Fellowship of Believers

I have been really stirred in my heart lately on the subject of how important the fellowship of believers really is. God designed us to be like coals, to be set afire in the presence of other believers. When we move ourselves out of fellowship and outside the fire, as it were, we find that our light grows dim, and that is when satan comes at us. Even in the midst of spiritual battle in community, we can find we can grow discouraged, how much more is that darkness when we are by ourselves. Like a coal that is pulled out of a fire and left to cool, the light goes out, we become insignificant to the light and warmth of Jesus in our world, and we find we are truly alone. It is when we come back into the fellowship, that we find that even though it may be uncomfortable to someone who, like myself tends to be a bit of a loner, and even, yes a bit antisocial, finds myself encouraged and "lit" by other believers. It is true what is said "surround yourself with people you aspire to be like" and you will be like them. Just as we are to surround ourselves, and bathe ourselves in Jesus Christ's presence, we become like Him, so when we surround ourselves with positive, Godly people, we become like them as well. Jesus said Himself "wherever two or more are gathered, in My Name, I am there, in the midst of them". So true is this statement. This does not discount intimate worship and time with God alone on our sojourn's with Christ, but does speak to our need for other believers in our lives for victorious Christian living. Jesus said to "take up your cross and follow me daily" but then we find that fellowship with other believers helps to also share the burden of that cross. We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, here on earth, and in the heavenlies, we are to be encouraged that we are not alone, unless we choose to be. I suppose the imagery of the coals and the fire really was impressed on me again, when up at Tobin Lake at Wilderness Ministries I found myself staring into lots of campfires, playing guitar and meditating on the goodness of God. One last story before I go on this topic.
A man had not shown up to church for a while, found that there were too many hypocrites there, had been slighted too many times, and generally had become cynical about the whole thing. He decided it was better for him to stay at home, by his warm fire than to go out into the winter for church. One day, the pastor shows up at his home. The man lets the pastor in, offers him a warm cup of tea and a sit by the fire. Concerned, the pastor inquires into why the man hasn't been to church and the man shares his views. Quietly as they are both sipping their tea, the pastor places his cup down, and removes the poker from the fireplace. He removes a single coal from the fire off to the side and sits back down. As they quietly sip their tea, they watch as the coal's light fades until they cannot see any light but ash. The pastor then moves the coal back into the pile of coals and they watch as the coal starts to burn again, and glow like the other coals as the flames warm the room. The pastor finishes his tea, thanks the man, and leaves. The man shows up to church the very next Sunday.
I love this story, and I have to admit I am readily more interested in allegory. A couple things we can glean, like the pastor, we have to be ready and willing to reach out to those we do not see in church, to care enough to give them a call or take them for coffee so that they feel like they do indeed belong, are missed, and are loved. People will do what they want, but we must not leave a man behind. Love in action speaks louder than any words. I believe it was St. Francis of Assissi that said "Preach the Gospel continually. If necessary, use words." We are to be the salt and light to this world. We need to encourage one another and love each other, and by saving someone else, we find that we end up saving ourselves as we draw near to Jesus, the ultimate saviour.

God Bless You All Real Good! Moose

A Few new things...

Hey all, well its been a while since I been on this thing... wow February... that's quite a while... been a lot has happened between now and then... first things first though, please watch and if you think a good blog add this guy to your blog roll: http://crossmanministries.blogspot.com This man is like a brother to me and is involved in a really cool ministry that God has called his family to. Pray for him and for the funding and the people to come into place for this simply HUGE vision God has given him.


In other news... lol... Living in North Battleford has been awesome... waking up to a wonderful wife every day is incredible, and God has been blessing me here in every way. God is indeed good. Still going to the R.O.C. or the Reclaim Outreach Center in North Battleford, getting to play guitar once in a while :) It is a street level ministry with a soup kitchen, used clothing, and men's temporary housing. My friends Don Toovey who used to tour with Double Portion and Pastor Len Beaucage are good solid men who love street people and are incredible ministers of the gospel.

























I am still working at Bannerman Photo, (I actually built this website for them :) but have resigned from the hospital. The tech job at Bannerman's went full time and I needed my weekends to spend with my sweetheart, so though a drop in income, it is so nice to have a life now :) I can even get out to church more too...

Darcy's oldest has graduated and is getting his welding ticket, we now have the second oldest living with us and the youngest is still living with his father. Days can be stressful sometimes... the whole kid thing / teenager thing can be as anyone will tell you... hormones lol...





We got away to Tobin Lake to Wilderness Ministries this year, both Dillan, the youngest and Taylor, the second oldest came with us. It was awesome to see how much they really enjoyed being out there. They didn't want to leave which was pretty amazing considering no PS2, Internet, or Cable TV... LOL... They even bore through the Country style Gospel music lol... in spite of it being a little on the cool side with rain :)









I ended up going back up for the September long weekend as Harry and Joanne Cash Yates were up and ministering. I even got to play around the campfire with some Double Portion crew... was an awesome weekend... again cool and rainy but still bearable in a tent with a tarp :) My brother Kel and his family were able to make it up as well and made for an awesome visit.


Another development is that even though I still do not have the funding to get my old shovelhead harley on the road, God saw fit to bless me with a 1980 Yamaha 650 Special... even made it affordable $500! Usually the motor sells at salvage for a buck a cc... so just the engine is worth $650! You can do the math there and see what God did... He is an awesome God... is good to be up riding again... though not my old Harley... God is giving me the little things to be faithful with before He gives me the big things. God is good.

Anyways... got up to get a drink of water... ended up writing this lol... heading to Carrot River for Thanksgiving with my family, going to jam with my brother Kel and get to see my cousins new little baby girl... and of course two of the joys of my life, my little nephews

Caleb and Jo... going to be awesome.

Well God Bless you all, stay safe and warm :) Snow is here...
Steve "Moose" Funkner

What an awesome weekend...

Had a super weekend! Traveled to Saskatoon to spend some time with my brother Chuck and his family for a movie nite and burgers... Best American ice tea you ever tasted! Spent the nite there and then next morning got to spend time with my Saskatoon church family at Hope Fellowship. Was so good to get together with a lot of brothers and sisters I haven't seen for a while. Went to Joe and Sarah's for lunch and then a pleasant surprise, went to see the Monster Truck show at SaskPlace. Was an awesome afternoon of hanging out with two of my spiritual brothers in arms Joe and Darcy. I posted a few pics and Vids on my facebook... It has dawned on my how much I miss having guys to hang out with and share my heart with. I have not really found that in North Battleford. Of course I can share my heart with my wife, Darcy, but not the same as the brotherly camaraderie one feels with Christian brothers. Then again there was never much a church like Hope Fellowship either... The church I am at is the Reclaim Outreach Center, and that is what it is, an outreach, the tight brotherly camaraderie is just not there yet... it is a newer church only 2 years old, and it has gotten me playing guitar again, helping lead worship... just miss the brotherly love of Hope Fellowship... God is blessing me where I am, I know it... but just lacking in that dept. My friends that read this, you can feel free to pray for me in that area :) In other news... still working at Sask Hospital casually... at Bannerman Photo more so becoming a full time job... the other job opportunity I was looking at wasn't as good as I thought, so I am happy where God has me right now. I enjoy my job at Bannermans... doing more and more Photoshop work... I love that... designing collages for people, doing photo touch ups, I love designing stuff like that... Fixing the 10 or so computers around the place lol... sometimes can be frustrating... but I do like the work. Seems God has me in a holding pattern for now that sometimes I want to buck out from... but all around as a friend of mine once said "Its all good" Lord Bless Ya'll -Moose