A spiritual awakening...Seek ye first the kingdom of God.
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Posted:Apr 29, 2007 5:41 pm
Last Updated:May 4, 2007 6:06 am 2625 Views
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Today I pondered the issue of what is first in my life. In the crazy mad rush world of today where I am involved in two huge real estate deals and trying to work several jobs at the same time; combined with keeping in touch with friends-- I came smack in front of the major question every Christian needs to ask- Are you seeking the kingdom of God first? And in all honesty my answer is no.
I was told many years ago by a great lady and Godly woman - Catherine Doherty that the only security we need here on earth is Christ. How true. So how hard it is to put aside money and a dwelling and a certain degree of comfort at this age in one's life-- or at any really-- and favour only the complete trust in Jesus.
I wonder how the poor leper feels who has nothing and not even his or her own health. How the aids' victim feels who has far less than that. And here am I in the land of plenty thinking I have nothing. It's all about perspective. One thousand years is but a moment in the plan of God; in one nanosecond all that we take for granted is removed from our very sight. It really is true that God is all and man is nothing-- without diminishing one's own self esteem.
So tonight I stand in awe of a God who brought me to where I am and I humble myself before him pondering his will at this point in my life.
God bless to all!
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Where should a missionary do her work today?
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Posted:Apr 26, 2007 8:39 pm
Last Updated:Apr 27, 2007 6:23 am 2566 Views
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A dear old lady that I do work for has a that is going off to the missions in a few months. She's in her 50's and will go to Mexico to coordinate a program for the migrant workers-- well something like that if I listened well enough at our chat this evening. But after a few summer months there, she plans to go somewhere else but at this point does not know where God is calling her. She mentioned the possibility of China. I'm not sure how that country is welcoming Christian missionaries these days!
So I left her with the knowledge that I would both pray and consult with others on this one. I know full well the urgent needs of missionaries for Africa. But Thailand and many other places beckon that need also. So if anyone out there has any ideas and would like to pray for Sharon-- please feel free. Her mother is 86 and was a missionary for many years of her life in Nepal. She's the sweetest thing on earth! And I know she would appreciate some advice and prayers for her .
Thanks to all in advance,
Chris
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Science and God
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Posted:Apr 23, 2007 8:53 am
Last Updated:Apr 26, 2007 7:24 pm 2616 Views
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Let's face the facts. Science cannot prove the existence of God. Science cannot disprove the existence of God!
I'm sick and tired of these brilliant minds claiming there is no God. I look out at the gorgeous sunrise and at night the marvels of the universe that God has created and then I gaze deeply into the flowing waters of the nearby river and I say "WOW-- what a wonderful world our God has created for us"!
More importantly-- so many strict humanists do not see beyond the surface of anything. Contacts we make with people to me are God centered. He puts you in touch with people for a reason. He wants you in touch with his plan and puts others in your way to help you work out that plan. People are not just lumps of matter and form to quote Aristotle. Each and every one of us is a spark of the Divine; made exclusively in God's own image.
Abraham was just an ordinary human being to many historians; likewise Job--- if that! But to me these Old Testament people are the real stuff of life. They paved the way for Jesus and they truly are very blessed for the work they did.
By clinging to the story of Job some 16 years ago and thinking of this poor old man who had lost far more resources than myself--- I clung to life and I renewed my faith in God. I waited upon the Lord and trusted only in Him. I am just hours away from completing a transaction that has been the making of God. I continue to state with exuberant joy that Jesus Christ delivered me from the depths of Hell and rescued my soul. And for that I rejoice in Him and Him alone. What a marvelous God we have and what on earth would we do without our bible, our personal faith story of God and Jesus. It's those stories that we cling to and believe in during the darkest times of our life that Spring us out of our Hellish gloom and doom worlds and mount us up on eagles' wings as the Lord has done to me this day.
Halleluiah for He is truly risen!
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Job.... Who in the skies can compare with Yahweh!
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Posted:Apr 18, 2007 8:02 pm
Last Updated:May 8, 2007 8:00 pm 2838 Views
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I am still overjoyed with what is happening at the moment in my life with respect to this land swap. I've been doing some reading on the book of Job.
"Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to
me to retain one work only, I should save Job." (Victor Hugo)
"...the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature."
(Tennyson)
"The Book of Job taken as a mere work of literary genius, is one of
the most wonderful productions of any age or of any language."
(Daniel Webster)
I am so grateful for this literature as it was the one thing that I clung to at the time of my divorce over 15 years ago. Where on earth is there hope today? For me it was scripture and specifically it was Job. I asked why would God suddenly and without explanation end my marriage and leave me without a woman that I loved so much and the that she bore me. When I was counselled I was told that my anger was righteous and I had a right to the anger that I had. I was permitted to see my only one night a week for a few hours, and only have them with me every second weekend. This went on for over seven years. It was one of the darkest moments in my life.
