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What do you think of when you hear the word…TRAIN!!?? 

For me, it takes me back to summer camp and pranking one of my friends. We were told, that if you put a flashlight in someones eyes while they are sleeping, yell “TRAIN!” and hit them with a pillow that they will have a dream of being hit by a train. So, in our pre-pubescent wisdom, we thought we should give it a try. 

While on sabbatical this summer, the idea of a train surfaced again, but in a different “light.” 

Here is the analogy: At any given time, the “train of life” is on two tracks, satisfaction/enjoyment/blessing and disappointment/hurt/suffering. 

We see this truth wind its way through the landscape of the Scriptures. Think about Noah and the Ark, the Exodus, Mt. Sinai, the Promised Land, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim, etc. 

All of these events on the “Train of Life” touch both tracks. Take the Exodus for example (Exodus 12). The Israelites are delivered right after the death of the firstborn. There is rejoicing and loss all in the same event. Those that followed God’s directives to put the blood of a spotless lamb on the doorpost and lintel experienced deliverance. Those that did not experienced death. 

This touched everyone from the palace to the prison, no one was left out. The people on the train are in the same spot with the same circumstances yet, depending on how the train turns, more weight is given to one or the other track. 

Suffice to say, not everyone’s expectations and experiences are the same as the person right next to them. At the same time, we would be naive to think that just because we are on the train “bound for glory” that we will never be touched by disappointment, hurt, and suffering. For years I have thought that my experience must be everyone’s experience. Take for example the prank during summer camp. I thought it was hilarious, but what about my friend that got hit by the pillow in his sleep? I am coming to realize that it is okay to acknowledge both tracks in my life and allow both tracks in the experience of others. 

My prayer is that for all the twist and turns of life, we at Central will allow for honest conversations about hard things and that we will encourage one another to trust in the conductor of our train, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Which track best describes your expectations, experiences, and emotions this week?

Hello September! Does it seem to you that it was June just a few days ago? Like we blinked, and here we are in the last few days of summer?  

   Summer is a far-too-short and interesting season. We often approach summer with a list of fun, exciting adventures and some big expectations. Summer is the time to get outdoors and make the most of the sun-filled, warm days because we know they won’t last long. This is the time of year when we finally have some free time to write the book, clean the garage, build the shed, visit Aunt Sue, etc. However, when those expectations are unmet, life can seem disappointing.  Another summer, and I still didn’t ____________ (fill in the blank for yourself).  

   I don’t know what your summer was like or how it left you feeling. Perhaps you’ve had many mountaintop experiences; maybe you felt like you’ve been in a perpetual valley and barely saw the sun. You may be energized and excited for the fall season, or you may be washed out and weary. You may be feeling accomplished, or you may be feeling disappointed in yourself.  

   I read a familiar portion of Scripture last week. It was a much-needed reminder for me that particular day. This passage reminds us that no matter what is going on in life, no matter how dark and dreary the days seem, no matter how deep the valley, God’s love, mercy and faithfulness never end. God’s love isn’t dependent on me getting the to-do list done. God’s love is placed on me simply because He loves me.  

Lamentations 3:21-24  

[21] But this I call to mind, 
and therefore I have hope: 
[22] The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; 
his mercies never come to an end; 
[23] they are new every morning; 
great is your faithfulness. 
[24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, 
“therefore I will hope in him.” (ESV) 

   When you read the entire book of Lamentations and put this passage in context, you find that the prophet Jeremiah was in the middle of devastating circumstances after Jerusalem had been destroyed – hence the name Lamentations. Jeremiah had a heavy heart. God’s people had been taken from their homeland to Babylon as captives. This was far worse than our summer plans gone wrong. It would have been easy for Jeremiah to sink into depression and eventually despair. How did Jeremiah keep from spiralling downward emotionally and spiritually?   

1. He called to mind what was true of God. He remembered that God is faithful even when we are not! Jeremiah made an intentional choice to focus on who God was in these moments when it seemed all hope was lost.  
   
2. What is true about God? 
   His steadfast love never ceases. There is no end or limit to His unconditional love!  
   His mercies never come to an end.  Mercy is when someone, in this case, God, withholds from us what we truly deserve. God, in His mercy, sent His Son to pay the price for our sins so we could be made right with God (justified). Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. The Cross is proof that His mercies never come to an end. God was willing to give us His Son; will He not graciously give us all things (Rom 8:32)? Yes, He does all things for our good and His glory (Rom 8:28).   
   His mercies are new every morning.  Have you noticed the mercies of God today?  Have you stopped to think of how the Lord has blessed you today (His gifts of grace)? His mercy and grace are often found in life’s small, simple and ordinary moments.  
   Great is His faithfulness. The Hebrew word translated “great” here (rav) means abounding, abundant, more than enough.   
   He is faithful even when we are not (2 Tim 2:13). 
   He is faithful yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).  
   
