RA Issue 9.1

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of

the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

3 | Issue 9.1 | Roadside AssistanceRoadside Assistance | Issue 9.1 | 2

Table of Contents

Temples of the Holy SpiritEditorial ......................................................4 Alyssa Tuinstra

Mission TripsRoadquest ..................................................8 John Boekee

Canadian Reformed World Relief FundInnerview ................................................. 10 Iwan Borst

ResolutionsCreative Highway .................................... 14 Alina van Goor

Lord of the StormArticle ..................................................... 16 Gerard Veurink

Winter DayPoem ....................................................... 22 Janaya Borst

What This Is

Roadside Assistance is a forum for Reformed youth. A forum is a place where people talk together. So listen and read, but go ahead and write something as well. We would like you to send your articles, poems, and art, and we’ll do our best to include them in the upcoming issues!

This particular forum is a place for discussing faith matters, encouraging one another in the faith, passing on Bible knowledge, building and expressing our beliefs as Reformed Christians, sharpening hearts and minds, stimulating read-ing on Bible-related issues, and educating each other.

Do you want to write for RA? Email us your articles and maybe your work will appear in an upcoming issue!

ContactRoadside Assistance Magazine

3-7 Southside PlaceHamilton, On L9C 7W6

[email protected]/roadsideassistance

Send an email to [email protected] to

subscribe to our new digital magazine for 2015 and to submit your articles.

The BoardIwan Borst (Editor)John BoekeeJames MooreAlina Van GoorAlyssa Tuinstra

Design: Caitlin Hamoen

Roadside Assistance | Issue 9.1 | 4 5 | Issue 9.1 | Roadside Assistance

Temple of the Holy SpiritEditorial - Alyssa Tuinstra

I am sure that you have noticed by now a common theme among New Year's Resolutions. Dieting and hitting the gym seem to pop up in conversation a lot this time of year. “Eat better, exercise more” is the best way we know to pursue health; something so vi-tal but always a bit out of our reach. While taking care of our bodies is extremely important, physical health is not the totality of healthiness. More and more, med-ical professionals recognize the significance of holis-tic wellness. We are not only a body or only a spirit, we have both. As such, when we want to flourish, we need to take care of all of our aspects – physical, men-tal, emotional and spiritual.

Physical health is the obvious target. After all, in 1 Corinthians 6:19 we are told that our bodies are “tem-ples of the Holy Spirit.” As good stewards of the bod-ies we have been given, we ought to maintain physical wellness. Grand New Year's Resolutions to work out every day or stop eating sugar are unlikely to become habitual. Try making smaller changes. Look to the Canada Food Guide for what a balanced diet should include, and pick one thing to change at a time. Health Canada also advises at least 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous activity each week1. If you would like to pursue physical fitness, try to work your way up to that. Accountability can be very helpful, so see if you can find a workout buddy or a friend who would like to start eating healthier.

Mental wellness is complex to define. For those who do not have a mental illness, two major mental health obstacles are stress and sleep. As students or workers, people with busy social lives or dedicated introverts, we are all susceptible to stress and many of us are prone to running sleep deficits. The heavy burden caused by urgent responsi-bility and insufficient sleep wears away at our focus and attentiveness. Mental health is not isolated either – having stress hormones in your body for an extended period of time wreaks havoc on your immune system. I know that after the stress of exams I usually get sick! Try to make time to seek out rest and quietness regularly. Get in the habit of taking a walk or keeping a journal to relax your thoughts. Pray for peace of mind.

An unhealthy emotional state might manifest as uncontrollable negative feelings when something bad happens. Your emotional health is strongly related to your physical, mental and spiritual health. Physical fitness helps you to feel more in control and can dis-pel upsetting thoughts. Poor mental wellness habits can disable your coping mechanisms. Strong faith provides a rock to hold on to when life feels stormy. To improve emotional health, understand how you deal with negative feelings. If you process them in a destructive way, like bursting out in anger or crying in frustration, try to learn calming techniques. This could be as simple as taking deep breaths in and out a few times. Controlling and appropriately express-ing your emotions is important for your relationships and well being.

Finally we come to our spiritual health. Maintaining our relationship with God is a lifelong process. Most of us experience “lows” in our prayer or devotional lives. Making a habit of reading the Bible and

Get in the habit of taking a walk

or keeping a journal to relax your thoughts.