Reading Job daily helped me with the sorrow and the grieving. I was told to "Lean not on my own understanding". Somehow the Holy Spirit directed me. I put my trust in God and I read Job daily--- somehow believing that if God could put Job on trial like this he could do it to me. And if God could reward Job for his trials and return everything to him and more at the end-- he could do it for me also. And tonight I am just beginning to see that in the space of one week, God's mercy would pour out in abundance! .
My patience and my perseverance and my trust in Him alone is about to bear fruit. But it is to the Lord that I give thanks for all the honour and glory is His! And for those who ask why God brings about suffering to the righteous- I encourage you to read the Book of Job!
Halleluia!
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Guns, guns and more guns
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Posted:Apr 18, 2007 8:25 am
Last Updated:Apr 20, 2007 1:15 pm 2513 Views
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Yesterday I had to built a wall in a basement with 2 by 4 studs. Thankfully I used a hilti gun to attach the bottom plate to the concrete floor. What an incredible invention that machine is! I'm not sure who Hilti is but by golly when you pull the trigger and "wham" goes the bullet to hit the nail right through the wood and into the concrete in nano seconds-- that's power! And what a blessing the machine is when you need it!
Yesterday I paused and reflected on the Virginia massacre. Is this a rude awakening? I just wonder. I have never seen Michael Moore's movie on this subject of guns but I have heard a lot about it. I'm also aware that when someone intrudes on you in the middle of the night and you call the police you are asking them to come over with their gun at the ready. It's a difficult subject that does require some thought. God only knows where all of this will lead. I pray today for all the victim's families and the family of the deceased gun man. I pray also for all those who are mentally ill and did not get the help or the drugs they need because that money went towards buying military equipment for the purpose of war.
Will there be a time when the lion will lie down with the lamb? Will we ever beat our swords to ploughshares? Ohhh God I pray that you would send down the wisdom of Mighty Solomon on this one-- cause it ain't a slam dunk for either side!
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God willing. What does this mean?
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Posted:Apr 17, 2007 5:28 am
Last Updated:Apr 21, 2007 6:09 pm 2687 Views
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I spoke to some Muslim people a few years ago and I said "God willing we will see each other in a few months" before I left them. "Ah no said the Muslim lady- "Allah willing". I just smiled as I did not wish to engage them as it was pointless.
But my point here is really what is the will of God in our lives? How easy is it to discern? For example- a farmer wishes the will of God for the next week to be rain for his crops, while a young lady seeking the sun after too many hours cooked up in her windowless office prays for glorious sunshine for that week. God's will-- just what is it?
I believe that God wants us to follow his commandments and the words of scripture-- that to me is his will. When we stray from that we are not doing his will.
If I were to ask 100 people to name the ten things that God wants most of all in our world I just wonder what the answer would be.
For me it would be these:
1. That the whole world work feverishly hard to help the people in Africa. Aids, drought, hunger, malnutrition, diseases of all kinds are bringing that continent to the brink. And war and mass murder are impeding so much of what well intentioned people are trying to do there.
2. That we begin to dialogue with the Muslim world rather than simply engage in their language of violence and the vitriolic. The course we are currently on is taking us backwards not forwards. If we begin by engaging the middle of the road Muslims ( they are not all radicals) we can learn more about them and more about what the extremists are demanding.
3.That we examine our own country's trade policies, domestic and foreign policies as I think they are unfair to many developing countries. We need socio-economic justice in a huge way. Why should the poor farm worker make only a few cents a day for hauling bananas and a pipe line welder make $1000.00 a day? Here we bring in Mexican farm labourers and pay them $4 an hour for their labour while in this rich economy guys and gals pumping gas are making over $15.00 an hour.
4. Cancer. I know God wants to end it. But what are we doing? I am currently working on a basement suite for an elderly couple. The lady just came home from hospital after 4 days of treatment for her asthma. However-- her husband continues to smoke his cigarettes inside the house. Are we doing enough to implement laws to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of this toxin? We know it is cancer related. Are we doing enough to watch over our food processing plants? Are we speaking out agains the huge multinationals who will pollute our world forever if we do not keep them in check. Almost everyone I know has a relative or friend dieing of cancer.
5. Your ideas to follow as I must run........
Chris
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Tears of Joy-- who knows the book of Job?
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Posted:Apr 15, 2007 8:48 pm
Last Updated:Apr 16, 2007 9:34 pm 2663 Views
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Some years ago while going through a horrendous divorce that I did not want I was told by a Catholic priest friend that I must accept this divorce as the will of God. He was actually right in some respects because if I had not accepted it I would have gone crazy. But the bottom line was that I always believed somehow that God would take care of me despite the hardship of the divorce that I did not desire.
