Sanctuary Internship Begins!

We have begun our first ever internship with a 2 day/week adventure into searching out who He is and learning theology and the scripture as it is bathed in worship and intercession. So far, so good! We are very small (sometimes 6, sometimes only 3) but have put aside Monday and Tuesdays to focus on this journey into the "priesthood" as we discover more of Him.

We decided that we wanted to take lots of time to study God through His attributes and consider the scriptures that develop this in our hearts. And, we are working on learning a scripture meditation model (thanks to Kirk for this!) that helps us take the passages we are studying and turn them into conversational prayer and contemplation. I believe that if it doesn't really get into your prayer life it is not making much of an impact anyway.

As well, we are working with the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard church here in the city in helping to serve the poor of the north end of our city on Tuesday mornings. We believed it was the right time to press into the heart of God in the areas of mercy and justice. So, we are studying it, praying and meditating on it and then serving in the midst of those with needs. It is an adventure! We are confident that God will reveal more of Himself and His heart for this world as we give ourselves to this process.

There will be much to say on this in the weeks to come. We expect more will join us shortly as well. Please pray for us that we learn well and make the most of our efforts. And, pray that His kingdom comes in our city!

Blessings,

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Perseverance

This last month in Winnipeg has been incredibly hot at times. We are not getting much rain either. I have not mowed the lawn in front on my home all month! Winnipeg weather can be like that...its a place of real extremes.

For some reason, the really hot stuff seems to arrive on Sunday. The last three weeks in a row now we have watched as Friday was "nice and hot", Saturday was "uncomfortably hot" and Sunday became "obscenely hot". The photo above was taken this past Sunday. It is a thermometre held by one of our folks somewhere later in the day while sitting in our prayer room. Yes, you are reading it right: its +96F!!!! That is +36C!! And, this is the third week in a row that we have hit that level. This week we had the added feature of high humidity to drive the humidex level (sort of like wind chill in reverse) into the low 40s...can you feel it?? We were there for our usual 7 hr set, sweating and praying and sweating and worshipping and...well, sweating. Did I mention there is no air conditioning in our building?

Now I realize that our current sufferings are neither permanent nor on the level of believers in the suffering church across the globe. I can only imagine what it feels like to hold prayer meetings in China where they are considered illegal, or in Lebanon right now where you can hear the bombs falling endlessly. We are hot but we are not going to die from it. And, it will end shortly. The troubles in the Middle East never seem to end and the bible suggests it is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Still, our "sufferings" are real to us when compared to what we are used to. Sadly, its often not about what you are suffering from but how far you have fallen from your original position that creates the pain. Having no A/C makes me realize that in North America we are sitting high in our comfort and quite unprepared for any kind of fall. A significant lifestyle disruption would cause more pain and hardship, confusion and offence in our hearts, than in most places on the earth. We are not ready nor do we really believe that trouble of any kind could ever touch us. The western church is proving the point weekly by doing very little to cause the people to prepare for anything different than maintaining where they are right now.

Hebrews 12 talks about God coming to shake everything that can be shaken. It says that only that which cannot be shaken will remain. The writer goes on to say that "since we have been given a kingdom which cannot be shaken...". Clearly the writer knows that ONLY the kingdom, the full rule of God on earth and our submission to His ways, His activity and His heart, will survive the sifting. And this shaking is by God Himself. It will be thorough. It will be driven by love. It will produce wholehearted lovers and followers who rely on nothing but the King of Heaven at the end of it all.

Maybe we need to be thankful for the heat? After all, how does one prepare for trouble other than to use every opportunity to embrace trials with thankfulness and trust in our hearts, eyes on Him and a view to a greater reality. Growing in trust is the opposite of harbouring offence and accusation against Him. It is a wonderful result of going through any trial. I want us to be able to say of God in our small shakings, no matter what they look like: "we love and trust you God! There is nothing in us that rises up in arrogance to question the wisdom of your ways". This will be critical in the years ahead. Trouble is coming and God is directing it. Let's get it correct in us now.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director