Grains of Sand

Our community has the highest percentage of homeless per capita in the district. We also have the highest percentage of live births to unwed teenage moms in the district as well as the highest percentage of drug and alcohol abuse. These were some of the facts that came out yesterday at an information meeting I attended, hosted by the local ministerial association. The focus of the meeting was on the community services available to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the community. That we aren’t doing enough was obvious. But as we heard about, and talked about, the situation in our community, I was reminded of how important it is that our “gospel” be a holistic one. We can’t just look after the physical, mental and emotional and only give a passing glance at the spiritual anymore than we can focus entirely on the spiritual and only give a passing glance at the others. Jesus covered all the bases in His ministry. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out the demons, and dealt ...

Every once in a while I post on other sites besides my own. On occasion I revisit my past when I post these articles—lots of lessons have been learned over the years! A couple of times a month I do that on Journezine , once a month I do it on InScribe and once a month I do it on Jewels of Encouragement . Today I'm at Jewels remembering how important the stomach is to spiritual health. Sound odd? Check it out for yourself and let me know. http://www.jewelsofencouragement.com/2012/01/lessons-from-bread-machine.html

Reading: Zechariah 9-11 “The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be!” (Zechariah 9:16, 17a, NIV). I come from mining country and though I have never worked underground (or on the surface for that matter), I have been on enough tours of the mining operations in our area to appreciate that you simply don’t walk in and grab a gold bar and walk out again. You have to move a ton of rock to get a bit of gold. The physical effort and danger involved in hard rock mining just to produce a few ounces of gold is incredible. To the north of us diamond mines are being developed. Like gold, miners don’t just walk in and grab a few relatives of the Hope Diamond, sparkling and pure, from the ground. Gold, diamonds, and all other precious metals and jewels, are produced at tremendous expense and sacrifice. God redeemed His “jewels” at tremendous cost to Himself. The d...

This past Saturday I went to a "Matthew Party." As the name suggests, the host or hostess invites friends, family, colleagues who aren't believers to some event or activity for the purpose of opening the door of opportunity to speak for Christ. It's easy to cast a wishful eye beyond our frontiers, to indulge in the romanticism of faraway, exotic, places to witness for Christ. After all, Jesus said: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" —Mark 16:15. Who am I to argue—I'm thousands of miles away from my own country, doing that very thing. The truth is, the world sits right beside us, lives next door, and shops at the same markets that we do. It might not be so romantic or exotic. But there it is—close and convenient. No one came to Christ on Saturday. This was just the first little wedge in the door. But if we never knock at the door, we'll never know if that friend, neighbour, colleague is "at home" to the Lord.