ODB Canada newsletter winter 2015 by ODB Canada

INSIDE

ŽĞƐ 'ŽĚ ĐĂƌĞ ĂďŽƵƚ ŵǇ ƉĂŝŶ͍

,Žǁ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ĂƌĞ ǇŽƵ ƚŽ 'ŽĚ͍

ƌĂǁŶ ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ 'ŽĚ

ENCOUR AGING STORIES & NE W S “People are hungry for the truth. It encourages me to press on daily.” —JOSHUA CHAN

GOD OPENS DOORS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSHUA CHAN

Joshua Chan often noticed materials from other religions in the waiting area of local Vancouver restaurants. He prayed that someday he would be able to write and publish a book on Christianity to appear in the restaurants also. However, the Lord had another plan, and rather than writing his own book, the Lord introduced him to Our Daily Bread. “God knows better about my heart’s desire, and I was introduced to Our Daily Bread Ministries last year. But it took nine months before I realized that Our Daily Bread and the Discovery Series booklets were answers to my prayer.” In early 2015 Joshua asked if it would be okay for him to place Our Daily Bread in the waiting area of local restaurants in the Vancouver, BC, area. We heartily agreed, as long as he had permission from the owners to do so. ;ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ŽŶ ƉĂŐĞ ϰ)

Read Devotional Thought

Seeing God in Our Pain

Will Suffering Ever End? “WĂŝŶ ŝŶƐŝƐƚƐ ƵƉŽŶ ďĞŝŶŐ ĂƩĞŶĚĞĚ ƚŽ͘ 'ŽĚ ǁŚŝƐƉĞƌƐ ƚŽ ƵƐ ŝŶ ŽƵƌ ƉůĞĂƐƵƌĞƐ͕

ƐƉĞĂŬƐ ŝŶ ŽƵƌ ĐŽŶƐĐŝĞŶĐĞƐ͕ ďƵƚ ƐŚŽƵƚƐ ŝŶ ŽƵƌ ƉĂŝŶƐ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ ŚŝƐ ŵĞŐĂƉŚŽŶĞ ƚŽ ƌŽƵƐĞ Ă ĚĞĂĨ ǁŽƌůĚ͘” ͷ ͘ ^͘ > t/^͕ THE PROBLEM OF PAIN

HILE SUFFERING IS unfortunately the common denominator of life in this present world, pain and suffering will have no place in the world to come. This is, in part, what was accomplished with Jesus’ death on the cross. The cross gives us a hope that helps us endure, by grace, when the long shadow of suffering passes over us. It is the cross that promises a time when wrongs are made right and suffering is brought to an end. The apostle John, nearing the end of his life and exiled for his faith in Christ, glimpsed what the fulˋllment of this promise looked like. He described his vision in vivid terms:

Where iƐ God ǁhen ǁe Ɛuīer? Right beside us. MCONNORS / MORGUEFILE.COM

This is an excerpt from Why? Seeing God in Our Pain, a Discovery Series booklet by Bill Crowder. Go to ĚŝƐĐŽǀĞƌǇƐĞƌŝĞƐ͘ŽƌŐͬ ĚŝƐĐŽǀĞƌǇͲƐĞƌŝĞƐͬǁŚǇ to read the enƟre booklet online or to order a copy.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the ˋrst things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be Mybson.” ΈZ s > d/KE Ϯϭ͗ϯ͵ϳ E ^ Ή

Where is God when we suffer? Right beside us. He allowed His Son to experience the same things we experience. He provided the cross, which pays for our suffering and offers restored relationship with Him. And He is the God who promises that, in the life to come, all those things will be no more.