Pray for peace of mind.


scheduling time to talk to God is the first step towards revitalization. Attend church, and surround yourself with Christian brothers and sisters who will encour-age and challenge you in your walk with the Lord. Learn how to challenge others, too! Ask questions that really get to the heart of someone's faith journey. The state of your spiritual health is central for all oth-er parts of your life. Your faith should be the ultimate priority.

Nobody will be perfectly healthy in all areas of their life. Health is also not something we achieve and are finished with. It requires a bit of input and a bit of failure for our whole lives. In this season of pursuing health temporarily, be reminded that holistic health is an important part of being mobilized to do God's kingdom work wherever you are.

1 http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/maintain-adopt/weights-poids-eng.php

Maintaing our relationship is a lifelong process.... making a habit of reading the Bible and scheduling time

to talk to God is the first step towards revilization.

Attend church, and surround yourselves with Christian brothers and sisters who will encourage and challenge

you in your walk with the Lord. Learn how to challenge others, too!

The state of your spiritual health is central for all other parts of your life.


Mission TripsRoadquest - John Boekee

Have you ever been on a mission trip? I am thinking especially a short term trip, usually about two weeks or so. These kinds of trips are quite common among Reformed people, and perhaps even more so among other North American evangelical churches. It is pret-ty much a given that these trips are a good thing. They are a way for us to give of our time and money to help our Christian brothers and sisters who have a lot less than we do. But are these trips actually as great as we think they are? Perhaps we could give the idea a little more thought. First of all, there are some very positive aspects to mission trips. As Christians we are called to be generous with what we have and share with our brothers and sisters in need. It’s important to be aware of their suffering and help them in any way we can. It is also more than just giving money; it is often helpful to accompany our money so that the recipients know that we actually care about them, and are not just throwing money at them. This is especially true considering that many cultures are much more relationship based than our fast paced, busi-ness oriented Western culture. Mission trips can also be eye opening and even life changing for us North Americans, who get to see how many of our brothers and sisters actually live. I wonder though, if mission

trips are not always exactly all that we think they are. For example, for some trips we go down to help build something. There are times when it would be more beneficial if this work was done by locals instead. In a related example, sometimes we spend lots of money on plane tickets, when this money could be put to better use by the church there. Perhaps there are even things that we think are positives that are actually negatives. For example we can think that by ac-tually going and meeting them personally we are establishing relationships. But to them it can come across as the opposite. They can see it as “you say you want a relation-ship, but then as soon as you get here, you leave again.” Real relationships are constant and permanent, and two weeks is neither of those. All in all, mission trips can also have their negative aspects. I’m not saying mission trips are necessar-ily wrong. Some are an incredible blessing. But I am saying that we need to give them a lot of thought and prayer. Perhaps they are not all quite as great as we sometimes think. Well, that’s what I think anyway. But I want to hear what you think. If you’re not sure, get in touch with your missionary and see what he thinks. Maybe you have a lot of expe-rience with mission trips and I am out to lunch. Let’s talk.

"Then I heard the voice of

the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?" And I said,

"Here am I. Send me!""

Isaiah 6:8


Canadian Reformed World Relief FundInnerview - Iwan Borst

For this issue of Roadside Assistance, we interviewed the chair of the board of the Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund. We wanted to know what CRWRF has been doing and how you can help them help.

R.A.Could you introduce yourself?C.T. Hello, my name is Clarence Togeretz, and I am the Chair of the board.

R.A. What is the Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund?C.T. The fund is set up as an extension of the deaconries of the Canadian Reformed Churches to send relief to the suffering people of the world, as an expression of Christ’s love. It was originally intended that every person could give the equivalent of a “loaf of bread a week” to the needy.

R.A. Who started CRWRF?C.T. J.M. VanderBoom and the congregation of Ebenezer Cana-dian Reformed Church in Burlington East started the CRWRF in 1965.

R.A. What is your role within the organization and what does it entail?C.T. I am Chair of the board, and my role is to ensure that board meetings are held (typically once a month) and I lead the meet-ings. I am charged with the management and supervision of the affairs of the Fund. This does not mean the Chair does all the work – each board member has an area of responsibility that they manage. For example, one member of the CRWRF board may be responsible to see that disaster response is adequately addressed, while another looks after the funds and affairs of a sponsored orphanage.

