Grains of Sand

Pixabay I have my pastor to thank for this one. He is working through the Book of Acts on Sunday mornings. Today's message was from Acts 3, the story of the lame man who had an encounter with Peter and John at the entrance to the Temple. His life was dismally the same every day—sitting at the entrance begging people to drop a few coins into his hand. It was all he had, all he expected, all he thought he would ever know in life. Until... " When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' " As my pastor remarked, with that statement the man anticipated a big payday! " So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have...' " Disappointment. And his attention, so focused on these two men and what he might gain from their generosity, probably began to shift away to the next peo...

Pixabay It was the moment of truth. The nation had to decide who it would follow—Baal or the Lord God. Elijah climbed Mount Carmel to be confronted by a bevy of four hundred and fifty prophets who have come to prove that Baal was God, backed by another four hundred and fifty prophets of Asherah, Queen Jezebel’s preferred. He stands alone, but doesn’t hesitate to turn to the people and challenge them with this: “ How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. ” (1 Kings 18:21) Did he hope they would make the choice without the test that was to follow? The telling statement follows: “ But the people said nothing .” Silence. I suppose the good thing was that they didn’t cheer for Baal either. They were waiting for proof and when God delivered they would fall on their faces and declare, “ The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God! ” (vs. 39) One of the criticisms often leveled at believers is that they practice “blind” faith. ...

Pixabay Should I, or shouldn’t I? Have you ever had a thought pop into your head, a suggestion about something that might be interesting or valuable to do, and then wondered if it was just a thought that wasn’t worthy of being considered at all? We have lots of those—in the dead of winter a vacation in a warmer climate might come to mind, but practicality soon puts that to rest. Other ideas linger. You chew over them, working out the possibilities in your mind. Everything feels good. Everything feels possible, but you still aren’t sure whether your own desires have overruled the voice of the Spirit of God telling you to put this one to bed too. Many years ago, when I was considering what to do with my life, there were some measuring sticks that we had been advised to used when determining whether or not the Spirit of God was leading us in a specific direction. The first of these was the counsel of the Word of God. Certainly God never leads us to do something that defies the instruc...

PIxabay Perhaps it was because yesterday was such an extremely windy day here in southern Ontario, that these lines from As You Like It repeated themselves over and over in my head all day: Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude... I confess I don't remember even studying Shakespeare's play in which these words appear, but the lines are engraved in my brain nonetheless. I wonder if Jesus ever felt what William tried hard to express? He lived among an ungrateful people. Their ingratitude was, at least in part, why He had come to dwell among men in the first place. As the sinless Lamb of God, sin repelled Him. But it also drew Him toward sinners so that He could deal with that sin and restore fellowship between His Father and all of us who had rejected His loving favour to follow other gods. But those to whom Jesus came rejected Him as well. Despite that He tells His disciples in Luke 6: "... Love your enemies, do good t...

Pixabay Last night Marilyn and I were watching the baseball game. A commercial appeared, one that included a snippet of a song that contained that oldie, but goodie, that says when someone says "jump," the correct response is to ask, "How high?" I turned to Marilyn and told her that in the past I have sometimes gotten myself into trouble when someone told me to "jump" (to do something just because he or she said so). My response has often not been, "How high?" but "Why?" So this morning as I was reading Luke 5, I remembered our conversation of the night before. In the first eleven verses of the chapter, the story is told of Jesus borrowing a fisherman's boat so that He could more comfortably teach the crowd of people who had gathered to hear Him. At the end of His discourse the Scriptures tell us: " When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch' ...

Pixabay Over the last several months I’ve been a participant in a missions coaching course. Now, as we get to the nitty-gritty and think about what the possibilities and opportunities might be for our church to be more effective in reaching those who have yet to hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the task looks daunting—at least as far as the big picture, the need around the world, is concerned. The specific interest rising to the surface in our discussion seems to be to reach those people who are the most difficult (even dangerous) of all to reach, and those who live in countries to which we have limited, or no, access. Throwing in the towel and concentrating on something easier seems to be an option here. Who are we to think we can make much of a difference under such challenging circumstances? Then Numbers 13 came up on the schedule for this morning’s Scripture reading. Ever have that moment when the Lord taps you on the shoulder to remind you of something importa...

Pixabay I’ve always jokingly said that I was in such a hurry to get started with life that I was born a month prematurely and have been running ever since! Like just about everything, being fast isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But then again, it can get a person into trouble. In fact, going too slowly can do the same thing. Perhaps that is why this passage from Numbers 9 caught my attention. At the end of the chapter the writer is describing the cloud that covered the Tent of Meeting, or the tabernacle, that was the centerpiece of the Hebrew camp. During the day it was a cloud, at night it was a pillar of fire—the same cloud and fire that had been with the Israelites since they had left Egypt. Moses writes: “ Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped ” (9:17, 18). The passage goes on to say that sometimes the cloud settled f...

