FLASHBACK - ZABETH & PAUL BAYNE

This is a flashback to well over a decade ago when I officiated the wedding ceremony for Zabeth and Paul. Today they have four vibrant, growing, intelligent and lovely children. They could never have imagined as they knelt before me (their choice), that within a few years they would experience yet endure the gravest assault upon their family, their hearts and their reputations. In 2007, accused (but unproven) of hurting their youngest of three children then, all three children were removed from them. For four years they maintained their innocence and fought passionately through hearings and court cases. Then as a crowning insult, their newborn fourth child was removed shortly after birth in 2011. With the help of the late Doug Christie (barrister extraordinaire) and Ray Ferris (former MCFD supervisor turned critic) and through their own faith and determination and the moral support of hundreds of advocates, they received their children back in 2011, and in the five years since then, their thriving family provides the continuing evidence of a wrong diagnosis, incorrect assumptions of guilt, the risk of unfettered power among blasé bureaucrats, social workers and litigators; as well as the evidence of the diligent, honest, upright and loving parents and people that Paul and Zabeth are. They are a continuing inspiration to many troubled people. I will never forget them, Zabeth in particular with whom I maintained an almost daily contact through the years of their ordeal. Thank you God, for setting them free.

THEY WILL BE HAPPY AGAIN - IT STARTS TODAY / 605

Josiah is six months old and he has been living with Zabeth and Paul for the past month.

His siblings, Kent, Baden and Bethany have been visiting the family home off and on for a few days and nights at a time as part of the reintegration programme agreed upon by the Baynes and the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

BUT, TODAY IS THE DAY!!! YES TODAY. 
BY NOON TODAY, THURSDAY AUG 25, 2011, the eldest three children will be received into the Bayne home and care. The Bayne Family will have their chance for a restart.

Zabeth and Paul were so excited last evening when we chatted. They wondered whether they would be able to sleep, and perhaps they haven't slept much but their pensive rest will have been filled with happy thoughts. The children too have been counting down the days. This is right and good.

It was close to four years ago when a quake rocked their world culminating in newborn Bethany being retained by the Ministry and the two older but still little boys being apprehended as well. It's old news now and I won't retell it this time. The Bayne path became rockier before it ever was evened out to this point.

Bethany cozy on the couch

This past Father's Day

Soon this happy little Josiah who was born early in 2011 will be joined by three other smiling children looking forward to their familiar places and possessions at 'home.' Soon the two boys will don their new school uniforms and be ready for first day at class in the school where they are now enrolled. Normalcy may come easier to the children than to Paul and Zabeth whose lives were child-empty for so long. I am sure that the children may ask about their foster mom and family. The Baynes will need to work through that. I am sure the daily demands of four children plus a business work schedule will require degrees of patience and stamina from Paul and Zabeth that are taxing. I expect that the accumulated tolerance and fortitude acquired through these past four years has equipped them fairly well. And they themselves are made of the right stuff.

Zabeth and Josiah

I believe that they will be a very happy and contented family.

On Saturday, family and friends in great numbers will join them in a grand party celebrating the occasion of this reunion and taking time to thank God whom the Baynes ultimately credit with this result.   

A CALL TO PRAYER / Part 166 / For Love and For Justice / Zabeth and Paul Bayne/

'A CALL TO PRAYER'

JOIN THEM

On April 6th I mentioned that Paul and Zabeth Bayne, who are committed Christian people, have invited other people who believe in prayer, to join them in a distinctive prayer assembly.

It will happen between the hours of 8:00 AM on Friday April 16th and 8 PM Sunday April 18th.

That is, this invitation has been sent by them or by friends like me to our contacts all over the globe and during that large weekend window of time, wherever people are located, they will take some time to pray.

This is my invitation to you to join them.

Paul and Zabeth have suggested a few things for which people can ask God. Here they are.

1. Pray for God's Will to be done and His Sovereignty and His Purposes to be made clear in their family.
2. Pray for wisdom, understanding and patience as they wait upon God and His timelines to be fulfilled.
3. Pray that God’s Love and Tenderness will be made evident in their children's daily lives.

You can read their own Facebook invitation and even indicate there your intention to be part of this effort. At Facebook just search for ‘A Call to Prayer’.

My own personal invitation to people is going to 150 churches in BC, AB, SK, MAN, and ON among whom I served for several years.

FACING THE LAST GOODBYE / Part 142 / For Love and For Justice / Zabeth and Paul Bayne/

THE FINAL GOODBYE WITH LIVING CHILDREN

I asked Zabeth how she and Paul were doing. She wrote to tell me and her sentiment touched me. With her permission I print it for you to read. A qualifier first: I have mentioned before that Paul and Zabeth have faith in a sovereign God and this faith relationship is important to them. It is evident in the way she deals with her feelings.

