Solomon writes, in Ecclesiastes 3, He (God) has set eternity in the human heart. (3:11)  Because of this truth, there is something within all of us that knows are days here on earth are numbered.  The Psalmist, in addressing God, reminds himself, all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  (139:16)  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)

George Bernard Shaw once wrote:  The statistics on death are quite impressive, one out of one people die. It is a sobering truth, but death is total and universal in each and every generation; it is the single event in life that we know is a certain reality.  And yet so very often we are unprepared to face this truth and to live accordingly; to live with one eye on eternity.
 
For many of us, we simply need to look at our birth certificates to remind us that we’re not getting any younger.  Thinning hair, failing eyesight, and arthritic hands reveal and inescapable truth: we’re only getting older.  (J.I. Packer, Finishing Our Course with Joy)  But that doesn’t mean we resign ourselves to a life of comfort and ease; that we sit back and just take it easy.  Packer challenges us to embrace the aging process as an opportunity for continued learning and service; to press on with courage and grace and endurance—that our lives may continue to bring glory to our Saviour’; that we might live well and finish well—that we might finish our course with joy.
 
In the coming weeks, we are going to talk about what it means for us at Valley to do just that, to live well and cross the finish line with a confident faith and measure of joy that can only be found in those who have a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.  We’re going to talk about what it means for us to live well, to with each day with purpose, to continue to serve and bless others, to let go graciously and to leave a legacy of faith and trust to those who will follow in our steps; in the words of Packer, to cultivate the maximum zeal for the closing phase of our earthly lives.
 
Packer goes on to admonish us:  Maintaining zeal Godward as our bodies wear out is the special discipline to which we aging Christians are called.  Realism requires us to remember that memory will weaken; logical tightness of speech will loosen; powers of concentration will diminish; physical exhaustion will overtake us sooner or later, and energy levels will keep going lower.  Zeal, however, should be unflagging every day, all day, and all the way. 
 
To such a life of zealous faith and service we are called!  J.C. Ryle once wrote:  
     Zeal is the burning desire to please God, to do his will, and to advance his glory in the world in every
     possible way.  A zealous man is pre-eminently a man of one thing…he lives for one thing; and that one
     thing is to please God.  Whether he lives, or whether he dies—whether he has health, or whether he has
     sickness—whether he is rich, or whether he is poor—whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought
     foolish—whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise—whether he gets honour, or whether he gets
     shame—for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all.  He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to
     please God, and advance God’s glory.  If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it—he is
     content.  He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in the burning, he has but done
     the work for which God appointed him.  Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal.  If he cannot
     preach, work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray.  If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua,
     he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur on the hill (Exodus 17:9-13).  This is what I mean when I
     speak of ‘zeal’.  (Practical Religion)
 
So often, as we get older, we get ‘set in our ways’, we are easily offended, easily distracted, easily drawn away from the very things we hold to be important; we lose our zeal for life and faith, and we fade long before we reach the finish line.   May it not happen at Valley!  Let’s do our part to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  (Hebrews 10:24).  May it be said of us, ‘they finished their course with joy!

Markers and Milestones, we see them along the highway to help guide our journey; to help identify important places along the way.  If you think about it we need, as human beings, need to mark the significant passages along life's journey.  From the celebration of a birth, birthdays, anniversaries, beginnings--such as the start of school or a job, or endings--such as graduation or retirement, and even the conclusion of a journey at death, we have this propensity to mark the important stops along the way.

Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take.          (Jeremiah 31:21)

This weekend is one those markers in my journey.  40 years ago, on Good Friday 1977, God intercepted my life as a 17 year-old kid who really didn't think he needed God in his life.  I am still amazed by His love and grace that reached out to me, when I wasn't even looking for such kindness.  God's word through the prophet Jeremiah still resonate in my heart:  I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)

One passage of Scripture was instrumental in my coming to know God's saving grace:  Titus 3:4-7:  At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  When the kindness and love of God appeared to me, He saved me; not because of anything I had done, I wasn't even looking for God, but only out of His outrageous mercy and love. 

I knew the truth about my own  heart and when I heard the message of salvation; forgiveness through the cross, through the death of the Lord Jesus, I knew it was true.  Even though I tried to walk away, God would not let me go!  There is a love that will not let you go! 