Pixabay “ In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears ” (Psalm 18:6). There is a lot of that going around these days—a lot of calling out to the Lord. If you read the rest of the psalm you discover how the Almighty answered David as he cried out to the Lord. It’s impressive reading. But the words of this particular verse from the psalms came to mind as I was reading Exodus 23 earlier this morning. These have been challenging days, days of huge concern, sorrow, confusion, doubt, and even a little fear. And each has been met, in some way, by some form of reassurance that the call for help from the Lord will not, and has not, gone unanswered. This morning was no different. Israel is still at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses is still furiously taking notes as God tells him what is required of the nation-in-the-making. Then the Lord says: “ See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you alo...

Pixabay The Lord put them in an untenable position. In part it was to show them His power and cause them to fear Him and to trust in Him (Exodus 14:31), but twice in Exodus 14 Moses records: “ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord ” (vs. 18). Instead of sending His people directly onto a path of relative safety, God places them with mountains on either side and the Red Sea in front of them. There is no place to go. The Egyptians are behind them. From any human standpoint they are trapped. Moses was told by the Lord that this episode was divinely planned (14:1-4), but when the Egyptians approached the Hebrews were terrified (vss. 10-12). It was then that Moses reassured them (it appears he hadn’t told them what the plan was) that all would be well. “ Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still ” (vss. 13, 14). Psalm 46:10 ...

Pixabay “We have an immigration problem! There are too many of ‘them’ and if push comes to shove, they will take over. Even though they have been peaceable enough until now, they will side with our enemies when, and if, the opportunity arises!” Sound vaguely familiar? This is not part of a current news story or a tweet from some paranoid source. No, paranoia and the fear of those who are different is nothing new. This is the Pharaoh of Egypt several hundred years after Joseph died. The Israelites had prospered in Egypt since their migration from Canaan. But it didn’t matter how many centuries they had lived among the Egyptians, they were still “foreigners,” still suspect. Still sounds familiar. The new Pharaoh, obviously not a student of history, knew nothing about Joseph, or the story of how the Israelites had happened to come to this land (Exodus 1:8). The Pharaoh’s reaction was extreme. He made slaves of the Israelites in the hopes of killing them off through cruelty and privati...

Pixabay Canada isn’t really a melting-pot. When I first arrived in Toronto in the 60s I discovered that the church I attended was right in the middle of an Italian neighbourhood. As the years passed the Italian immigrants who had first settled in the area became more prosperous. They began to move north—as a community. Then the neighbourhood became West Indian. All through the city communities within a community were the norm. Not surprising! When my grandparents and great-grands immigrated to Canada they all settled in the Ottawa Valley around Pembroke, principally in a community then known as Germanicus (they, and all their neighbours, were from Germany). “Next door,” in another enclave, lived the Irish. And never the twain were to meet! Immigrants tend to huddle together. They usually share a common language and common cultural norms. They often share common religious beliefs. After a few generations, “melting” actually happens. But every new crop of immigrants begins the “un-me...

Pixabay From favoured son to foreign slave. Not exactly a success story. But then God has never measured success the same way we do. Genesis 39 only contains twenty-three verses and it takes Joseph from slave to prison—not exactly “upwardly mobile.” Just when it seems that things are improving Joseph is faced with a moral dilemma. His master’s wife demands services that don’t appear on his job description (39:7) and dishonour His God. To maintain job security, most people would be tempted to do whatever it takes. But not Joseph. Integrity is Joseph’s watchword. He will not betray Potiphar (39:8). And he will not betray God: “ How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? ” (39:9). As payment for doing what was right, Joseph ended up in prison. Somehow that doesn’t seem fair. What notable in this brief passage are these statements: “ …the Lord was with him and…the Lord gave him success in everything he did ” (39:3). That was Potiphar’s house. A little later this: “ …the...

Pixabay How many altars have I built in my life? An altar is a place of worship, of commitment, of sacrifice. Noah built an altar when, at last, he and the riders of the great ark were on dry land once again. It is recorded that Abraham built altars at significant points in his spiritual journey. In Genesis 26 Isaac builds an altar as well. This event was spurred by an encounter with God during which the Lord said: “ I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham” (26:24). It is said that Isaac built the altar “…and called on the name of the Lord ” (26:25). An altar is a place of communion, a place of encounter with God. We used to have “altar calls” away back when. Those were moments at the end of a service when the pastor invited anyone who wanted to accept Christ, or make some other significant spiritual decision, to come forward. I responded to one of ...

