What a Week!

Today reminded me of how wonderful the return of Jesus and the New Earth God will create will be - Laura and I were able to slip away to Mt. Hood for an incredible day (Nordic Skiing, an encounter with a Man I've named Richard, and Snowshoeing that was so much fun). Jump over to Bruce's personal blog sight for pictures and the Richard Story - LINK.

Check back on this blog for more on Pastor John's 4-D forgiveness sermon.

Easter is just a week away! This is one of the most important times in all the year to invite your friends to join you at Living Hope. Please invite friends, strangers, anyone you can to join us at East Vancouver Easter Sunday at 9 or 11 a.m.

Here's what they see when they visit our campus:

The brand new "Revive" Coffee trailer will be parked in front of our campus, ready to share some wonderful coffee, tea, and other wonderful treats. Every kid will get a special Easter Gift.

Between the 9 and 11 a.m. service we will have a wonderful spread of treats for everyone who visits us for Easter. We will also have baptisms at both services.

Please spend time this week praying for those you and others are inviting to Easter.

Forgiveness Update

I'm so very excited about John's 3-D forgiveness talk this weekend; don't miss it!

Still going snowshoeing this Sat (March 27) LINK

Didn't read my first "Forgiveness blog?" LINK

The following God promise was written a couple of weeks ago; bask in God's love!

God says to each of us:

“I have loved YOU with an everlasting love! And you are able to love because I first gave love to you. Even while you were weak, helpless, full of lust and hate towards Me, I loved you and saved in Christ. I am your friend. I, the Creator God of the entire universe, chose to adopt you back as my kids even before I created the planet I gave to you as a gift. In my Eternal heart, I saw you as already perfect, 100% genuine –that’s what I see through my perfect eyes. Like I said, all of this took place before I made you. I did all of this simply because I wanted to! I’ve already forgiven you. From my perspective, this took place even before you turned back, hearing my call, ‘Please return home.’ "

“The reason I gave you my son, is so that you could see how gigantic, unending, my love really is! Don’t be afraid of me. Fear of being punished comes when someone doesn’t trust someone. I’m good, all the time. Every good gift you have ever received comes from me. I give lavish gifts to everyone, even evil people (I share the sun and rain with the whole world). I live to give! All you have to do is respond to my love. Simply say ‘yes” and I will grow our friendship. Our friendship will last forever, beyond all time. What I have just said is a promise you can count on. I keep my word!

With love,

Your Creator friend – The “Everywhere Personal God” who wants to be your friend.

This is my “classics” Bible promises from which I wrote the paragraphs above (Click on any text to jump to its LINK).

Jeremiah 31:3, I John 4:19, Romans 5:6-10, Ephesians 2:1-10; John 15:15, Revelation 3:20, Ephesians 1:4-5, John 3:16-17, I John 4:18, James 1:17, Mathew 5:45, Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 42:5-6, Romans 8:16-17, John 4:13-14; 5:24; 6:39-40; 17:3, I John 4:9; 5:11-13, I Corinthians 15:57, Titus 1:2.

Real Forgiveness leads towards . . .

Forgiveness helps us RELAX our grip . . . with OPEN hands we are free to walk towards a REUNION to FRIENDSHIP!

Jesus made us to be his "forever friend." Learning to trust, believe, what he says about us is difficult! Practice moving (in your mind) close to Jesus!

Start with: The prayer, "I am forgiven."

Remind yourself: "I won't hid."

Affirm: "I am accepted!"

The truth: "I am Yours."

Finish with: The 3-word prayer, "I am Free!"

God's Truth: "If the Son make you free, you are really free!" John 8:36 (see verse 32 too). Now be real about the fact that all of us are Crack-pots (fragile clay jars) - See Paul's words in 2 Cor. 4:7. Our emotions will sometimes tell us we don't understand forgiveness. We will still struggle with REGRETS! We are human! Keep stepping into God's forgiveness. It will lead us to trust Jesus when he says, "I'll never leave you!"

Jesus' friend, John, wrote these words when he was an old man about to die: "Even if we feel guilty (our hearts condemn us), God is greater than our feelings. And He knows everything."

I John 3:20. Take the "trust" step (faith) of saying, "I will believe what you say about me Jesus!"

Psalm 32 is a powerful reminder of how forgiveness works - Read it now (Link).

