Yep, heard about the big storm coming from Texas. Mixing with the cold artic air. Lots of snow. Soooo… 3:30 in the mornig a van rushes up to the door of my house. A man jumps out and comes to my door. There is a flurry of activity as suitcases and bags are whisked out the door to disappear within the waiting vehicle. Where are my women? My wife and her mother? I feel the wind pass by. It wasn’t the cold wind fortelling the storm, no, it was Linda and Goldie speeding past to get to the van. The dog next door begins to bark. Quickly all things and all people are loaded, such hasty goodbies. Off into the distance races the van carrying my loved ones to the airport, the storm nipping at their heels. A furtive wave and I walk from the door. Alone again… the batchelor life… me and the cat, facing the storm. Sigh!
Archive for the ‘Random Topic Posts’ Category
Chased out of the country
Friday, February 1st, 2008Job of the bible and Mother Theresa of Calcutta
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008originally posted at
 http://runningpastor.blogspot.com/2008/01/dare-i.html
I like to think that mother Theresa was the “Job†of our age. Perhaps a better example than Job himself because we have such a better covenant than he did.
Job didn’t know why he was afflicted the way he was. Family, riches and health taken away from him. Sure there came a point where he complained alot… but he never lost faith in God. Just stubbornly wanted an answer as to why he was being afflicted.
Along came his friends and chapter after chapter of reasoned thought and counterpoint arguments. Never got him anywhere… just as Theresa went through letter after letter with priests or pastors. It is hard during those times to hold onto faith… with your friends and colleagues reasoning away… yet when the testing is over the reward is so much greater.
In the end Job got his humbling answer and repented and became a better man. In the end Theresa, always humble, found a deeper relationship with the Lord.
It is like the scripture reference… when things go well the plant will spread out quickly over the land. Yet when persecution or hardship comes it withers. God is as interested or perhaps more interested in depth of character not just abundance… and that only comes through hardtimes and struggles. Job and Theresa both came out stronger after their time of separation.
We can only pray that we have the staying power of a Job and the humility of a Theresa.
Leading Worship
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Last night I had my first opportunity to lead worship at our evening service. Well, I was actually the only person on stage. Thankfully I had someone on the sound board and another on the power point presentation to display the songs we would sing. My thanks to them both.
So I was sitting on the stage with my guitar, prayed up and ready to go. I started strumming the first song and began to sing… oops. For the life of me I couldn’t sing that song. The beat and the words refused to co-operate with each other. I stopped and chuckled to the congregation. Apologizing I explained that when I lead worship at our substance abuse meetings on tuesday nights something usually goes wrong. I said that at least we got “the” mistake out of the way and now we could proceed. It is nice to have a group of people who have grace and show mercy.
Gathering up my courage I started once again with the same song. This time we could all sing the song. Four other songs were played in succession. My voice held up pretty well but the guitar playing began to suffer. I have arthritis and other problems that sometimes make it difficult to play. My chording hand began to go numb and I failed to play the chords cleanly. Foretunately the people singing along did not seem to notice the difficulty I was having. At the end of the service many came to me and said that I did a good job of leading worship.
I sometimes find it hard to accept compliments. I have a defensive mechanism that kicks in and I usually try to minimize anything someone says to me. This was actually improper of me to do. Why? Because I didn’t have the grace to accept a kind word spoken to me. The Holy Spirit is such a gentleman. He used a feather of thought to convict me. I apologized to one person in particular for my attitude.
You see, I know that when playing the guitar I am limited. What I forget is the grace of God. Before I play I always ask God to help me out. That my mistakes don’t pull attention to me but that everyone will keep their eyes on Him while we worship and praise. He is faithful and has always helped. My problem is that I see the errors and not the grace. I am, however, learning. I’m just not finished growing in character and understanding of who He is and His grace toward me.
 It is always a privilege, never a right, to minister to other people. He is wonderful and I always thank him for every opportunity to minister.
1857 Revival
Thursday, July 19th, 2007In our church there has been much mention of the 1857 church revival that occured in Hamilton, Ontario. It is believed by many that another revival will be sparked in Hamilton. This revival will be one of healing as its central manifestation. I have been sent an article by a friend about the 1857 revival. I am including a link to the page here:
http://www.christianity.ca:80/church/history/2007/07.000.html
🙂
The Church… Division or Acceptance
Thursday, July 12th, 2007excerpt from my comment at: Isn’t that the craziest thing: a tough job and sad news
Based on the news article Pope: Catholicism only true church by Nicole Winfield
Over the centuries there have been wars fought over what Christians are supposed to believe. In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about the importance of being one. We are warned to beware of those wolves in sheep’s clothing. They sow discord among the flock. Theological fractures have weakened the “church” both then and now. Leaving the heretic within the walls of the church poses great problems. Jude talks about contending for the faith. Then we have the all embracing love of God. It is a balance that the body of Christ has struggled with for 2,000 years. The pope is simply re-affirming that there are limits when it comes to fellowship with those not in agreement with their take on theology. Do we embrace every idea without discernment to the truth for the sake of oneness? No, but we must be careful about what we allow to divide us.
