Seven days after the burial family and friends go to the grave to put up the cross or gravestone. It is called a “Seventh Day Vigil”.

Why is it so hard to take a sabbath rest? The Bible seems pretty clear, “One day in seven, take a break. Don’t work. Enjoy life. Enjoy God.” When I worked for the government in Northern Canada everything screeched to a halt for the day off.
We had to keep the highway open during about six months of blizzards through a stretch of tundra that crossed the Arctic Circle. We rotated days off. Mine was Thursday. Much as loved running all the heavy equipment, and the good pay check, I looked forward to Thursdays all week. Now it seems like life is racing by. There is so much to do, and so few workers. It takes a lot of faith to know we can take a day off and God will pick up the slack.

I don’t see God as having a big stick, looking who he can punish. I see Him as a good boss, wanting to make certain his workers do not burn out. He wants us to enjoy life now, not just after we die. God wants this so much that He made this one of the ten commandments. It is right there beside Love God, and Don’t Worship Idols.

I knew a man who loved and served God all his life. He understood that we now live in an era of sabbath rest, so every day is the same. We can work every day. So he did, and he was a very, very hard worker. But he remained poor and was often frustrated.

“Six days are set aside for work, but on the Sabbath day you must rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.” Exodus 34:21 NLT

God describes Himself as compassionate, gracious and eager to forgive. Then He talks about punishing guilty people to the third and fourth generations.

 “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6b-7 NIV

Does this make sense to you? I remembered a conversation I had last week.

“Your life will change considerably as you follow God’s ways. You will have a husband who loves you, and children who love you. Your children will have a much better childhood than you did. They will grow up going with both parents who love them and encourage them to do what is right. And their children (your grandchildren) will have things even much better yet.” 

Luana is trying hard to live for God. The night before about 9:30 p.m. her younger sister came to our house. “Mom needs to go to the hospital. She is very sick.” When I drove over there her drunken boyfriend came over to the car yelling at me and saying he hoped she would die. Another drunk came around the other side. I got out and shook hands with these guys while they continued yelling at me. We are kind of friends. Annika locked the doors and stayed in the car while I went in the house. The Mom was passed out on an old chair. A neighbour lady followed us into the house. She started slapping the Mom on the face to wake her up so she could go to the hospital. While her 15 year old daughter tied back her hair to make her more presentable someone else went to get more help. This guy ripples with muscles, is full of tattoos and earrings, and he is a great neighbour. He was already asleep, but he got up out of bed, came over. When he saw what was going on he picked up Eliete and put her in our car. Luana, the oldest daughter, got in the car too, and we drove to the hospital. I went to get a wheelchair to help get Eliete to the emergency waiting room. When I turned around Iran was carrying her in like she was a little child. He plunked her on a chair. I gave Luana money to get a taxi home, and Iran came back with me. I heard later he went back to Eliete’s house and told all the drunks to scram. Eliete still have three children at home.


I know a Christian leader who had to leave home when he was eleven years old to go to boarding school. He told me, “When my own son turned eleven I felt like I hit a wall as a dad. Since I did not have a dad at that age, I did not know how to relate to my son.” This man comes from a long christian heritage and he had difficulty with this gap.


Do we have to worry that if we commit a bad sin we will now have a generational curse? No. God is hugely forgiving and compassionate. He wants our best. But if you have a friend who does not have generations of Christian heritage to stand on, cut them some slack. You do not know what walls they are hitting.

Eliete has four children, who she loves very much. When she is sober she goes on and on about how they are her life. “I will do anything for them. I will never abandon them.” She herself was abandoned by her mom. “All the rest of the kids got to stay. I had to leave. I will never abandon my children.” Eliete told me that she now prays and she wants to come to church. She wants to be transformed and to live a different life. She says her boyfriend talks the same way when he is not stoned or drunk. His name is Cesar.


Eliete is trying to give her children a better life than she had. She just doesn’t know how to do that too well at this time. If her children remain faithful to God, they will have an easier time raising their children well even though they come from a dysfunctional home. Their children will have an example of two Christian parents, and will themselves have an even easier time being good Christian parents.


We can see that after three or four generations, if all the parents are faithful in their relationship to God, families become increasingly blessed. Stay faithful. Pass on the blessing.

The degree to which we learn to see God in the beauty all around us is the degree of true enjoyment we experience in life. For example:

1. The stars are nice to look. The more we see them as speaking of God’s greatness and perfection, the more truly enjoyable they become. Psalms 19:1-2

2.  We have a nice cat. When we see this as God’s creation, with beautiful fur for us to touch, and a quirky personality for us to observe, and we realize God created it for us to enjoy, it becomes much more than just a nice cat.

3. Eating good food is very enjoyable. God gave our bodies apetites and taste buds. He planned for how we should enjoy caring for our bodies. The more we realize this, the more capacity we have to enjoy eating and snacking and exercising.

4. God has given us all families, or placed us in families. To the degree we see these people as gifts from God, complete with a uniques set of quirks and baggage picked up along the way, to this same degree our capacity to enjoy and appreciate them increases. We are all created in God’s image.