A Message

For God So Loved . . .

from Brent Hackett

. . . JACQUELINE (C ANADA): “/ƚ ǁĂƐ Ă ůŽǀĞ ƚŚĂƚ / ŚĂĚ ŶĞǀĞƌ ĨĞůƚ ďĞĨŽƌĞ͘͟ . . . JAY ( USA): “ ŌĞƌ / ŐŽƚ ďŽƌŶ ĂŐĂŝŶ͕ ĞǀĞƌǇƚŚŝŶŐ ůŽŽŬĞĚ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚ͘͟ . . . COLLEEN (USA): “'ŽĚ ŵĞƚ ŵĞ ŝŶ ŵǇ ƐŽƌƌŽǁ͘͟

UR MINISTRY BEGAN with one man amazed at the grace of God in his own life and grew into a passion to reach others with the message of God’s love. And the ministry continues on today, growing through the help and work of many like you. There are countless people around the world who need the love of God and to discover hope for their lives. This mission can seem overwhelming, but we are encouraged each day as we receive comments from Find resources that people who have been touched by our various ministry resources. will help you share You are one of our invaluable Ministry God’s love this Christmass at Partners—and we deeply appreciate the help you give through your prayers, your ourdailybread.ca/ForGodSoLoved gifts, and the distribution of devotionals or other Bible resources. We thankbGod that you have not been content to keep the message to yourself but decided to pass along the message “For God so loved” to others in your life. Please join us in praying that many more individuals all over the world will come to personally know that God “so loves” them.

“)or God so lovedbthe world that he gavebhis one and only Son,bthat whoever believesbin him shall not perish but have eternal life” Έ:K,E ϯ͗ϭϲ E/sΉ.

Z Ed , < dd y hd/s /Z dKZ͕ KhZ />z Z D/E/^dZ/ ^ E

;'ŽĚ KƉĞŶƐ ŽŽƌƐ͕ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ĨƌŽŵ ƉĂŐĞ ϭ)

“Distributing the materials is a simple act, but God is using it to touch many lives.” ͷ:K^,h , E

RESTAURANTS, SHOPS, BUS STOPS: ^ŽŵĞ ĂƌĞ ĐƵƌŝŽƵƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ůŽŽŬ ĨŽƌǁĂƌĚ ƚŽ ŚŝƐ ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƚŽ ƌĞƉůĞŶŝƐŚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƐƵƉƉůǇ ŽŶ Ă ǁĞĞŬůǇ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ ĂƐŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ ŵŽƌĞ͘

“The size of Our Daily Bread is just that people are hungry for the truth. nice, not too big. Pocket size. It is easy to It encourages me to press on daily.” “Some restaurants require refills place at one corner of the business location,” Joshua commented. “The content once a week while others once a month. is biblical, and the different titles and The harvest is plenty but labour is few. different languages meet the needs of I hope and pray that God will send more helpers. I learn not to go ahead of God different people of different cultures.” And so it began. One restaurant at but to pray and wait upon the Lord to a time. To Joshua’s amazement, many provide manpower.” To help handle the requirements agreed to display Our Daily Bread in their entrances. “Some places rejected initially of this work, Joshua and some others but later allowed me to place the mate- joined together to start a nonprofit rials—praise the Lord! Sometimes, the organization called Give and Serve waiters and waitresses would ask me Foundation. Now, under the Give and if there were any more new titles. They Serve Foundation umbrella, they are would look forward to my visit, because it able to grow their work by providing prayer support, local church referrals, would mean new booklets for them.” and food distribution in busy downtown areas. All of this is coupled with the distribution of Our Daily Bread and selected Discovery Series booklets. “At Hastings in the Downtown area, many homeless are coming specially for the Our Daily Bread and Discovery Series materials, instead of the sandwiches. Indeed man does not live by bread alone Over time, Joshua was able to grow but by the Word of God.” Besides Joshua, who distributes the number of restaurants that displayed the Our Daily Bread materials. He then about 400 copies of either Our Daily approached offices and businesses as Bread or Discovery Series daily, many well, to see if they would be receptive to other volunteers are eager to help after the materials. “Initially non-Christian their work hours and on weekends. owners were curious about the materials. With placement now in over 1,000 locaOne owner asked if the Discovery Series tions, approximately 10,000 booklets booklets were the Bible, for he had never are distributed at the various business read the Bible. In the end, he took one outlets on a monthly basis. Multiplied over a year, there are thousands of to read.” Joshua follows up with each location copies of Our Daily Bread materials on a regular basis to refill as needed. distributed to individuals in the greater “Some owners were happy that I could Vancouver area. Locations now include restaurants, come often to do the refill. Many of these owners are non-Christians. It shows offices, salons, supermarkets, grocery

