Heartland News & Prayer

May 15, 2011 by Wendy Carter.

Hi there:

“… there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

Gary and I became reacquainted this past weekend with our London College of Bible & Mission (now Tyndale College & Seminary in Toronto) professors and student peers - friends from long ago. Even though over 43 years have come and gone we are still family. Gary and I are not really people that dwell on the past but our hearts went out to each one as they shared their joys, challenges, sorrows, and interests. Maybe in the years ahead we will be able to help several of them get to see their valuable God-working stories in print.

William has become another valued friend connected to our Heartland Fellowship Baptist family. He only has about two weeks left with us before he makes his long trek home to Myanmar. On th e way home he will be going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to see his sisters. Don’t forget our farewell potluck supper we are planning for him on Sunday, May 29 @ 5:30. Please bring any food but dessert to share. Check out his blog – www.william.heartlandfellowship.ca.

On May 10 Richard and Hannah in Myanmar gave birth to a baby boy (7 lbs. 4 oz.). Both mother and baby are fine. Since both sets of parents are deceased, they asked Gary and me to name their child - they regard us as their Canadian parents. Our daughter-in-law Jessica suggested Gideon and so it is. It seems we are continuing to collect children and grandchildren throughout our journey through life.

Congratulations to Howie Johnson on his birthday May 17 and to Chris Burton on May 21. God’s best to both of you during this next year! Please pray for Brandon Spears who is looking for a summer job.

Halfway through our service Gary left to go to High Park Baptist Church in Toronto where he preached today and will the next two Sundays. Please remember this church and their pastor, Adam in your prayers as they really want to reach out to their community with the Gospel. Their motto is “followers of Jesus impacting lives in High Park neighbourhoods.” They have lots of room for newcomers - their round church auditorium can seat hundreds.

We have copies of Life on the Zipline – from Fear to Awe available for purchase or you can order online (www.lifeonthezipline.com). We will be up to Thornbury, ON during this week as Gary is writing another book called See You Next Week which will be a church resource for meeting and following up visitors. Please pray for my sister and her husband who will move to this lovely little vacation town to retire right on Georgian Bay (about 20 km west of Collingwood).

Our son, Rob, became part of our preaching team this morning. Please pray for their safety as he and his family return home to Moosonee in the next few days and minister among the needy Cree Indians there.

Home Group happens this Wednesday at the Burton “manor” at 7:00 instead of Thursday this week

Enjoy those beautiful spring flowers!

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.

Light for Our World by Gary Carter: As a child in Grade one Gary was intrigued with a world map on the wall in his classroom. He thought the colours for each country and various lines were real. Today because of the Hubbel telescope we can get Internet pictures of the world that show light at night particularly from cities with their own electrical advancement. Toronto and Japan are very bright; Moosonee, the jungles of South America, Myanmar are quite dark. An elderly colleague from our Bible School visited North Korea recently. She showed a dark map of that country that is terribly oppressed by its government. On the other hand Lee and Mel Carter with their baby boy Aiden are traveling to S. Korea next week for a wedding and a visit to Lee’s orphanage. This country is very bright at night. It is amazing how one little light multiplied over and over can shed. We must pray with the Psalmist (2:8), “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Gary is still working on a portable solar system for William to use in Myanmar. If his Oslo trip happens he will have traveled all around the world.

Spreading Your Hope in the Gospel (Psalm 1; Colossians 1:9-14) by Rob Carter: Psalm 1, Rob’s favourite Psalm, is a backdrop to the Colossians passage (written by Paul from Rome). We are to put ourselves in the seat of the “righteous”, not in the “wicked” category. Rome was a world super power that extended from England to India and ruled for 1500 years. 50,000 miles of road, built to last (perfectly in tact in Turkey today), led to Rome. This allowed the common people to travel but also resulted in cultures colliding. Elements of Roman law are part of our society today. Unfortunately outside of Rome, life was brutal, horrible and evil. Paul was encouraging the Colossae people to put there hope in Jesus, not in Rome. Is your hope in a job, money, Canada, righteous deeds? Jesus is still alive today.

Epaphras was converted under Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and took that message of hope back to Colossae. Paul is praying that the Colossians will be filled deeper and deeper with the knowledge of God. Rob’s 7-month Isabella is now beginning to eat solid food. Paul’s prayer is also that the Colossians will please God in every way and bear fruit. Rob as a young boy was always intrigued by plastic grapes his grandmother had in a bowl on the table. No nutrition there; they just looked nice. Our knowledge of God leads to good works – not the opposite. Religion is about obedience and thus acceptance. The Gospel is acceptance first and obedience will follow. The more Rob gets to know his wife, Jess, the better he understands her and wants to do things for her. God’s power given to us strengthens us to bear fruit. We can’t muster it ourselves. We also will have great endurance and patience. We can be thankful for the hardship in our lives, navigating the difficult parts. God has qualified us; therefore we want to serve Him because of what He has done for us.