Foolishly I went through a lot of money at this time. The only character in the whole bible I could identify with was Job because he lost everything during his trial. But I also know that he refused to curse God. I wrote about this in the early days of my blog. It was the story of the shipwreck on the desert island. That guy was me!!
In the course of the last few days a miracle has occured in my life-- well not yet finalized but I can see it happening. I'm about to sell my place that I fixed up and make a profit of a very large amount of money-- almost to the penny in equivalence of the money I foolishly spent at the time of the divorce. Somehow I always clung to my God and never once did I despair in the knowledge that he would deliver for me. That is why I chose the name "HEISWITHUS" because he has always been with me. Several times while a missionary in the West Indies I should have been killed--- but miraculously spared by the Lord. And many who know me thought the same when I was going through some dark times at the time of my divorce. I went through a bankruptcy. I had no place to live. I had little for anything beyond the bare necessities of life. I lost everything that the Lord had given me. The only thing I did not lose was my belief in HIM. As dark as the times were I kept reading Job who did not curse the Lord. Halleluiah!
There is a mighty and awesome God UP there and down here. He is truly with us. If this sale goes through ( please do pray) I will have erased a lot of shame for my past behaviour. I will have made some money to hand over to my boys when I leave this earthly sojourn. Yes I know-- money isn't everything and I have never believed that it is greater than our relationships with God and our fellow man--- but it is true in this capitalistic society that one does need some money to live on. So this is truly a miracle as I never thought I would see the day when it would SUDDENLY all return to me as was the case with our beautiful friend in the Old Testament- Job. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks yesterday as I told my story to a couple that have known my past. It was truly a moment of grace, a revelation of HIM who died for us and He who rose from the dead, trampling on death by death and on those in their tombs-- lavishingly all of life!
He is truly risen Alleluia... and what a mighty God we have!
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Thank you all for your prayers
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Posted:Apr 14, 2007 4:01 am
Last Updated:Apr 20, 2007 1:10 pm 2607 Views
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I had gone a long time without work and recently sought the power of prayer in this matter. Your prayers rang up to Heaven and sent me a very nice contract wherein I am framing, drywalling and mudding a large basement. Also putting in a large bathroom (from scratch) with sinks, shower and toilet. So that should keep me busy for a while.
In a very special thanks to God I am owverwhelmed with another matter. In the space of just a few days I have managed to buy another acreage and sell the one I am on. This is an enormous task and I now pray that the Lord finds me all the assistance I need to make this move. He has been behind this in the most awesome way. I cannot tell you how God has blessed me!
Praise God,
Chris
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Loss of 40 American soldiers in Iraq
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Posted:Apr 11, 2007 8:51 pm
Last Updated:Apr 14, 2007 5:26 am 2728 Views
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I wonder if there is anyone out there that still cares about the loss of life in this Iraqi war. I sure do. I lament the tragic loss of life on all sides. Many innocent Iraqi people and coalition forces have lost lives there too. It goes on and on. And yesterday I heard that 40 American soldiers died within a space of one week. How terribly tragic.
I continue to pray. I continue to hope. Somehow, somewhere there is a peaceful answer. I know years ago when the Protestants were fighting the Catholics in Ireland people wondered if it would ever stop. No one seemed to have any hope. It was tragic and terrible. But it did end. It's still not perfect but after many many years it did calm down and now people live relatively in peace.
I hope and pray that it will soon end in Iraq. I hope and pray that the American people will come to realize that there is a God who cares and there are people out there that care. I pray this night for the God that I know through Jesus to come to all those who have lost a or in Iraq. I pray earnestly that this war would come to a sudden screaching halt. That the many divisions within the populace would realize that sectarian violence is a continuing spiral. And today I pray especially for the loved ones of those poor soldiers who have given their lives for this tragic event of history.
God's blessings I pray on all
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Goodbye to SueBSingin'
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Posted:Apr 9, 2007 7:53 am
Last Updated:Apr 14, 2010 9:28 pm 6640 Views
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Well I was somewhat shocked to learn yesterday of the coming end to Sue's blog. When I came to this site I was always impressed by Sue's warmth and clear style of writing-- and her point of view. What a beautiful woman and what a wonderful person she is. She always had time to come and visit people and to share her sense of humour which God has so proudly given her lots of. I'm sure He's very proud too of the choice of man she has just made and the future that holds for them both.
I will definitely miss her and I know many others will also. Our loss is her gain. Our love for her will continue and I know that her love will increase also for all of us.
May God bless you Sue!
And may God grant you many many years!
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