“How are we today? We have had a hard last few days. While we have been sick we are doing better in that area, but I have been feeling low emotionally. I miss my children daily, but sometimes when I realize the trial will be coming to an end eventually I start to fear that a decision will be made to permanently separate me from my children forever. How does a parent live through the final goodbye visit? If one was guilty then one could understand and feel the ruling was deserved and if one truly loved the children one might acknowledge that it would be better for the children, but when it is a wrong decision, when love is genuine and no harm done...Will God expect this of us? Would this bring Him Glory by sacrificing our children in order for us to take up a call of helping others and thereby bringing Glory to Him in the answers to prayers of other parents? Or will bringing our children home bring Him Glory? What is His will for our lives? Will we see earthly justice? I pray so, but these are some of the questions I fear to answer.”

Just imagine parents having to wrestle through possibilities like that simply to come to terms with an inconceivable outcome.

The options as Zabeth reviewed them were these. Perhaps in the permanent forfeiture of their children, God has a purpose to accomplish a glorious ending in some undisclosed way. Although she ventures down that dark road far enough to conjecture whether childless, she and Paul might be expected by God to be able to help other people with damaged lives. Or perhaps in returning their children to them, God will be glorified in this family, in their story of tenacity and faith, and their nurturing of these children into adulthood so that each walks an upright life or accomplishes something remarkable.

“What is his will for us? Will justice be done? I pray so, but these are some of the questions I fear to answer, she wrote.” What an honest response this was to my “how are you doing?” query. The legal and judicial sides not withstanding, this is the human side of this sad and in some ways merciless mess.

* Painting: 'Time to Say Goodbye' by Alfred Gockel, who creates powerfully distinctive abstracts which are alive with rich, primary colors, deep black accents, ebbing and flowing lines, and intensely kinetic motion. Toggle his name to see more works.

Zabeth and Paul Bayne – Part 68 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

GOD SENT HIS SON

Exact words are important, specially when they are scripture, and specially when it is believed that these were inspired. The New Testament was written using Aramaic Greek, and the apostle Paul who wrote a letter to the Christians in Galatia chose his words carefully. For that reason the Greek verb exapostello is significant. You will recognize the prefix ‘ex’ meaning ‘out of’ or ‘out from.’ The body of the word then sounds like apostle. An apostle like Paul was a ‘sent one.’ Apostello is the verb “I send.’ The word exapostello then means ‘sending out from’ and carries the idea of going forth from a place at which the person has been before. It is found in Galatians 4:4 which is translated, “But when the fullness of time had come. God sent forth his Son, born of a woman…” When the time was right, God sent His Son out from Himself. His Son left heaven with divine authorization.

Understanding this commissioning, the words of another text, John 1:1-2, and 14 become an inspirational revelation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”


So we know that Jesus came from God and he did so by becoming human. But exactly how did he pull that off? By being born. This is not a reference to the beginning of his existence but to being born as a child of a woman. Jesus came a long way from his exalted position to take on this likeness of ours. An Old Testament prophet named Isaiah foresaw this and wrote, “behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” That name as you may know means, “God with us.” How profound is that?

That involvement of God in our ordinary lives is precisely what Paul and Zabeth are counting upon. Sometimes human decisions must run their course until the time is just right for the establishment of a righteous statement – a declaration of authenticity, and a broader outcome than anyone can imagine. Within three weeks a court of law will convene at which time it is believed that truth will be clearly in evidence, and that truth will set the Bayne children free to return home to their parents.

It’s Christmas Eve. May the blessing of God be your experience and Paul’s and Zabeth’s comfort tonight.

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Zabeth and Paul Bayne – Part 67 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

THE MEANING OF 'THE FULLNESS OF TIME'

There is a danger that after the passage of generations, an historical personality as remarkable as Jesus, will be mistaken by cynical minds as merely a character from a pleasing but imaginary story. Even we who are so familiar with the details of Christ's life need to be reminded that there is nothing mythical about the coming of Christ.

The birth of Jesus Christ happened in time. Real earth time. What is real to us as humans is what occurs in time. Time is our sphere.

The Bible, communicates that the One True God has existed before time itself began. From outside of time, God spoke and his words created everything that we understand and everything that we cannot possibly comprehend. When he created finite things he created time. Sun and moon, and days and nights became instruments by which God marked time for us. God created humanity. Early in human history on earth, God spoke to people to reveal who he is. But through his very own son he has most effectively revealed himself and spoken the things he wants most to communicate. He did that in real earth time.

God made time as a preparation for eternity. It is within time that we acquire our admission to heaven or our entrance to hell. These verses are of great importance to our destiny.