I find it peculiar how at the same time there is this separation of the body of Christ, many churches, including the Roman Catholic church, try to portray God through the local customs and religion of people they are trying to proselytize. This unholy mixture clouds the truth and should never have occurred. Paul’s discourse on Mars Hill is the example they use for justification of this type of evangelism. I believe Paul would be horrified to know how that example has been used to mix the sanctifying truth with the profane.
Personally the bible is the standard and each person, individually, will have to answer to God on how they walked out their life according to its truth. There are true Christians in almost every church… but not all people in the church are saved. That is sad but true.
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
published by: Ace Books, New York
This book is the sequel to “Dune”. It is a science fiction story based 10,000+ years into the future of mankind. The planet Arrakis is the major location of this story and plays a prominant role in all of the books in the series. The first book tells the story of Paul Atreides, a young man of a noble family, who became the foretold leader of the known universe. In this sequel we learn that this government/religious leader isn’t as all powerful as was pictured in the first book.
Dune Messiah sets the stage for the second generation. It is filled with intrigue and sub plots. The story will keep you guessing what comes next… right to the end. Most of the characters from the first book make an appearence in this sequel. If you have not read “Dune” I recommend doing so before reading “Dune Messiah”. If you like sci-fi then this book, as well as the whole series of “Dune” books, will be a good read.
One Moment of the 700 Club
Friday, July 6th, 2007Yesterday I was watching the 700 Club on television. Terry Meussen was speaking after one of the stories. The story was about a family that was blessed through Operation Blessing. Timely surgery that was made possible by donations from viewer support. At $20 a month a donation gets spread pretty thin among all that they do. Yet she turned a phrase that highlights what can be done by a group. She said something like this, “Alone we may not be able to do much but by linking arms together we can hug the world.” I like the word picture that conjurs up in my mind. It is also a simple fact, that many can do much with the little they give.
American Soldier by Gen. Tommy Franks
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007American Soldier by General Tommy Franks w/Malcolm McConnell
published by 10 Regan Books
This is the personal story of General Tommy Franks, leader of the coalition forces that lead the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq. The book is broken into four sections:
- birth and going through to his tour in Vietnam.
- Decission to stay in the military to his promotion to four star general
- 9/11 and the Afghanistan campaign
- The Iraq Campaign
It was interesting to read about his early life. The formation of his character. Not only factual but also entertaining. His tour of duty in Vietnam explains the formation of an innovative mind. That mind lead to the tactical decisions that were played out on the battle fields of Afghanistan and Iraq. Reading the history of the strategic developement of forces showed a clear and decisive change of tactics that would result in a totally different campaign from the first gulf war.
The strength of the book is historical information. The timeline of events and decisions that lead to the formation and execution of the battles. The book also reveals how the press, for good and for bad, reported the news and how in some cases hurt the cause. There are also many explanations to why certain things were done; such as keeping the 4th Div on the ships just off the coast of Turkey until well after the conflict began; the “mission accomplished” press fiasco after phase three operations were completed. There are many examples of behind the scenes events that need to be known to understand the battle plans.
Tommy Franks explains his personal philosophy and plays a bit of the prophet. He warns of the consequences that would face the U.S. and the rest of the world if we fail to gain a full victory in the gulf. A sustainable Iraq government must be in place before the coalition forces leave.
Though this book is primarily a military history it also is a non-partisan political history and a biography. I recommend this book for those who are interested in history and war.
Life Choices and My Cat
Saturday, June 30th, 2007originally published … April 21st, 2007
I remember a time about 20 years ago. I was struggling with my walk with God.
I was in prayer one day and heard my cat crying. I ran to the back door and found that Simon, our gray short hair, was on the neighbour’s fence. It was one of those steel frost wire fences. Now here was my cat going along the steel piping crying out. He would continue to cry until he got to the end of the fence. Try to get down but wobbled. Then would proceed to the other end of the fence. Tried again to jump down, wobbled, and went back to the other end. Crying all the time.
I thought, “silly cat, just drop down, it’s only a few feet, you have jumped that a thousand times.â€
Finally I just shook my head, went into the yard and picked the cat off the fence and placed him down on the ground. I chuckled as it scampered away.
Just then I got that knowledgeable impression that God was chuckling as well. Not at the cat but at me. He showed me that I was afraid to jump down into “the things of the Spirit†because I was on my own fence. Every time I tried to jump down I wobbled and would go back to other extreme end crying out to God for help.
He told me to stop wobbling on the fence and make the commitment. That time I did but it is funny to note that he also picked me up and put me on the ground at other times.
So every time I get afraid to make the next move I try to think of my cat on the fence and jump.
First Spammer Attack
Monday, June 4th, 2007Since I opened this blog (recently under wordpress) I was wondering how long before the first spammer would find it and leave a spam lunch for me to chew through. Yesterday was the first. Six comments were tagged for moderation and two were not. I do wish that anyone who wants may leave a message so I will keep the blog wide open. I don’t want a few bad apples to ruin it for the others. What I really like is how easy it was to eliminate the comments under wordpress. As long as it stays within reason everything will remain the same.
Lord Jesus, there are a lot of spammers out there trying to get mileage from the sites of other people. I pray that you protect my site as well as the sites of my fellow Christian bloggers from their abuse. Amen!