stores, accounting firms, dental offices, community centres, and some unconventional locations such as local pubs. “We even display in a liquor store,” Joshua added. “The owner initially felt that these materials were not meant for the nature of the store, but I suggested that some of his customers might be interested. Just then, a customer came in and saw the Our Daily Bread. She instantly requested one, for she had read Our Daily Bread many years ago and was happy to see it. Since then, the owner has allowed us to place the materials in his store. Not only that, he also bought a brochure stand to place the Our Daily Bread and Discovery Series titles.” “At a dental office, the receptionist had not agreed to having the materials placed there. Just then, a patient came by and asked what the materials were all about. He browsed through and commented that it was a good book. The receptionist relented and since then this dental office has become one of the ‘hot spots’ where refills have to be done weekly. About 70 books are picked up from this dental clinic on a weekly basis.” One other surprising door that has opened is the local “pot shops” where marijuana is legally sold. “Nine out of the 10 pot shops that I approached agreed to let me place the materials in their shops. I told the owners these materials are about spiritual well being, about the gospel of Christ.” “God has graciously given us this promised land. It is my fervent prayer that God will raise many workers to reach out to the many lost souls. It is not difficult to follow God’s Great Commission. The moment we step out and yield

ourselves to the Holy Spirit, the outcome is in His hands for He takes care of the rest. Distributing the materials is a simple act, but God is using it to touch many lives. It is definitely beyond our human comprehension.” Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada is committed to supporting the Give and Serve Foundation with materials without cost or obligation. Please pray for the work in the Vancouver area and that the Lord will raise up more volunteers to help distribute Our Daily Bread. Pray for the business owners too, most who are not Christians, that they will also see changed lives and will read the materials themselves. The Lord can use anyone who has a desire to spread His Word. Here at Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada we are working to develop a cross-Canada network of volunteers who can take Our Daily Bread into places we never thought possible. If you share the same desire as Joshua and want to see God’s Word in locations in your neighbourhood, please let us know so we can set you up with multiple quantities of Our Daily Bread every three months. If your passion is prayer, then please commit this great work to the Lord on a regular basis and ask that He will lead us in His will to reach the lost for Christ.

SURPRISING PLACES: ǀĞŶ Ă ůŝƋƵŽƌ ƐƚŽƌĞ ŽǁŶĞƌ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ ƚŽ ĚŝƐƉůĂǇ ƚŚĞ ďŽŽŬůĞƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞŶ ďŽƵŐŚƚ Ă ďƌŽĐŚƵƌĞ ƐƚĂŶĚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞŵ͘ KǀĞƌ ϭϬϬϬ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶƐ ŶŽǁ ĐĂƌƌǇ Our Daily Bread, ǁŝƚŚ ĂƉƉƌŽǆŝŵĂƚĞůǇ ϭϬ͕ϬϬϬ ďŽŽŬůĞƚƐ ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ŵŽŶƚŚůǇ͘ :ŽƐŚƵĂ ĂŶĚ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ŚĂǀĞ ƚŚĞ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚǇ ƚŽ ƐŚĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŐŽƐƉĞů ŽĨ ŚƌŝƐƚ ĂƐ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͘

/Ĩ ǇŽƵ͛Ě ůŝŬĞ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ĐŽƉŝĞƐ ŽĨ Our Daily Bread ƚŽ ƐŚĂƌĞ Ăƚ ǇŽƵƌ ǁŽƌŬƉůĂĐĞ͕ ŐŽ ƚŽ www.moreodb.ca

Study

Come, Whoever You Are

COLLWYN CLEVELAND / FREEIMAGES.COM

Book Excerpt

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. DATTHEW ϱ:ϰͳϱ ΈNLTΉ

T This is an excerpt from Resilient: zour InvitaƟon to a Jesus-Shaped Life by Sheridan Voysey. Go to ĚŚƉŽŶůŝŶĞ͘ĐĂͬ ǀŽǇƐĞǇ to purchase the book.