Psalm 1 talks about the tree roots traveling down deep into the soil to get the water from the nearby stream for growth and bearing fruit. Fruit tastes good but also comes with seed for reproduction. We need to be like Epaphras whose roots grew deep into God and took seed back to Colossae.

Demas by Steve Macdonald: Another friend and co-worker of the Apostle Paul was Demas. His Greek name means “governor of the people” and is likely a contraction from Demetrius or Demarchus. Not too much is known about him. He was probably from Thessalonica or the area of Berea, Philippi or Neopolis. He may have met Paul on this 2nd or 3rd journey and became a believer (Acts 17:4). In Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24, we .learn that Demas is a fellow worker joined with the others in hardships and good times. They strove together in the common goal of spreading the Gospel (a band of brothers). He is mentioned in the same breath as Luke.

Unfortunately in 2 Timothy 4:19 we find that Demas deserted Paul and returned to Thessalonica. He loved the world despite being a part of and sharing in the hardships of Paul and an all-star traveling Gospel team. He remained a worldly man at root. He hurt Paul but more importantly deserted Jesus as well, probably unlike Cresens and Titus who were just elsewhere. The seed planted did not bear fruit (Mark 4:18-19; 1 John 2:15-17). By loving the world he lost out on “life as your victor’s crown.” (Revelations 2:10) His associates would have been Silas, Timothy and Jason (a homeowner) on Paul’s 2nd journey; Cresens, Titus and anyone from Romans 16 during Paul’s Roman imprisonment; and Luke, Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus during Pauls’ 3rd journey.

Following the Way of Our Faith Leaders (Hebrews 13:7) by William: William wrote another hymn (see his website) which he entitled He is the Answer of My Life. This was the first time he used a power point presentation for his preaching. The Apostle Peter was a great example to follow.
Peter didn’t get angry when Paul corrected his fault. (Gal 2:11-14). Paul said, “I oppose him.” But Peter listened to Paul’s correction. From that time, Peter was not ashamed of being a Gentile’s friend and brother in Christ. A church elder became angry when others advised him that his preaching was too long. As a human being we can be angry but we must be able to control ourselves. The distinction of God’s children is that they don’t mind correcting their faults. Earlier on in Peter’s life he sometimes did ask questions that were not according to Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 18:19-22). He did not get angry when Jesus condemned him for cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant (Matthew 28:51-52; John 18:10; Proverbs 15:10).
Peter loved the believers of Christ (Acts 12:5-17). When we live according to the will of God, He is always ready to send His angels to help us. One of the psalm writers said that God protects his children even when they are sleeping (Psalm 3:5-6). We must not give up our faith for any reason nor worry about anything. We must stand peaceful with God’s Word in every circumstance.
Peter did not try to please human beings (Acts 4:18-20; Galatians 1:10). The Jews were commanded to bring gifts or offering when they came to the house of the LORD to give the needy such as the crippled beggar. If Peter and John had silver or gold, they would not be able to heal this crippled beggar. Sometimes, our money can hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. Because we have money to give; we just give our money instead of praying for them. Telephone and email are very useful but they lead us to ask help from our family and friends around the world when we are in hard time, rather than bringing our prayer request first to God. We have to use our knee more and bring our prayer request to God. We have a God and Father who always takes care of His children.
Peter always gave honour and glory to God (Acts 3:16; 10:25-26). When people asked them about how they performed miracles, they always say that it is because of Jesus. In everything always give glory to God. Whatever your success is always remember to say it is because of God. People may congratulate you by saying that you got a job (or passed an exam with great marks) because you are excellent and work so hard. Reply to them, “Yes! This just happened because of God’s grace!” If you are supposed to congratulate others’ success, just say, “God is so good to you.” or “You are so blessed!” The Bible says that glory and honour is of the LORD.
Peter obeyed the Word of God rather than the Jewish law (Acts 10:28-29; 15:5-11). Jews thought that God and heaven were theirs alone. Don’t let the law rule you, but let the grace of God reign in your life. A strong defence does not make a pig grow but it is the good and healthy food that he eats. Disciplining our children too strictly (with laws) is not the best way to teach them.
Peter exalted his co-worker Paul (2 Peter 3:15-16). There are some pastors or believers who hate their own co-workers. If he hates his own brother, how can he help or lead others to the truth? Of course, everybody has their own weakness.
Peter died as a martyr (upside down) for Christ and His Gospel (about 68 AD). Check out Hebrews 13:7.

Communion led by William: The Lord’s Supper is very important for Christians. We remember that Christ’s blood cleans our sins. It helps us to expect His coming back. I Corinthians 11:27 tells us to examine ourselves and ask for forgiveness.

Things You Need to Know by Steve Macdonald

If a dog gave birth to puppies on the street would its owner be ticketed for littering?
Is a will a dead give away?
If you jump off a Paris bridge are you in Seine?
Is a Freudian slip when you say one thing but mean your mother?
If two silk worms had a race, would it end up in a tie?
If a man survives mustard gas and pepper spray, is he a seasoned veteran?
Why is it, no matter how much you push an envelope, it is still stationary?

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