Keep checking back for more! Again here's the link to Bruce's personal blog (what to go snowshoeing this Sat? - LINK).

And - Snowshoeing this next Sat. (March 27 - LINK)

Sunday, March 21 Pastor Bruce speaks at E. Vancouver

It doesn't matter if you're a fan of the TV series LOST, this Sunday I'm going to share a 2 min. clip that is very powerful. In what way? It's a fantastic illustration of how forgiveness works.

Most of us believe in forgiveness, but getting it to stick (the "sticky factor") in our everyday lives isn't always so easy. Maybe it's easier for you to give forgiveness than to receive it. Perhaps it's hard to forgive yourself. Regrets tend to have a long "half-life." This Sunday I believe the sermon on forgiveness could be very transforming in your life.


Invite a friend. One of the stories from the Bible I'll be telling was a favorite of my Father's. It's a very powerful look into how to let forgiveness actually work in your life.


(If you're reading this before 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, you're invited to go to my personal blog and learn more about an "Open Date Invitation" from Bruce and Laura -Link.)

Read The Giving Tree! Also, come on a date with Bruce & Laura

COME SNOWSHOE with us Saturday, March 27th, or meet us for a surprise "date" this coming Sat. night (March 20) . . . to do this you'll have to go to my personal blog (See Link below)!

Why not take a "side-trip" over to Bruce's blog and read The World's Greatest Love Saga (it takes less than 9 min. to read) - LINK :)

Here is the Shel Silverstein Story written 46 years ago (followed by a few questions - Check back all week for more spiritual insights):

The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein

Once there was a tree....

and she loved a little boy.

And everyday the boy would come

and he would gather her leaves

and make them into crowns and play king of the forest.

He would climb up her trunk

and swing from her branches

and eat apples.

And they would play hide-and-go-seek.

And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.

And the boy loved the tree....

very much.

And the tree was happy.

But time went by.

And the boy grew older.

And the tree was often alone.

Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy."

"I am too big to climb and play" said the boy.

"I want to buy things and have fun.

I want some money.

Can you give me some money?"

"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples.

Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and

you will be happy."

And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered

her apples

and carried them away.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time . . .

and the tree was sad.

And then one day

the boy came back

and the tree shook with joy

and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk

and swing from my branches and be happy."

"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.

"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.

"I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house.

Can you give me a house?"

"I have no house," said the tree.

"The forest is my house,

but you may cut off my branches and build a house.

Then you will be happy."

And so the boy cut off her branches

and carried them away

to build his house.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away

for a long time.

And when he came back,

the tree was so happy

she could hardly speak.

"Come, Boy," she whispered,

"come and play."

"I am too old and sad to play,"

said the boy.

"I want a boat that will

take me far away

from here.

Can you give me a boat?"

"Cut down my trunk

and make a boat,"

said the tree.

"Then you can sail away . . .

and be happy."

And so the boy cut down her trunk

and made a boat and sailed away.

And the tree was happy

... but not really.

And after a long time

the boy came back again.

"I am sorry, Boy,"

said the tree," but I have nothing

left to give you –

My apples are gone."

"My teeth are too weak

for apples," said the boy.

"My branches are gone,"

said the tree. "You

cannot swing on them -"

"I am too old to swing

on branches," said the boy.

"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.

"You cannot climb -"

"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.

"I am sorry," sighed the tree.

"I wish that I could

give you something . . .

but I have nothing left. I am just

an old stump. I am sorry. . . ."

"I don't need very much now,"

said the boy.

"just a quiet place to sit and rest.

I am very tired."

"Well," said the tree,

straightening herself up

as much as she could,

"well, an old stump is good

for sitting and resting

Come, Boy, sit down.

Sit down and rest."

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy.

The End

QUESTIONS: Some people read Shel Silverstein's story and become irritated at the selfish, greedy “little boy” that so uses and abuses the tree. Where did this story take you? I asked my friend Diana, an amazing elementary teacher, what her student’s reactions typically are; her answer? “The kids seldom think of the boy at all. They are mesmerized by the wonder of the tree.” Could it be true? When I’m swept off my feet in love I don’t even see the garbage around me? What do you see in others most of the time?

Luke 15 has some very religious people upset with Jesus' storytelling. When you look at this story (wrongly named The Prodigal Son) who do you end up focusing on? The "worldly wayward" younger son? The Dad? The passive aggressive, non-appreciative LOST older brother?