R.A. What is the mission of CRWRF?C.T. CRWRF serves as a bridge for our church members and churches to provide resources that address material needs of peo-

ple suffering the effects of poverty, through Christian motivated partners.

R.A. Does CRWRF work with other organizations?C.T. Yes, as the statement above implies, the CRWRF works with other Christian organizations and partners. CRWRF is a volunteer organization but does not have any members working in any foreign fields of service.

R.A. What are some of the projects that CRWRF is supporting right now?C.T. In brief summary, and not limited to:

Kenya: Children’s programs, specifically rescue centers for orphaned children

South Africa: HIV/AIDS education and relief, including a foster care program and home based care (supplying patients with appropriate supplies and aid)

Mali: Women’s health promotion program

Disaster relief, some more recent than others: Philippines, Indonesia, Syria, Iraq, Liberia, among others.

A more comprehensive list and explanation can be found on the CRWRF website: www.crwrf.ca

R.A. What would CRWRF do if a natural disaster would hit, for example, the Philip-pines tomorrow? How does CRWRF respond to emergency and disaster situations?C.T. CRWRF is a bridge to Canadian Reformed Churches and individuals, providing opportunities to allow us to help those in need. In an emergency situation such as a natural disaster in the Philippines, CRWRF will first ascertain if they think that mem-bers of our community wish to provide aid. Once this is determined, members of the CRWRF search out one or more opportunities to provide support that are in line with our general policy. Over the 50 years that we have been in existence, we have developed good relationships with many organizations that are able to quickly and effectively use our donations to respond to situations.

R.A. The CRWRF website mentions that CRWRF also wants to teach the people here in Canada about global issues such as poverty and hunger in other countries. What should we know about these topics and how does CRWRF want to teach others?C.T. There are many articles on the CRWRF website which can be viewed to learn about how many people live in different parts of the world – some driven from their


homes, some struggling to survive because of economic, envi-ronmental, or medical challenges.

In all cases, including our own country of Canada, it needs to be clear that life without Christ is true poverty, and separation from God will never bring riches nor satisfaction. As we seek to help our neighbour, be it globally or locally, we need to reach out with the love of Christ, so that as people receive material and physical help, they may receive the ultimate help – the love of Christ and an opportunity to know Him. CRWRF endeavours to educate through the use of the website, presentations, and any other means that we can use. For this reason we have been searching for a promotions coordinator to help with this much needed area.

Faithworks is mentioned in the last answer, but there is a lot of education and hands-on experience gained through this organiza-tion.

There will be an information evening in the Hamilton Corner-stone Church on Stonechurch Road on Wednesday Feb. 25, at 7:30 pm, where everyone can learn about the Ebola crisis in Africa, and how CRWRF has aided the Samaritan’s Purse in this region.

R.A. Can you recommend some resources on these topics?C.T. While there are many resources, a few that you might be interested in are “Rich Christians and an Age of Hunger” by Ronald J. Sider, “Walking with the Poor” by Bryant L. Myers and “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

R.A. If I am a member of a Canadian Reformed Church, do I support CRWRF?C.T. Yes, you support CRWRF through diaconal offerings, spe-cial offerings, and fund raising opportunities which are some-times held in times of disaster. (e.g. Japan tsunami, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines). Donations for projects can be made online or via cheque (left with the deacons) as you are able to do so. I have some non-Christian friends that have supported the work of CRWRF through online donations for disaster relief.

R.A. How can young people help CRWRF and their projects?C.T. As briefly introduced earlier, Faithworks is an organization that is under the CRWRF, and focuses on educating people (not just young people) how they can reach out in love to others. Although foreign short term mission projects are the norm, they are not the primary focus. For example, teams may be sent to Mexico, Brazil, Kentucky, or even Campfire! to help with various projects. The goal is to learn to recognize that God’s children need to live as lights and testimonies of His grace in whatever area of life and location He places them. Whether it is helping someone at school, getting involved in inner city projects, or witnessing openly to your neighbour, all God’s children need to recognize poverty of spirit around them and to reach out.