HEY GATHER ON the lush, rolling slopes to hear Him. He sits down, taking the customary position of a teacher, and looks as many of them in the eye as He can. He has so many things to tell them. A deep draw of breath then He begins to talk. “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him,” He says, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read the ‘God blesses’ statements that follow in the Sermon on the Mount—called the Beatitudes—as a list of virtues Jesus wants us to pursue. So, we think He wants us to be humble ΈD dd, t ϱ͗ϱΉ, to hunger for justice Έϱ͗ϲΉ, to be merciful Έϱ͗ϳΉ, pure Έϱ͗ϴΉ, and peace-loving Έϱ͗ϵΉ. These are all wonderful qualities to have and are reinforced elsewhere in Scripture. And given that Jesus’ Sermon is all about action, it’s a natural way to read these verses. However, if we are to be consistent in reading the Beatitudes this way, some of these ‘virtues’ become tricky. Does Jesus really want us to become poor Έϱ͗ϯΉ, to mourn Έϱ͗ϰΉ, or to be persecuted and insulted Έϱ͗ϭϬͳϭϭΉ? (Some commentators have suggested we should mourn over our sins, but this isn’t actually said in the text.) This way of reading the Beatitudes can also lead to a worksbased understanding of God’s salvation: only when we are humble, gentle, merciful, etcetera, will God then ‘bless’ us. Perhaps Jesus was making a different point. Luke’s recording of the Beatitudes suggests that Jesus wasn’t addressing people who thought they were poor, hungry or sad, but people who literally were Έ>h< ϲ͗ϭϳͳϮϯΉ. This has led scholars like Dallas Willard, Scot McKnight and others to suggest that Jesus’ Beatitudes are not a list of virtues at all but a list of outcasts rejected by society but blessed by Jesus. Those who assembled on the mountain to hear Jesus speak were a motley group indeed: not the happy and successful people of the world, but those who had experienced trials and trouble ΈD dd, t ϰ͗ϮϯͳϮϱΉ. It was this group

of people, those gathered before Him, that He blessed: the economically and spiritually impoverished Έϱ͗ϯΉ͕ the grief-stricken Έϱ͗ϰΉ, the lowly Έϱ͗ϱΉ, those seeking but denied justice Έϱ͗ϲΉ, ridiculed for being merciful or living rightly Έϱ͗ϳͳϴΉ, peacemakers instead of political radicals Έϱ͗ϵΉ, those persecuted for doing right or for following Jesus Έϱ͗ϭϬͳϭϭΉ. All such people were ‘written off’ by both the secular society and the religious elite of Jesus’ day. To worldly leaders who valued strength, not humility, and compliance to their wishes rather than rebellion for the sake of God, people with these qualities held little value. But they were valuable to Jesus. If this is what Jesus is saying, it means His Sermon begins with a radical idea. It means Jesus ignores the world’s popularity lists. It means He welcomes all who society rejects. It means His invitation is extended to all, irrespective of popularity, education, social status or situation. The doors to His kingdom are ˌung open to the sick, the sad, the un-pretty or overweight; the picked on, the beaten up, the socially awkward or homeless; to pushers, dealers, murderers and molesters; to addicts and the mentally ill; to you and to me. So come, whoever you are. Jesus takes us all.

“:ĞƐƵƐ͛ ĞĂƟƚƵĚĞƐ are not a list of virtues at all but a list of outcasts rejected by society but blessed by Jesus.”

dŚĞ >ŽƌĚ ŝƐ ĐůŽƐĞ ƚŽ Ăůů ǁŚŽ ĐĂůů ŽŶ Śŝŵ͕ ǇĞƐ͕ ƚŽ Ăůů ǁŚŽ ĐĂůů ŽŶ Śŝŵ ŝŶ ƚƌƵƚŚ͘ W^ >D ϭϰϱ͗ϭϴ ΈE>dΉ