3. What did Jeremiah do with this knowledge of who God is?  He chose by faith to accept and believe that the Lord was enough (the Lord is my portion) even amid chaos, confusion and disappointment.  He chose to put his hope in the Lord regardless of his feelings and despite his circumstances. 

   This passage gives us a fresh, life-giving perspective as we look toward the fall season, regardless of what we leave unfinished or what disappointments loom over us. It helps us remember genuine peace is found as we “obsess over His faithfulness, not our failures.”¹ Obsessing over His faithfulness helps us keep His perfect love first and foremost in our minds. His perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).  

   What would it look like for you to remember God’s goodness, faithfulness, and steadfast love today? Perhaps you could start listing God’s new-morning mercies. You could do this individually or as a family. It could be as simple as posting a lined sheet of paper on the fridge and starting a list of how you see God at work. Yes, our God is enough for this and all the seasons to come. True and lasting hope is only and forever found in Him. 

 ¹Saffles, G. (2021). The Well-Watered Woman. Carol Stream IL: Tyndale House Publishers.   

My Grandfather or Granda, as we called him, used to love to walk. As far as I know, he never learned to drive. 

   When he was much younger, he also used to cycle but as he got older, and as I really knew him, I know that he loved to walk. 

   He taught me the difference between a “donner” and a “walk.” There is quite a difference between them! 

   A donner happens when one simply heads out on an unspecified journey. That journey could simply be to the corner store or it could be across town, there are no parameters or, in fact, nothing to define what a donner is. On the other hand, a walk implies a certain route, a time frame and an implied purpose.

   While, dear reader, if you have followed me this far, you might be wondering why I am belabouring the obvious! 

   You see, my Granda went for a donner one Saturday that took him from our house in Garrowhill, across the River Clyde to Cambuslang (east of Glasgow) and back again all while in his seventies and all under the heading of a “donner!” And if you might be concerned about him wearing out his shoes, my Granda was a cobbler.

   I developed that love of walking from my Granda. One of my most memorable walks was from Balloch along the shore of Loch Lomond to a wee village called Luss where I camped with my dog and walked back again. At the behest of my cardiologist, I now walk about four kilometres almost every morning, which is a wonderful time to reflect on God, His Word and a new Challenge Central.

   I love that the New Testament uses “walk” as a metaphor for the Christian life. Especially, one finds “walk” used in the book of Ephesians. The first three chapters of Paul’s epistle outline what God has done for us in the spiritual realm. The next three chapters define the believer’s walk. In other words, how should a Christian live? Here are 5 quick points to memorize:

1.       Walk worthy (4:1)

2.       Walk enlightened (4:17)

3.       Walk in love (5:2)

4.       Walk in purity (5:8)

5.       Walk carefully (5:15)

   On a lovely spring Sunday morning, at my Granda’s home in Scotland in 1976, I began my walk with Jesus. I had just become a Christian. For the first time in my life, I was going to church willingly and with excitement. I put on my only dress shirt and tie (I think it was my old high school tie) and walked up the road and up the hill to the kirk of Scotland only to find the door was locked! 

   I was 5 minutes late! I didn’t know the custom was to lock the doors promptly at 11.

   That morning, I was a newborn baby. I had taken my first steps as a Christian. Yes, I fell flat, but I got up again and made sure that I was on time the next week. 

   I have since fallen, I have taken wrong turns, but the Christian life is a walk and not a donner! Don’t look for shortcuts or the easy way. Lace up those walking shoes and enjoy the walk. Don’t be content to donner, even if it takes you a long way, but know where you are going and go with purpose.

Today is my son Gideon’s 14th birthday. Happy Birthday, Gideon! 

This has become a birthday month for us Janssens. Three of us have birthdays in August and so do several of our extended family members — on both my wife’s side and mine. Most years we have two big birthday gatherings, one for each side of the family. It’s a lot of fun, but it also requires a fair bit of coordination. I’m not great at planning this kind of thing so a moment inevitably arrives when I think, Why is this so difficult? That’s usually when my wife or one of our sisters-in-law sorts it all out with what seems like a simple flick of the wrist. 