CRWRF does not have any mission teams or per-sonnel on the field, so there is no “help” that can be lended to projects in a physical manner. Financial donations, but most importantly, prayer, is what is needed to help CRWRF and other organizations, so that by the work of the Holy Spirit, the people of the world may hear, see, feel, and taste the love of Christ and come to know Him as their Saviour.

May God graciously bless you!


CREATIVE HIGHWAYAlina van Goor

RESO

LUTI

ONS

BIBLICAL RESOLUTIONS

CRAZY RESOLUTIONS

We are already well into 2015. Did you make New Year’s resolutions? Have you kept them? Read here about some of the craziest New Year’s resolutions, some Biblical resolutions, and some encouraging advice to help you keep your resolutions!

(rez

-uh-

loo-

shuh

)

“But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3: 13 – 15)

“I promise to clean my room once a week even though I haven't cleaned it

more than once in the last year.”

“Everyone should be quick to listen , slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19)

“I will give up chocolates totally. 100%. Completely. Honestly....”

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40)

“Buy less coffee from Starbucks/big chains.”

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understand-ing; in all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5,6)

"Totally revamp my wardrobe."RESOLUTION ADVICE

1. Start small2. Change one behavior at a time.3. Talk about it.4. Don’t beat yourself up5. Ask for support

{from www.apa.com}


Lord of the StormArticle - Gerard Veurink

Having spent the summer of 2014 in BC, there was one thing in particular that I missed. This would be a good, loud storm. In Ontario, or out on the prairies, it often happens that you have these storms that radiate with power. The thunder is loud as it crashes and echoes. The lightning flashes so brightly and so continuously that you can at times read by its light. The wind is howling, creating all kinds of a mess. Such a storm is really a phenomenal thing to experience!

Mark 4:35-41 also speaks of a storm, or literally, a great storm. While the text doesn’t include things such as thun-der and lightning, it was a huge storm that came up just as Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Such storms are not rare occurrences either. The Sea of Galilee is situated in a kind of basin, with mountains or hills surrounding it. When the wind comes sweeping down these mountains, it can cause immensely powerful storms. And it is one of these storms that we read about in Mark 4. This storm was not just a few gusts of wind that rocked the boat a little. Instead, we can read that the waves were breaking over the side of the boat, filling it with water.

Now normally, when there is a great storm, some people find it quite difficult to sleep. Parents can often identify with this. One of your children comes thundering into your room because a clap of thunder or some other part of the storm has startled and scared them. But here, we read that Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat, sleeping through the great storm! He was exhausted, having been teach-ing the crowds all day. It is an image that we can easily identify with. After a long days work, you are completely

exhausted. You have no more energy left and all you want is to have a good sleep.

And yet, in this there is also something that our Saviour is teaching his dis-ciples and also his people today. No doubt, the conditions were less than fa-vourable for sailing and their very lives were at stake! And yet he could sleep without fear because he trusted completely in his Father for protection. He fulfills here what David had sang already back in Psalm 3:5, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.” In this time of trouble, our Saviour shows us the level of trust that we can have in our Father.

And the reality is that also in our life, problems can arise without warning just like that furious squall on the Sea of Galilee. One visit to the doctor can change everything. It doesn’t take long before there is a diagnosis of serious illness and then things have completely changed. Or think of how quickly an accident can take place. One moment it seems like everything is normal and only seconds later, after the accident has happened, life can be permanently changed.

And yet even in these moments, when life seems to be spiraling completely out of control, we can know that it is actually completely under control. Our God has not forsaken us and he will never forsake us. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). We too can sleep, knowing that our Father is watching over us. We can have a firm trust and confidence in

his protective care over us. Does this mean that everything in life will be completely smooth? Not at all! We all likely know better than that. But during those stormy moments, he will guide us, and he will carry us.

It is clear that the disciples are completely terrified, as is evident from the way that they awake Jesus. They do not simply ask for his help. No, instead they confront him asking him if he cared if they drowned. And we have no reason to think that the disciples were exaggerating the situation either. Among the disciples were Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were fisher-man who had worked on the Sea of Galilee. They knew how treacherous the sea could be, they were well aware of the danger this kind of storm


presented. They were well aware of the peril they were in!

