Imagine

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Lynn

John Lennon wrote an iconic song, “Imagine” in 1971.  “Imagine” was the best-selling single of his solo career, and has since been recorded by dozens of performers making it one of the most performed songs of the 20th century.  Its lyrics encourage the listener to imagine a world without the barriers of borders or the divisions of religion and nationality, and to consider the possibility that the whole of humanity could live unattached to material possessions, and just live in total peace with one another.  For a young teenager, going through a turbulent coming-of-age time, I hung on to the sentiments of that song and dreamed of the utopia that could be obtained if everyone embraced its message.

As an adult, I will admit I have become less of a dreamer and more of a pragmatist.  The world is more divided than I’ve ever seen it in my lifetime.  Hatred abounds.  There is no “freedom” of speech.  If someone has an opinion of any kind, for or against or neutral, social media bullies come out in force and hide behind their faceless, online personas and attack.  Far-left, far-right, progressives, conservatives, moderates, liberals, supremacists, or anti-anythings divide communities and nations.  Doctrine preached in the post-modern era is less and less about relationship with the God of the universe, and more about teaching congregants to conform to the world around them.  Acceptance and tolerance,  have become the catch words of this millennia.  You are immediately labeled a bigot if you  speak out against anything that counters Biblical truth.  Opinion, for or against, is met with hate-filled retribution.

It’s been a tough week.

Out of control forest fires continue to rage in Western Canada.  Thousands of people have been evacuated.  The smoke hangs heavy in the air, here on the “Ponderosa” (what we call our acreage and homestead near Cochrane).  We’ve had drought-like conditions now for months.  When it does rain, lightning strikes in the mountains ignite more fires.  Firefighters and evacuees are weary and want to go home, but the reality is that for many there are no homes to go back to.

Hurricane Harvey has lashed out its fury on the State of Texas and other communities along the U.S. Gulf coast.  The devastation is unfathomable.  The fourth largest city in the U.S., Houston, took the brunt of the storm.  I’ve seen what damage a flood can cause, having witnessed it firsthand in Calgary in 2013.  It will take years for Houston, and the other communities to recover and rebuild.  That said, a natural disaster always seems to bring out the very best in humanity.  There are stories of heroic rescues by ordinary people coming to the aid of people trapped in their homes.  It is especially interesting to note that the rescuers did not put labels on the people they rescued.  It didn’t matter what colour, race, religion, gender, age, size, ability or disability labeled you before in society…if you were a victim of the flood and needed help, you got it.  I quoted someone on Facebook:

August 29 at 11:01am ·

“America is not what happened in Charlottesville.
America is what is happening in Houston.”
#greatquote #prayforhouston #journeythoughts

The hate-filled rioting that led to the subsequent tearing down of historical monuments in Charlottesville, should not define a nation.  Helping someone in need, caring for another, showing compassion, mercy, and love, that’s what makes a nation great!  It would be wonderful if all the nations of the world remembered that without ever experiencing a devastating hurricane, flood, fire or war firsthand.  For a few days this week, the great city of Houston actually lived out the sentiments in John Lennon’s song.  In crisis, all the barriers that divide people are forgotten, all that matters is love for fellow-man.

 

 

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25 Encouraging Bible Verses for Those Celebrating Birthdays

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Lynn

Having just celebrated another birthday I am reminded of all the blessings God continues to bestow on me.  Birthdays are not only a time to celebrate, but also a day to reflect on the events of the past year, and look forward to memory-building in the year ahead!  “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10) 

John 16:21  “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”

James 1:17-18  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

2 Corinthians 9:15  “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Ephesians 2:8-10  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

1 Corinthians 1:3-7  “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.  For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.  Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.”

Jeremiah 1:5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 29:11  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Psalm 37:4-6 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”

Psalm 1:1-3  “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 71:6-8  “From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.  I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.  My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.”

Psalm 22:10  “From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”

3 John 1:2  “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

Psalm 20:4  “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

Psalm 90:12  “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Zephaniah 3:17  “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Psalm 91:11-16  “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.   “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Proverbs 9:11  “For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.”

Psalm 16:11  “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 139:13-14  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 39:4-5  “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”

Psalm 148:5-6  “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them for ever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away.”

Proverbs 4:10-13  “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.  I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.  When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.  Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5-6  “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.  Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”

Psalm 27:4-7  “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.  Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.”

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

 

 

 

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Total Eclipse

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Lynn

I was a newlywed when the last total eclipse of the sun was seen in our neck of the woods in 1979.  I don’t really remember if there was as much excitement about that one as there was for this one in 2017, but the images captured yesterday were probably more spectacular because of new technology.  To be honest I missed it both times and will likely not see the next one seven years from now as it will cross over the eastern part of Canada and miss the west entirely.

As I listened to the news last night and saw the amazing image of the moon crossing in between the earth and the sun, I was mesmerized not by the event itself per se, but peoples’ reaction to it.  I listened to their interviews and noted that in our world where everyone acts as though the world revolves around THEM, the reality is that a total eclipse makes people realize that they have absolutely no control over what happens in the “heavenlies”.  People were actually weeping when they witnessed the event, perhaps overcome by the enormity of the universe compared to the insignificance of their petty lives.

Was God mentioned yesterday?  Yes.  People often refer to a “greater power” when they witness things that they have absolutely no control over.

Franklin Graham on his Facebook page wrote: “Throughout history some have associated a solar eclipse with a warning of God’s pending judgment. Today, a #SolarEclipse will cross the United States from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast. I don’t know if this is a sign of His judgment, but as the moon’s shadow crosses our nation, may it be a reminder to all of us to pray—to confess our sins, to repent and ask for God’s forgiveness, and to pray that God will heal our broken land.”
#GreatAmericanEclipse #Pray

Psalm 19:1 was quoted quite often yesterday as well: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

God has complete control of the universe and it is only our human arrogance that seems to think we can change what God has already put into motion.  We truly are insolent creatures!

I do pray that yesterday’s cosmic event will push people to think how truly small they are in the grand scheme of things.  God holds the cosmos in His Hands and His Creation bows to His Majesty and His Grand Plan.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  He will determine how many days are allotted to each of us and to this World, and when He says “It is finished” there will be NOTHING we can do about stopping what happens next.

I’m ready, are you?

 

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