It makes me wonder, Why does it look so easy when they do it and feel so difficult when I try? It doesn’t matter if it’s birthday month or some other event, but whenever I’m out of my element in ways like this, I’m reminded that I was not made to do every kind of task. God made me for the good works he prepared for me (Ephesians 2:10). He has custom-made good works just for you to do as well. 

Sometimes it takes the busyness of a special event, the pause of a vacation, or even the full stop of an illness to begin considering that we may be doing good things God has prepared for someone else. After all, every birthday should remind us that our days are limited and the time God gives us is precious. I think Moses might have written Psalm 90 in a time of reflection like this. 

After honestly assessing our limited time on earth and emphasizing the irresistibly powerful jus-tice of God, the psalmist concludes with this prayer (Psalm 90:12-17): 

12 So teach us to number our days 

that we may get a heart of wisdom. 

13 Return, O Lord! How long? 

Have pity on your servants! 

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, 

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, 

and for as many years as we have seen evil. 

16 Let your work be shown to your servants, 

and your glorious power to their children. 

17 Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, 

and establish the work of our hands upon us; 

yes, establish the work of our hands! 

Verses 16-17 have been posted on the wall in my office at the church building since shortly after I began my internship in September 2019. However, it is verses 12-15 that have, more and more, become the foundation of my thinking about wanting to experience the words of verses 16-17. We get to learn (v12) near God (v13) that his love satisfies us (v14) with his joy (v15). As this happens, God shows us his powerful work (v16) which makes our work worthwhile (v17). The work is worthwhile because he custom-made it for us — for me and for you. 

Here’s your challenge, Central family: 

Try praying Psalm 90 to our God. He can lovingly “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” and he can “establish the work of our hands” — the custom-made good works he prepared for each of us.

We call it “Kings!” 

For decades now my three brothers and I have gone away annually to a cottage for a few days to hang out, eat, drink and be merry. Or as one once put it: “To live like kings.” 

We’ve done this through all the seasons of life: the birth of our children, the work years, retirement, the death of our parents, and the births of our grandchildren. 

No matter what happens in our lives, or in the world, we go to Kings. 

And as men are prone to do in such situations, we share deeply and ask each other probing questions when we are not playing music or golf or taking a nap. 

“Can you remember the words to Gilligan’s Island?” 

“Oh yeah, uh ‘Sit right back and hear a tale, a tale of something hum hum trip.’” 

“Fateful trip!” 

“Yeah, ‘tale of a fateful trip. … dah, dah, dah… three-hour tour.’” 

“Are those Crocs?” 

“No, knockoffs. I got ‘em for ten bucks. I have wide feet.” 

“I’ve got a bunion on my right foot.” 

“Me too, same foot.” 

“Are we talking about bunions now?” 

“Okay boys, I gotta go to the bathroom.” 

“You don’t need to tell us that.” 

“Hey, what’s the difference between a saxophone and a chainsaw… vibrato.” 

“Oh yeah, how do you stop a guitar player from playing… put music in front of him.” 

“Oh man, Rory just lost the U.S. Open because he choked on a three-foot putt.” 

We do occasionally rise above this to waxing philosophic. I was standing with one of them watching steaks grill on the barbecue when he said suddenly, “You know, these are good days. No one knows what might happen tomorrow or how long we’ve got. But today is a good day.” 

I agreed. “I think there is something like that in the Bible,” I said. I fished around on my phone’s Bible app and came up with Ecclesiastes 7:14. I looked at some different translations and found the one used by The Message: “On a good day, enjoy yourself; on a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.” 

Ecclesiastes is the book you’ll remember that has that famous passage in chapter 3. “[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (ESV) 

What struck me about the passage I quoted to my brother was that whether you were having a good day or a bad day, God was involved in all the details of your life, interested in you specifically. He is thinking about you, regardless of whether you are thinking about Him. 

You’ll be familiar with Ps 139:16, 

“[16] Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (ESV) 

But it’s the opening verses of Psalm 139 that strike me: 

[1] O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 

[2] You know when I sit down and when I rise up; 

you discern my thoughts from afar. 

[3] You search out my path and my lying down 

and are acquainted with all my ways. 

[4] Even before a word is on my tongue, 

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 

[5] You hem me in, behind and before, 

and lay your hand upon me. (ESV) 

Whatever season of life you are in, whether you are having a good day or a bad day, know that God is with you, guiding, supporting, comforting, strengthening, and even carrying you when needed. 

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. [12] Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. [13] You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (ESV) 

Every June, no matter what happens in our lives or in the world, my brothers and I go to “Kings.” And no matter what happens in my life or yours, the scriptures tell us to go to the King. So do so and it will be a good day, and you can enjoy yourself.