Wisdom.

The pastor we currently have at church is old. 73. Don't tell me that's not old. It is. This morning the sermon was entitled "Moses: The Reluctant Prophet", and after the service, i (remember now that i'm 32) went up to him and told him that he had done a good job. I felt weird saying that to him, but at the same time, i know that he knows what i meant. I have learnt so much from him. The wisdom that he has, which he has past down, sometimes without even his knowing, is a remarkable thing to be a part of. Some people go their entire lives without a mentor like that to steer them in the right direction.

And so the reason for this post. 

As the school year looms, with only 1 day until classes start, i find myself questioning things that i have no control over, as well as things that i do have control over. 

I thoroughly enjoy school, and expect that until the day i see my Lord face to face i will continue to be involved in educating myself to some degree, and maybe passing some of that wisdom onto others. I only hope that God will grant me wisdom such as that of my pastor and mentor. 

The Awesome Afternoon Nap!

Today i helped a friend pour a 3000 square foot concrete basement. For anyone who's ever worked with concrete, you know it's a tough job. No i didn't help him with the finishing (which involves a lot more back breaking labour), but raking concrete and moving around the line pump all the time takes great effort. Not to mention the fact that we started at 6:00 a.m! Six! Who starts work at six in the morning? That meant getting up just after 4:00 so i had time to get ready and get to the job site.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I like afternoon naps. Especially after hard work like today. Not only do i like the naps, i like when my body tells me i need to sleep longer than i wanted to. Sure i set my alarm. Sure i hear the alarm. I acknowledge the alarm long enough to turn it off, roll over, and fall right back to sleep.

The Awesome Afternoon Nap. One of the little pleasures in life.

One thing Everyone should own...

I was asked the other day why it is young people are attending church less and less now-a-days. It appears as though the growing trend is that people who graduate, and those who move out of the 'rents place attend church less. The issue seems to be that these young adults, who have lived under their parents roof all their life, and have gone to church simply because their parents did, simply don't have the faith that their parents do. 

Let me explain. When i was younger, i went to church in large part because my parents wanted me to go. When i was about twelve i made the choice to go simply because i didn't want my parents mad at me, and it was easier going to church on Sunday morning than it was having a fight with them. When i was sixteen, something changed in my life. I chose to go to church because i wanted to. I enjoyed the messages, and it got to where i wasn't getting enough out of Sunday School and the sermon had more of an impact in my life. 

So what changed? I suppose the easiest way to say it was that i was no longer living out my parents' faith. Instead i had embraced faith as my own. I became a Christian when i was 4. I remember it clearly. But the Bible teaches that not my parents, or anyone else, can give an account for me in Heaven. And so i had to make that choice. I had to own up to my faith.

One of the greatest tragedies i see is that young people do not embrace faith as their own until after they leave their parents house. Why is it a tragedy? Because if someone does not own their faith before they leave the 'rents, they are quickly going to be swallowed up by the things of this world. Partying, drinking, drugs, going to bars all the time, and the list goes on. Once a young, impressionable person gets lured into this lifestyle, it can take years for them to see that it is not a rewarding life. Once they realize this, they often realize the faith that was their parents is now a faith that they must again get to know.

Another thing that can have this impact is a long trip away from home. If a university student travels overseas to work, perhaps to teach English or something, the same effect can happen. The person no longer has the comfort of home, or their home church, or their friends, or any of the other things that made church worth attending. Upon return from the overseas, the young adult can seem somewhat lost, drifting into church but no longer sure of what they believe.

I'm not saying that the faith of these young adults is not real. However, it may (and i stress the word may) be that their faith is only as strong as it is because they've always lived mom and dad's faith. It is a difficult challenge owning Christianity, but no person should have to live this life alone. We should all lift each other up in our faith, and support each other.

My prayer is that young people will own their faith sooner rather than later, preferably before they leave their parents' home. My other prayer is that, for those who have lost touch with their faith in God due to situations described above, that you would "recapture" your faith as quickly as possible.

A Cup of Decaf lite!!!

Don't you just love nature. This is God doing what he does best. 

Some people may say, "Stop and smell the roses", but that's hard to do when 

you have images like this to look at!

Nature at it's greatest!!

This is a wave in Antarctica that froze when it surfaced. It was so cold it froze in place.

The stripes are from pure water entering cracks in the ice. It is so cold the oxygen doesn't have time to enter the water before it freezes.

The different colors are from algae and sediment that has frozen onto a glacier as it breaks off and freezes as it hits the water.

Take a moment to enjoy your surroundings. They are just as beautiful as these.

Of Laws and Lessons...

One of the things that has been on my mind a lot lately is a subject that has been in the local news a lot. It appears that the Chief of Police in Winnipeg has decided that the police will be cracking down on more minor traffic offenses, while continuing to apprehend "more serious criminals". This has many locals upset, because who after all deserves a ticket for running a stop sign in a rural area? 

