    Andronicus’ name means “man of victory; conqueror of men.”  It is not certain if the second person is a male (Junias) or a female (Junia). Jerome (340-420 A.D.) wrote that Junia was a female. John Chrysostom (345-407 A.D.) wrote, “Oh! How great is the devotion of this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle!”

These two people were Jews (most likely Benjamites similar to Paul) who did some jail time maybe with Paul or at another time.  In any case, they were  willing to sacrifice their personal freedom and endure hardships for the cause of Christ Jesus; for this Paul honoured them. Paul uses the Greek word “episemos” meaning “eminent, prominent, distinguished, outstanding, renowned.” This word is only used twice in the New Testament. (The other occurrence is with reference to Barabbas, Matthew 27:16.).  Andronicus and Junia are placed in some good company.  They were believers before Paul – probably when Paul was still going from town to town beating and imprisoning believers.  It has been suggested that these two were among the “visitors” or “strangers” of Rome mentioned in Acts 2:10 (King James Version).  Did they become Christians on the first day of Pentecost and then return to Rome to be the first ones to preach the Gospel there?  Were they among the early followers of Jesus or converts of the 70 disciples that were sent out (Luke 10)?  We simply don’t know. They were, however, successful in bringing many to Christ and demolishing temples of idolatry.

In Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, Andronicus was one of the Seventy Apostles. Andronicus was made Bishop of Pannonia (an ancient province of the Roman Empire located over the territory of the present-day western half of Hungary with parts in Austria, Croatia,Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tradition holds that they were capable of performing miracles, they drove out demons and healed many of sickness and disease. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Andronicus died as a martyr. In the Oriental Orthodox tradition, Andronicus departed in peace one day before the departure of Junia.

Martin Luther (Part II) by Chris Burton: From 1514 Luther was not only a theology professor at Wittenberg University but also the priest at the City Church in Wittenberg.  Luther observed that many people in Wittenberg were not coming to him for confession any more.  They were buying indulgences or forgiveness which was completely repulsive to Martin Luther.  Some even paid ahead of time so they could do all the sin they wanted to do.  He believed that one had to live a life of humility to receive God’s grace.  By 1507 trade in indulgences had increased because the Papal Court and Bishop Albrecht von Brandenburg were having financial difficulties.  Peter indulgences were sold to rebuild the Basilica in Rome. A Dominican monk, Johann Tetzel sold them to redeem sins of the deceased.  He is quoted, “When money clangs in a box, souls spring up to heaven.”

Luther had preached against this indulgence abuse. On October 31, 1517 it is said that Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Castle Church.  Did this really happen?  There was no open discussion of the theses in Wittenberg and no original printing of the theses could be found. One thing is for sure Luther wrote a letter to his superiors on October 31, 1517 in which he denounced the sale of indulgence and asked for repayment and removal of the misunderstandings. With the letter he included 95 theses which were to be the basis for a discussion on the topic. Luther sent his these to a few bishops and some friends, not expecting a quick response.  By the end of 1517, however, copies of the 95 Theses had been printed in Leipzig, Nuremberg and Basel. Some humanists and princes passionately approved of the theses, but parts of the Roman Church completely rejected them. Priest Tetzel called Luther a heretic. The avalanche was unstoppable. In 1518 Luther said he was not striving to unhinge the papacy.  The Papal Court began an inquisition in Rome.

Foreign Phrases Changed by One Letter (Part II) by Steve Macdonald:

Idios Amigos: We are wild & crazy guys.
Le Roi est Mort, Jive le Roi:  The king is dead.  No kidding.
Posh Mortem: Death styles of the rich and famous.
Pro Bozo Publico: Support your local clown.
Felix Navidad: Our cat has a boat.
Quip Pro Quo: A fast retort.
Mazel Ton: Tons of good luck.

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