His love and grace have been a continual source of blessing and joy in my life; a constant through all the ups and downs of my journey.  He has met me in the dark and scary places and brought me to a place of comfort and rest, and He has been with me on the mountaintop, sharing in the everyday joys that are mine in  Christ.
He has truly been the anchor of my soul.  (Hebrews 6:19)

It's no surprise that this weekend, Good Friday in particular is special to me.  My mind travels back each year to that moment when God revealed Himself to me and drew me to Him; when Christ become my Savior and Lord.  Though I have never followed perfectly, in fact, the longer I journey with God, the more I am aware of just how far short I fall, yet I have never wavered in the hope and faith I have in the One who has been so very good and faithful to me; who, in the words of the songwriter:  Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - Robert Robinson).

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith.  (Ephesians 2:8)  O to grace, how great a debtor!

After 40 years, I can still testify with the Psalmist:  The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?  (Psalm 27:1)

Many of you know I recently headed back east to spend a few days with my son Scott and with my mom, who I haven't seen since we were in Ontario in July of 2015.  I've been asked a number of times since returning, 'how was your trip'? 

As I boarded a plane in Penticton for a short flight to Calgary and then a connecting flight to Toronto, the attendant scanned my passport and informed me it was about to expire soon, really soon:  'It's okay today but if you try to use it tomorrow it won't be valid'.  In all the details of putting this trip together I had neglected to notice my passport was expiring. (My trip included three days in Boston, so a valid passport seemed important!)

For the next hour as I sat on the plane there was nothing I could do but upon arriving in Calgary I contacted Janice and Scott; all three of us began to research passport renewal and border crossings.  I knew immediately it did not look good.  U.S. customs requires a valid passport for the entire time of your visit and renewal would be a least a two day process.  As I boarded the plane to Toronto it appeared as if we would have to cancel our flight to Boston, motel reservations and seek to re-sell our tickets to the Bruins' games.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  I literally felt sick about what was happening.

Just before shutting down my phone I texted Scott to say we might have to come up with a 'plan B'; I expressed my disappointment to him.  I received a quick reply:  I was disappointed when you said we might have to cancel our trip to Boston but then I thought, I get to spend three days with my dad and that's what's most important.

Though we had planned this trip to connect around a couple of games in Boston, my biggest reason for going was a sense that I just needed to spend some time with my son and to see my mom again.  I began to gain a measure of perspective; not quite what I was planning, but we'd make the best of it -- maybe stay a couple of days in Niagara Falls; a place where we had visited often when the kids where younger.  We could just hang out and watch the games together.  It would be okay.

Yet, I was still disappointed as the plane lifted off; my head was spinning as I thought about all the little things we would need to address to alter our plans.  I replayed the words of a conversation I had with Janice and her words, 'I'm praying for you'.  In the midst of a sense of panic, I really had not shared this with my heavenly Father.  I closed my eyes and in my spirit began to talk to the One who has been so faithful and good to me:  Lord, I'm okay if this doesn't work out the way we had planned.  I don't need to go to Boston but if there's some way that it can work out, I think it would be a blessing to Scott; either way Lord I just want to enjoy my time with him. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.  (Psalm 37:4)

I'm not sure if the thought came to me in answer to prayer but somehow I sensed a leading from God to seek to cross the border -- perhaps hoping the agent would be sympathetic to our situation.  We had planned to cross the next morning to catch a flight from Buffalo to Boston but decided to head to the border that evening while my passport was still valid; at least we would know if there was any possibility of continuing as planned.  In the car I texted Janice:  heading to the border.  The reply came back:  praying for you.

To make a long story short, we crossed the border without incidence; the agent looked at my passport and either did not  notice or was not concerned with the expiry date.  I used the same passport to board the plane in Buffalo and then again on the return flight from Boston.  We still had to cross back into Canada, but somehow that seemed less daunting. 

Again, we crossed without incidence.  I spent the next couple of days visiting my mom, watched the Bruins game with Scott on Saturday night and returned home the next day, using my driver's licence to board the plane in Toronto and Calgary.  I have my passport renewal form filled out and ready to be dropped off next week!

A lucky break?  Maybe.  A coincidence?  Maybe.  But I really did have a sense of God's peace and leading as we made our way through the border on that Monday evening.  And I have no doubt my heavenly Father was looking after us.  I think He smiled as Scott and I walked into the TD Gardens on Tuesday night.  Maybe I should have prayed for the Bruins; they lost both games!