What surprises me is not that the police are now doing their jobs, and issuing tickets for traffic offenses, but rather, the public outcry surrounding this issue. People are upset because they are now going to be ticketed for breaking the law when they were not ticketed before. The local people in Winnipeg believe that the police should be cracking down on car thieves and gangs, and let the general public get away with breaking the law with traffic crimes. I don't speed. The government that i trust to set the rules to provide my safety has deemed that a certain speed is enough and so there is no reason for me to go above that. There are others that think that driving 10 km over the limit is still not speeding, when in fact they are breaking the law, just as a car thief, someone in a gang, or a person who sells drugs.

Allow me this illustration to make my point...

God gave us the 10 Commandments to live by, and while we look at "Thou shalt not murder" as a more serious crime, God sees it as equal to "Thou shalt not lie". Here's how it works.

The reason God gave us the 10 Commandments was not so that there would rules that we can't live up to. The reason God gave the commandments is (not was, as in the past tense, but is, as in the present, and still relevant today) because they describe the character of God in a way that we might not ever think. Here's my example...God did not give the commandment "Thou shalt not lie" because we are supposed to try to be honest in our everyday life. God gave us this commandment because it is a character that he possesses. God cannot lie, and because we are his children, and we have the Holy Spirit living in us, that is, his very being, it goes against everything that we are when we lie. And for those who will try to argue, that includes even the 'little white lies'.

So, getting back to things here, when the government sets a law that says the speed limit is 100 km, an individual driving 101 is breaking the law and should be therefore ticketed. I know if i was going 101 and got ticketed it would upset me, but i understand that i broke the law, and therefore must accept the consequences.

P.S. Thanks to all the law enforcement officials who work tirelessly enforcing all the laws. Your dedication and commitment to your job, and the fact that you put your lives in danger every shift so i can sleep a little more comfortable at night is greatly appreciated. I could never do what you do. Thank-you.

Summer!

One of the things i really like about this summer is that it is not so hot. I know people will not like me for posting this, but it's true. We've had below normal temps pretty much all summer, and i love it. My job requires working outside most of the time, and usually i'm doing some type of heavy lifting, or using a cutting torch, but the main area of work that i do is welding. When i'm welding, the temperature under the mask rises about 10 degrees (if not more), so if it's 20 degrees, i will experience 30 degree heat.

But here's the thing people don't want to hear...

One of the things that bothers me is hearing people complain about how the weather is so cold right now. No, it's not -40, but it's "supposed to be" hotter because it's summer. I like to ask the people that complain about how cold it is what they had for supper the night before. It usually throws them off because now they don't know where the conversation is going. Then i ask them if they slept in their own bed the night before. This usually clues them in to what i'm asking.

I have absolutely no reason to complain that the weather is 5 degrees colder than i would like, while millions and millions of people went to bed hungry last night, and just as many slept on a cold concrete slab somewhere. I have been blessed with friends and family, a job, a roof over my head and a bed to sleep on, and food. I cannot in good conscience complain because i had to put a sweater on for a few minutes in the morning while the sun started to warm up.

A Great Man of God!

This past few weeks has been both trying and rewarding.

I had the opportunity to speak during the Sunday service this past weekend. Some time ago I was asked if i would like to do the sermon, and this was the first service we completely changed things up. We had a potluck breakfast, followed by what some would call a different type of way of doing things. Our pastor, Sieg, has been doing a "Heroes of the Faith" series, and i was able to lead one of those services, doing a sermon on Stephen: The First Martyr of the Church.

One of the greatest testaments to our faith is Stephen, a man who is barely mentioned in scripture, but had a profound impact in the life of Saul/Paul, and who set the stage of what a Christian may end up being, which is a witness and a martyr. This story has captivated me from a young age. One of the best parts of what we know about Stephen is how he "schools" the religious leaders of his time. I don't generally use the term "school" except to illustrate how God reacts to Job's attitude in Job 41 & 42, and few other circumstances. Regardless, Stephen schools his accusers with authority, and pays the ultimate sacrifice, just as Jesus did.

What a great man of God. And one of the most intriguing parts is that he was doing "great signs and wonders" among the people. It was not just the apostles that were doing these signs, there were everyday people healing the sick, and tending to the needy. What degree of faith does it take to lay hands on someone to heal them? And what degree of faith does it take to be the person being healed? I want to be able to do that kind of thing. If you have the time, i suggest looking at the life of Stephen, on of the Great men of Faith.

On a note of concern: Another Great Man of Faith, Peter Loeppky, has been hospitalized as of late. He had surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago, but last Friday posed a few problems the doctors did not suspect would take place. Peter had a stroke last Friday, and at this point only God knows how fully he will recover. Our prayers are with you Pete. Be strong, and to his family, Frieda his wife, Paul his son, and wife Jenn and children, Paul and Melissa his daughter, and their children, Tammy his daughter, and his brothers and sisters, our prayers are with you and Pete. Remember, you are not alone, and God (and we) are there with you, and we'll get lost together, till the light comes pouring through. Cause when you feel like you're done, and the darkness has won, you're not lost. When your world is crashing down, and you cannot bear the thought, you're not lost. Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ," (NKJV). And so to that end, we carry your burdens so you are able to deal with the situation you are facing with God's grace, and we ask for mercy on yours and Pete's, another great man of faith, on his behalf.