Prayer Corner

PR AYER HA S ALWAYS BEEN PART OF THE FOUNDATION. Coupled with faith in God, and a willingness to share the gospel with the world, we know that “dŚĞ ĞīĞĐƟǀĞ ƉƌĂǇĞƌ ŽĨ Ă ƌŝŐŚƚĞŽƵƐ ŵĂŶ ĐĂŶ ĂĐĐŽŵƉůŝƐŚ ŵƵĐŚ͘͟ Έ: D ^ ϱ͗ϭϲ E ^ Ή͘ Will you please join us to pray for a few things on our prayer list? • WISDOM ON A BUILDING EXPANSION. We have reached capacity, and need to expand our facility. This is a big decision and investment. Please pray for direction on what should be done.

edition have enabled growth in distribution. Please pray that we can share God’s Word with more people in Canada. • TELEVISION OUTREACH IN C ANADA. The Day of Discovery weekly program has been broadcast since 1968, and we have new opportunities for more programs in Canada. Television production is a big commitment, and we want to ensure we are being wise stewards with the Lord’s resources.

• STAFF FOR T WO OPEN POSITIONS. We are looking to hire two more staff in our Windsor, Ontario ofˉce. One in the warehouse, and one in project management. Please pray for the right people with a passion and desire to serve in the ministry. • EXPANSION OF RESOURCES • GROW TH IN C ANADA. Since IN OTHER L ANGUAGES. For introduction in 1956, volunteers years we have had an ofˉce in like the one in the story in this Trois-Rivières, Québec, translating

Our Daily Bread and other resources into French, for worldwide distribution. In 1 we opened an ofˉce in Vancouver, BC, for Chinese material, which is now sent all across Canada. Our Windsor ofˉce has material in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Indonesian, but there’s potential for over 25 other languages that we could offer in Canada. This is a big project, but we want to provide as much as we can in someone’s native tongue. Please pray for God to open doors, and guide us to make the best materials available in the most efˉcient way. dŚĂŶŬ ǇŽƵ ĨŽƌ ƉƌĂǇŝŶŐ͊

From our readers

You Can Make a Difference!

MANY PEOPLE, ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ĞǀĞŶ ƚŚĞ ƐŵĂůůĞƐƚ ŽĨ ĚŽŶĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ĞŶĂďůĞ ƵƐ ƚŽ ƌĞĂĐŚ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ůŝĨĞͲĐŚĂŶŐŝŶŐ ǁŝƐĚŽŵ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝďůĞ͘ sŝƐŝƚ ƵƐ ŽŶůŝŶĞ Ăƚ ourdailybread.ca/donate ƚŽ ĚŝƐĐŽǀĞƌ ŚŽǁ ǇŽƵ ĐĂŶ ŚĞůƉ͘ tĞ ĂƌĞ ŶŽƚ ĨƵŶĚĞĚ Žƌ ĞŶĚŽǁĞĚ ďǇ ĂŶǇ ŐƌŽƵƉ Žƌ ĚĞŶŽŵŝŶĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ĂƌĞ ŐƌĂƚĞĨƵů ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŐŝǀĞŶ ƚŽ KƵƌ ĂŝůǇ ƌĞĂĚ DŝŶŝƐƚƌŝĞƐ ĂŶĂĚĂ͘

“God Used That Experience to Draw Me Back to Him.” EMERALD LAKE, ALBERTA / TERRY BIDGOOD

Stories

EACH MORNING as I do my devotions, I recall the fall of 2011 when my wife, Margie, lay wasting away in abnursing home.bWe were both saved in 1 7; but while she stayed close to the Lord,bI fell away and drifted, on and off, for many years. But when Margie became too ill to do her daily devotions, I would help, and eventually do them for her using Our Daily Bread. Then I would try to ˋnd Bible passages for her that related to her life.bShe was such a great witness. (ven as she lay suffering and dying, she would still praise the Lord every day. When she would fall asleep during or after devotions, I found I was still reading our Bible. It was as though I could not get enough. God used that experience and Our Daily Bread to draw me back to Him! Ibcannot even write this without having to choke back tears.bIbstill use Our Daily Bread in my morning devotions—and alwaysbwill. Thank you so much for all you do to bring God’s Word with understanding to people everywhere. ͵ s/

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