Pixabay I’ve often said that my style of decorating is “early garage sale”—not old enough for antique, but usually second-hand. On my library shelves, there are some old books, now disintegrating into dust, one commentary on the Life of Christ more than two hundred years old. Among my prizes are an early edition of In His Steps , What Would Jesus Do (1897) by Charles Sheldon, a very old volume of the  collected works of John Bunyan, (the date of publishing long since gone as are the book’s covers) and an English version of the Polyglot Bible, signed by its steward in 1886. Some old things are valued. But frankly, sometimes they are not. There were times in Abraham’s life when he seemed to believe that life was passing him by—he was too old! Specifically too old to have a child—to produce something of value to the next generation and the generations after that one. Genesis 17 describes Abraham’s conversation with God on the subject of being old. “ When Abram was ninety-nine yea...

Pixabay Lovingly, he caressed the smooth surface of the oak. He had carefully cut it, shaped it, and planed it until it lay finished before him—the most beautiful cradle. It was fit for a king. Joseph remembered the stories of old, the story of Abraham sitting under the great oaks at Hebron when the Lord appeared to him. Joshua had prepared a memorial stone and placed it under an oak near the holy place to mark the covenant between Israel and God. An angel had presented himself to Gideon seated beneath an oak. Absalom had met judgment under an oak. Israel’s history was rich in references to the mighty tree. And now, this particular piece of oak would cradle the Son of God. Joseph suffered a moment of doubt. The Son of God? Was any cradle he could make, a lowly worker in wood, worthy of God, the King of kings and Lord over all? But that appeared to be the plan. He’d never forget the appearance of the angel, assuring him that Mary had told the truth—the child...

Pixabay I am shamelessly borrowing the passages from our pastor's sermon of yesterday—which only tells you that what he said hit me! The sermon series Pastor Parks is working on is about angels, and the message yesterday revolved around Joseph and the three appearances that Gabriel made to the man who would become the adoptive father of the Messiah and Saviour of mankind. " ...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit' " (Matthew 1:20). " When they [the wise men] had all gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him' " (Matthew 2:13). " After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egyp...

Pixabay Remember...what you have received. When I was a kid and Christmas morning rolled around, there was a tradition that had to be observed. Every present that was received and opened had to be documented. What it was and who gave it was recorded. Immediately after Christmas thank you notes were written to the gift-givers and put into the mail. To neglect to acknowledge a gift was almost an unpardonable sin. The apostle John, exiled to the Isle of Patmos, received some messages from the Lord that were to be delivered to some of the churches in the region. One of those letters was to go to the church at Sardis. Of course, the principles outlined in these letters to the seven churches are also meant as messages to the church today—nothing much has changed given that human nature doesn't change no matter what century we are looking at. Sardis appeared to be a vibrant church (Revelation 3:1). God knew better. In the message, John was to write: " ...but you are dead ....

Pixabay Voices bombard us, each insisting on us following their lead. They make promises. Health, wealth, well-being, success, enjoyment, belonging, significance, healing of the psyche, healing of the soul are included in the long list of "Follow me and see what good will come into your life!" But then there is that still, sometimes small voice, heard in spite of the din of the world: " ...follow me... " (John 12:26). Following Jesus was about to get extremely difficult. This particular " follow me " was spoken on the eve of the last supper that Jesus would enjoy with His disciples. His arrest, trial and death would severely test the loyalty, the faith, of His followers. He didn't even give them the consolation of a reference to His resurrection. " 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produc...

“ The seas have lifted up, O Lord,     the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,     mightier than the breakers of the sea—     the Lord on high is mighty ” Psalm 93:3, 4. As I read Psalm 93 this morning, Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park, Alberta, came to mind. We were a long way from the sea when we visited the falls in June, but the roar of the water as it plunged over the falls into the gorge was awe-inspiring. It was yet another reminder of just how puny we human beings are. We can run, lift weights, bulk up, jump hurdles, wrestle steers, climb mountains, swim lakes, but we are still puny creatures when compared to the strength of water that cuts through sold rock, sweeping everything before it and drowning out any voice. There is no sound system as powerful as God’s! There is a bench at the end of the walkway that you can see in the...

darrenhardy.success.com (Google Images) Apart from declaring Himself God, nothing got the Lord into more trouble with the religious authorities of the day than what He did on the Sabbath. Right after He had healed an invalid on the Sabbath, John 5:17,18 says: “ Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day and I, too, am working.’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God .” In John 5:19-47 we find a lengthy statement given by Jesus where He clearly identifies Himself as God, ending with: “ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? ” We can recite all kinds of stories about Moses but one of the most famous is the account of how Moses received the Ten Commandments directly from the hand of God on Mount Sinai. I got to think...