Zabeth and Paul Bayne believe what the Bible tells them when it says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!”

But why did God’s Son come at the particular time that he did? Because it was the right time. If you are running bath water in the tub and you leave it momentarily in order to do something else, the water keeps rising. It won't run over the sides until it has crept up to the top, edged along the surface, and not until the last moment when the tub space is filled will the water overflow. When the tub of time was filled to the brim with everything that God determined should happen, then Jesus came. The fullness of time is the fittest time, the most suitable time in the world's history for the event we commemorate at Christmas.

Next year Paul’s and Zabeth’s children will be involved with other children in a Christmas pageant that honours the Saviour with thanksgiving for his birth. They will arrive in the parents' car having come from home - the family home. Their deliverance will have happened in the fullness of time.

Scripture from Galatians 4:4-6

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Zabeth and Paul Bayne – Part 62 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

A THIRD CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THEM


This will be the third Christmas that Zabeth and Paul cannot celebrate Christmas with their three children in their own home. Christmas 2007, 2008, passed without resolution of the trauma that intercepted their family because of a household misfortune and an unsupported medical diagnosis of a child’s injuries. It appears that Christmas 2009 will be similarly spent by mom and dad without the clamorous sounds of three children unwrapping surprises. Three small children not waking up on Christmas morning running in pajamas to the Christmas tree in mommy’s and daddy’s family room. Three small children who have been one year older each of the past two Christmases so the memory of Christmas at home fades just a bit more.

Two of the three children are small boys, whom the Ministry of Children has been compelled in court to admit, have never been harmed by their parents. Two small boys whom doctors have told the MCFD, are healthy and normal. Still the MCFD retains these boys and does so against its own lawyer’s counsel. Of course that health assessment was made just after the boys were taken from their parents two years ago when the boys were four and two years old. Having torn a two year old from his parents and forced him to live with other people in four different homes for two more years, then test his normality. If he is maladjusted or deficient in any way, it is not the parents’ fault. 50% of his chronological natural life has been messed with and a greater percentage of his psychological and spiritual life. AND THIS DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN! There was every reason to let those boys stay with their parents even twelve months ago. The case of the little girl, whose injury precipitated this awful situation would of course require a more challenging settlement process – a court appearance. Somehow the 2007 medical diagnosis would have to be disproven or dropped. A court date has been set for January 12-15, 2010. Regrettably the court case involves the future of all three children and whether they will be permitted to spend Christmas 2010 at home for the first time in four years or never again to know a Christmas with mommy and daddy Bayne.

It is painful to write this when I know that Zabeth and Paul read it daily and I know how unbearable the sentiments expressed are for them. But they are realists and they are also people of faith in the God whose love gave a Son at Christmas - the son Jesus about whose life and work Paul and Zabeth desire to nurture their children. And with God, nothing is impossible.


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Zabeth and Paul Bayne – Part 41 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

I shared the following thoughts recently with someone whom I respect and admire, who is multi-gifted, generous to a fault, intelligent and creative and driven and goal oriented and loves God.

Quite a special person you are thinking. I would agree. I wrote to him because he has large dreams and they often involve people and I felt people were disappointing him.

From Micah 6:8 the familiar sound of “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? The question mark at the end of the sentence in the English version suggests that the entire statement is the question rather than the last part being a statement. It’s a virtual “how did you miss this – you already know the answer.” So from my perspective, in light of the scathing indictment in the previous verses, directed at God’s people who seem to have lost sight of who God is and all that He has the capacity to accomplish, comes the only conclusion at which one can arrive when God is omni-everything. And what does the LORD require of you O man, surely not something outstanding and attention grabbing, but rather what you already know. Isn’t it to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God? Hint, hint!!! That is Micah’s emphatic question.

Essentially what I was saying is that each of us, while disappointed by others, is responsible to God for ourselves. I am very sure that the decisions that should return Paul’s and Zabeth’s children to them could be made this afternoon when the people who must make them are exercising justice, cherishing kindness and above all walking humbly with God. I also know that in our law oriented and litigious culture, the decision makers can, well almost predictably default to the court to make the decisions for them. That is disappointing. It preserves the tension between the parents and the caregiving protection agency for which we should be thankful. So Paul and Zabeth will have to wait for that court date. In the meantime, they themselves will have to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. If you are someone who has found yourself sympathetic to the Baynes and what is to you convincingly an injustice then you are disappointed too for their sakes. Don’t forget what God expects of you, of us. This ministry has it on paper that it is interested in returning children to their parents, and this is one couple whose life demonstration emphatically demands that these three precious children be permitted to live happily ever after with their mom and dad who have never done anything but to love and to protect them from the moment of their births. So burn brightly everyone! Let your light shine!

Are We Without Prophets Today?