At one time I was convinced that a Christian life was a black and white world. Our job was to endure until the end. We would only start enjoying life again in heaven. I could not have been more mistaken. After I recommitted my life to live for God, no matter what the cost, I remember a surprising realization, “Food tastes better!” Life was richer. Seeing God in every part of our world is to enter the magazine photos and go to 3D video. I am sure we are only experiencing the first drops of rain. To quote Elijah, “A terrific rainstorm is on the way”.

Jesus promised in Luke 18:30 two things: a much richer life in this age AND… “in the age to come, eternal life.” In John 10:10b Jesus makes the claim again, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.“

If your life feels like you are in a boat tied to the shore, cut the rope. Abandon yourself to following Jesus and see what happens. Worst case scenario you still have eternal life. Who knows? Your life might just get a lot richer and more enjoyable.

Deanna and Annika went to the burial. They planned to bring the parents in the car while the funeral home provided a large bus for the rest of family. At the last minute the dad started weeping and could not go. Then the mom could not go. They stayed home with the babies while the rest of the crew went to the cemetery. At the gravesite no one was sure what to do. Deanna offered to pray and then most joined in to say the Lord’s Prayer. After she got home Deanna and Bella made them a huge pot of soup. This family is rich in some ways and poor in others. The soup was a huge hit with everyone. The dad had just returned from the jungle. He went into his bedroom where he had stored a big sack of Brazil nuts. He gave us a bag full of the raw nuts in appreciation for the soup. Then the mom and dad gathered most of the family in the living room and asked Deanna to pray a blessing over them.

What is a church? Is it an attractive option for people with no history with God? “What do we have that people want?” A hungry person does not want a sermon. So we look for opportunities to serve. We look for opportunities to be “good news”.

“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.” Matthew 20:26b

1. Find out who God wants you to serve.
a. Who are your neighbours?
b. Whose paths cross yours?

2. What are their felt needs?
a. God has created us as complex beings. We need food, health, acceptance, purpose, adventure, etc.
b. Where is “your neighbour” hurting most? Or what do they desire the most?

3. How can you help “your neighbours” meet their needs?
a. The Good Samaritan’s neighbour needed medical care first.
b. Were you good news to “your neighbours” yesterday? What about today?

This is helpful to me. I always try to be nice. I always try to be good news to people. I intentionally try to genuinely smile as much as possible. When I feel frustrated downtown because things are not going my way I still try to be good news. Of course, if we could raise the dead it would seem like we would have a stampede into God’s kingdom. Maybe that day is coming soon. Hopefully. I pray for more power, and for signs and wonders. Until then, we work in our Father’s field. We use the resources He gives us. We make soup when that is what is needed. We give out cups of cold water. We try to be more encouraging than critical. And we are amazed as we watch God build His church.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Matthew 21:31b

Jesus doesn’t say the established leaders will not get into the kingdom of God, just that the tax collectors and the prostitutes (despised, suspect, worldly people who are interested in shortcuts to pleasure and riches) are getting in first.

Church planting can be like this too. Who is the most desperate for change? Who is the most interested in something new? The people who are hurting the most. The thing is, though, they come really wounded. They have generations of sinful history and baggage, or they are suffering the consequences of many bad choices. As we try to build a dependable, respectable church with these people who come first, we often wonder what “really” matters to God?

Jesus cuts through all the cultural laws and goes back to the ten commandments:

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

 ¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

   Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ ^{Comment0 | Share | Tweet | print | email}

-7	Initial Awareness	Initial awareness of the gospel
-6	Aware of Fundamentals	Awareness of the fundamentals of the gospel
-5	Grasp Implications	Grasp the implications of the gospel
-4	Positive Attitude	Positive attitude toward the gospel
-3	Recognize Problem	Personal problem recognition
-2	Decision	Decision to act
-1	Repent	Repentance and faith in Christ
0	Born Again	The person is born again, and becomes a new creation in Christ
1	Confess	Confesses and continues to confess failures, shortcomings, and sins.
2	Sacraments	Participates in the Sacraments.
3	Pray	Prays about problems. Identifies areas of concern and takes a portion of them to God in prayer.
4	Seeks Fellowship	Seeks out the fellowship of other Christian believers.
5	Tithes	Contributes a tithe of their increase.
6	Gives God Thanks	Is able to give thanks to God from within difficult situations.
7	Stores Word	Studies and stores the w\Word of God.
8	Testifies	Is able to share God’s workings in a testimony.
9	Praise	Is able to praise God openly.
10	Prayer Time	Has a regular daily prayer time.
11	Offerings	Gives to the needs of others beyond tithes.
12	Serve	Willing to serve and act in s leadership capacity as a servant.
13	Worship	Take an active part in corporate Worship.
14	Develop Gifts	Seeks to develop the Gifts of the Spirit.
15	Intercessor	Demonstrates intercessory prayer.
16	Looks forward to Heaven	Anticipates Heaven.