Looking at it from our perspective today, it is easy for us to criticize the disciples for their lack of faith. After all, they had Jesus with them, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God himself! If you cannot feel safe even in this kind of a situation, then there has to be something wrong with you! But the reality is that if we were to critically look at ourselves, we would have to confess that we are not any better than the disciples. It is human nature to despair when faced with life threatening situations. It is not natural for us to remain calm and ask the Lord for help. We may know

what we have to do in difficult times and situations but there is a big differ-ence between knowing the right thing and actually doing the right thing.

So, having heard the cry and complaint from his disciples, our Lord then makes it very clear to them just how foolish they were not to have faith in him. With two simple commands, he rebukes the storm. “Quiet! Be still!” And just like that, it was quiet. Whereas there had just been a great storm, there was now a great calm, as the Greek literally says. This is the second of the three ‘greats’ in the text before us. There was the great storm and now there is a great calm. It is tough for us today to imagine what it would have been like! Next time there is a big storm, just go outside and try to picture that storm ending all of a sudden, just with three words from our Saviour.

And through these three words, Jesus Christ gives his disciples a better un-derstanding of who he is exactly. There is some Old Testament background that gives us direction here. In Psalm 107:25 it says, “For he spoke and

stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.” Also this storm that arose on the Sea of Galilee, it was not out of the control of the Lord. The same God who stirred up the storm in Psalm 107 is now the one who rebukes the wind and the waves. Through the calming of this storm, Christ shows his disciples that he is truly God. After all, who other than the one who created everything in the beginning could cause the wind and waves to stop their roaring? Who else could but speak and control creation? It’s a demonstration of pure power and authority.

And once Christ has calmed the storm, he asks the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples had heard the Lord teaching the crowds, they had witnessed miracles he had done and yet despite these things they still fail to trust in him during their time of need. Like all people, they panic when


the storms engulf them. Rather than looking back andseeing what Jesus Christ had already done and then using this knowledge to help them in their time of need, they go right back to square one.

And then in verse 41 of this passage, we are given the 3rd ‘great’ of the passage. There it says that the disciples were filled with great fear. However, we should not understand this as the disciples being afraid of Jesus, as the NIV suggests. Instead, this is a reverential fear; the disciples are filled with awe. They cannot help but marvel at what Jesus has just done in their presence!

This account in Scripture then leaves us with a very point-ed question: Who is this? Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? But really, it is a rhetorical ques-tion. Mark has already told us the answer when in Mark 1:1 when inspired by the Holy Spirit he writes, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The dis-ciples may not fully comprehend who exactly their Teacher is. But now they had seen so much: they had witnessed his power over creation, they had witnessed so many miracles at this point already, they had heard him tell someone that their sins were forgiven. And all of this adds up to only one thing: their Lord and their teacher really is the Son of God!

Now we today know exactly who Jesus Christ is. We’re familiar with what he has done and how he has rescued us from slavery to sin and Satan. We know the words of the first half of Lord’s Day 1 well. But how often do we consider the fact that belonging to Jesus Christ is part of this life as well? This too is part of our confession in Lord’s

Day 1! And we also confess here that he preserves us in such a way that without the will of our Heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from our head. We have an incredibly full and rich revelation of who exactly Jesus Christ is. And we can also see time and again how he is not only the one who freed us from sin, but he cares for us in this life as well. There is no power or force that can stand against our Lord and Saviour!

And when we know who he is, and how he cares for us, then this should have an impact on our lives. It ought to lead us to that sense of awe for our Lord! What an amaz-ing thing that he is with us! And when we have this sense of awe, then how can we not respond in praise? As we read in Psalm 107:31, there speaking about those whom the Lord has rescued, it says, “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men!” And may this be something real in our life as well. We have a great and mighty Saviour, one who has done so many great things for us! Each one of us can look back over the course of our own life and see how this is true! And so let each of us also praise him all the days of our lives!

Winter DayPoem - Janaya Borst

The flames eagerly leaplicking up the oxygen;creating a warm glow,melting leftover ice and snowoff of pants and sweaters;Warming the tingling extremities.The kettle boils –steam erupts from it tooas water bubbles inside.Outside the big windowsnow flies by speedilycarried by the arctic winds.In a frenzy everything whitens.Nothing stands a chance.‘Tis a perfect winter day.

RA Issue 9.1

Documents

Transcript of RA Issue 9.1