Love Gives because it wants to! Read Psalm 149:1-5. We can "twist and twirl" (Heb. for the word "dance" in the Old Testament of the Bible) in our friendship with God! God's "pleasure" is seeing our eyes light up, like The Giving Tree. Fun: this passage is one of the original Mary Kay Makeup verses (verse 4 says "God takes pleasure in his kids." The word "pleasure" used here comes from the Hebrew concept of "looking beautiful" and is associated with a "rosy" red, flushed face. The ancient root is "to boil, be hot, glow with heat." God's face reflects his passionate love for us. God IS nuts about us! Do you believe this? Believing God will transform the way we look at others!

Revisit this blog or Bruce's personal blog (LINK) for more The Giving Tree" thoughts over the next few days :)

East Vancouver Update

Hey, the name of the band our own worship leader sounded like for a few seconds is . . . Wait, were you able to guess correctly from the last post?

Adam sounded Like the Portland Band . . . (oh yes, you'll have to go to my blog to find out - juvenile? Of course - LINK) . . .

THIS SAT. is our 2nd Saturday Service day. Nearly 800 Living Hope attendees will meet at the Main Campus and join several other churches in the community to do a number of different projects. Bring your smile and plan on arriving at 9 a.m. We will eat lunch at 1p.m. For more details visit our Living Hope web site (Here) or call 360-944-3905.

Two more things:

1) Laura and I have a date set for snowshoeing - if you want to go, please go to Pastor Bruce's personal blog (HERE).

2) Bruce just finished two amazing books this month and is almost done with two more (one from his favorite living author and the other a new one recommended by Diana Brownlee). Check it out at Bruce's blog (HERE).

"True" vs "Truth" - Living Free

Our current sermon series is "Pirates: What steals your heart?"

This week we looked at the story of Elijah in I Kings 18-19 (LINK). Here are the words I want to highlight from our study: hope, lies, true, truth, and worship.

Hope: Without hope our desire dies and we become like a walking-dead-person. Lies can destroy our hope. We can be lied to in various ways, but one of the most common is through words.

Satan is the father, creator of lies (His first lie was told in Genesis 3 and it was the biggest lie ever told.). What makes a lie dangerous is buying into it without the slightest question of its truthfulness. Believing a lie always harms our relationships – all of them! Question: What's the chance I'm believing even one lie, and don't have a clue it's harming me?

A Lie: To purposely deceive, with disregard (apathy) for the well-being of others. It’s ultimate selfishness – it means I care about ME first and foremost!

True vs. Truth: Words can be true; facts can be too (e.g. The earth rotates around the sun.). But only “truth” can set us free! Truth, at times, comes to us in words. But in its purist form, it comes in the form of a person (Check out this amazing passage in the Bible – LINK.).

Truth IS Jesus and His “alive presence” IN our lives. Question: How aware am I of Jesus’ presence in my life? Is Jesus, the living WORD, “front and center” in my life? The forcefulness of my “yes” will push down the lies Satan whispers to me.

Before I reflect on the word “worship” I want to remind you to check back for the name of the 46-year-old poem I mentioned this last Sunday (It will be fun - and very inspiring). It’s a powerful poem that so reflects the Purest Truth Jesus will pour into your life if you want it.

Worship: that which is most “valuable” in our life – what’s “worth” the most to us. What “counts” most is what we worship. Our thoughts, resources (time and money), and life is poured into what we believe counts the most!

Question: How many times a day do you hear Satan whisper a lie to you? How often do you buy into it? What is the greatest TRUTH Jesus wants to speak into you this very moment?

Our choice: Will I act out, live out, truth today? What’s the next “truth step” from me to take right now? What words prayed in my heart this very moment will I pray?

Check back later this week for the “Incredible poem?”

Check out Bruce’s personal blog (CLICK) - Snowshoeing dates & . . . the Portland Band my friend Adam sounded like this week :)

Snow shoeing this Saturday! March 6

Bruce is taking a group up to Mt. Hood Saturday a.m. to snow shoe! You don't have to have done it before or even have snowshoes and boots. If you're interested you can check for details on Bruce's personal blog (LINK) and email him - bruce.lhceast@gmail.com

Love to have you join us!