Are we without prophets in our time? Are preachers out of touch with the ways and purposes of God or too timid to tell us that these misfortunes may truly be acts of God? As the proverbial locusts have chewed their way through billions of dollars and as companies are failing and hundreds of thousands of people are becoming jobless, I haven’t heard anyone asserting the connection between God and what is happening nationally and globally. Why is that? Have we amputated God from our understanding of the times and conditions? Are there any nationally recognized preachers calling for the nations to repent?

The Old Testament book of Joel is highlighted by two major events. One is the invasion of locusts and the other the outpouring of the Spirit of God. Joel’s countrymen were experiencing the effects of a recent infestation of locusts. There were successive swarms of locusts, first chewing, then swarming, then crawling, and finally consuming everything. The land was devastated by them so now there followed drought, famine and fires. The economy was shattered. This was a national disaster. The economy of the land was ruined. Even religious life was being threatened because of the shortage of offerings.

Joel, the prophet of God, saw a connection between this national disaster and God’s judgment, and more significantly, an approaching time of greater judgment by the Lord God. He called this judgment ‘the Day of the Lord.’ That is why the book of Joel is insightful because it demonstrates a grasp of the relationship between historical events and the involvement of God. God is sovereignly operative in all that comes to pass. In Joel’s day, the people of Judah were people who had known the blessing of God but now the blessing had ended. And there is an explanation. Judah had neglected, even rejected God. Joel’s purpose in writing was to tell the people that the national crisis was to be considered a warning for them to repent.

It is in the warning that hope emerges. The recovery package doesn’t come out of Ottawa or Washington or London. If the people repent, Joel says, then God will pardon and God promises restoration.

GPS Application

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer and the cutter, my great army, which I sent to you.” Joel 2:25
Now that is an Act of God.

Loneliness, Art, and Understanding Myself

Robert Genn, while explaining artistic creativity yesterday, provided me with an insight that helps me to understand the way I think and behave. Robert is a successful fine artist known internationally to collectors for his landscapes and to artists for his free weekly encouragement. Twice weekly an e-note, 'The Painter's Keys' comes to my mailbox. You can subscribe. Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s piece entitled, ‘Are you lonely this morning?’

“… With the exception of various forms of team art, most of the functioning professional artists I know have come to terms with the strengths and weaknesses of keeping their own company. Although less of a problem for introverts, this art can be learned. The art of effective aloneness includes the understanding that solitude is necessary for creative gain. "Most progress," said self-improvement guru Bruce Barton, "comes out of loneliness." Creative people need to dream and contrive on their own. "Dreams," said Erma Bombeck, "have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely."

I spent an entire working career in service to God, Christ, and his church. No apology. No regret. All of that was very public. For half of that time we lived in parsonages owned by the church. One was located beside the church. It was the proverbial goldfish bowl. I did all of the public duties and did them effectively. I was a diligent and creative pastor, crafting words that developed a reputation for predictably good ministry. That required concentration and private time. I received some criticism for the amount of time that required yet I relished such time.

Now as I try to paint, I love being alone. I need to be alone. This is the true me. I train myself to tolerate intrusions. I have struggled to be like most people I know who live to be with people. I have been self critical. Now I understand that innately, my creative DNA has shaped me for loneliness and that’s OK.

GPS Application

Apostle Paul advised, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). The counsel is to include God rather than leaving him out of something as ordinary as putting paint on canvas. Then even an artistic endeavour is a sanctified activity.

Global Positioning System and God

GPS is an acronym that stands for Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System (GPS) internet site explains in laymen’s language that GPS is freely available to individuals who, equipped with a GPS receiver, can accurately locate where they are and easily navigate where they want to go. The service is available to anyone for multiple modes of navigation whether walking, driving, sailing, or flying. It’s precise in all weather, day and night, anywhere in the world.



The GPS is made up of three parts: satellites orbiting the Earth; control and monitoring stations on Earth; and the GPS receivers owned by users. GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that are picked up and identified by GPS receivers. Each GPS receiver then provides three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus the time.

I have used GPS on a Blackberry, in a golf cart, and in a car. Farmers, surveyors, geologists and countless others perform their work more efficiently, safely, economically, and accurately using the free and open GPS signals. Disaster relief and emergency services depend upon GPS.

The Creator of the universe transcends this one tiny planet upon which I live. Inexplicably God provides instantaneous and accurate information to individuals on earth through reliable prior communication (scripture) and through personal communiqués (Spirit to spirit). It is all that we need to understand where we are and how to navigate into the presence of God beyond earth’s orbit and the pull of gravity. With this biblical world view I interact with the issues and events that concern us all.

Point of interest: Garmin manufactures GPS receivers. Garmin Slipstream has a team in the Tour de France