You know how when you’re watching a mystery, and you kind of get a feeling for who the bad guy is right away? That’s because the author has put small hints throughout the show as to who the criminal might be to guide us to the right guess. In life, God who is the author of all things, puts feelings in us in relation to situations and people who might be dangerous. God is always working to keep us safe. He knows when you shouldn’t walk your dog after midnight down a dark street, He knows when that turn of phrase of facial expression with that person you were just with is more than just your imagination. God will always work to protect you, and if you have a feeling that something isn’t safe, pray about it. Maybe you have watched too much crime TV and now it’s in your head, but maybe it’s the Holy Spirit warning you about something. I remember walking my dog and feeling that I shouldn’t go our normal route, I also recall thinking that that was stupid and doing my route anyway. What I didn’t know was that the owners of one of the houses in that route had let their kid take care of their dog instead of the parents, so this large, aggressive dog was off leash on the road. She saw my dog and came at him, I was on my knees wrapping myself around my dog to protect him. He was so traumatized that he had never been the same. I should have listened to that voice because it was the Holy Spirit warning me. Sometimes however, even when we don’t listen to The Voice, God protects us anyways. That dog had attacked another dog recently before mine, so the owners had been forced to pull out all of her teeth, (which I feel is a little mean,) that meant that instead of her actually killing my dog (which you would have done if she had had a mouthful of teeth) all she managed to do was traumatize him mentally and bruise his body and pull a few of his ligaments. You could say it’s a coincidence, but I say that God knew I probably wouldn’t listen to that Voice so He made sure the attacking dog had no teeth to attack with. Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit, it will always end badly if you do.
Category: Blog
Earth Day means clean up day
So today I cleaned the trash out of the ditch out front of our house, we are on the highway so we get more garbage than I like to think about. I found myself thinking ‘I wonder if any of this could be worth something?’ None of it was.
Today, I also saw a news report on the growing cases of homeless people in the city. To be honest, it was pretty clear that the government was very politely saying that they had no way to deal with them, and they very subtly referenced them as trash. Oh, that word wasn’t used, but it was certainly implied. I grew up in Vancouver so homeless people aren’t strange to me, and due to my time spent there I learned a lot about the homeless, in fact we had lessons on them in school. Yes some were trouble creators, but many were just people who had no where else to go, and frankly I know a lot of non homeless people who are trouble makers, their status doesn’t make them bad people. I say them, but they could easily be us. A lost job, an abusive relationship, a family that is broken, suddenly you have no place to go and end up on the street. You don’t need anyone else to say you’re trash because you feel it everyday. But even the people that we as other people see as garbage, and don’t stand there saying you aren’t like that, most people see someone as trash; adulterers, addicts, your neighbor, your brother, that homeless guy you see ducking into an ally because people scare him, that prostitute who was born into the brothel and doesn’t know how to get out? Any of these make a bell go off? I’m just naming the ones that I have heard spoken against first hand, I am sure there are many more that people tend to look down on. But even if we see a person as trash, God doesn’t. That atheist who has turned his back on God and ridiculed Him, is still loved by God. The homeless lady who drinks away every dollar she has so she is starving but still uses her hand outs for more drink, she is precious to God. Just because we sin, or make mistakes, or are subtly referred to as waste that the government doesn’t know what to do with, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t value us. He loves all people! Just because the beer cans, random rag, empty cigarettes box, single gross sock and so on that I collected out of our ditch wasn’t capable of being worth anything to me, outside of the satisfaction of knowing that no garbage would blow into our farmer’s fields from our side of the road, doesn’t mean that someone more thrifty than myself wouldn’t find a purpose for them. God is greater than all of us and sees our purpose, potential and possibilities and more than that He sees all of us for us, no matter who we are or what we do. Never forget that.
Seeds grow in their time
Before Jesus, all stories had a main character who came to fight to save people. After Jesus, most stories now have a main character who choses to die to save others. Even if they don’t know it, people have been influenced by the story of Jesus. We are called seed planters. Sometimes that doesn’t feel like enough, we feel like we need to witness the difference, like we need to preach at someone until they change and come to Jesus right there in front of us. That isn’t accurate though, we aren’t the ones who make people come to God, God is the one who makes people come to Himself. We don’t need to preach people to death because we feel we need to see the change, Jesus is working in those people, all you have to say is ‘Jesus loves you’, ‘Jesus will help you’, reflect on stories of how God has helped you or others, quote the Bible, these are seeds! Let the person ask you for more information and be ready to answer but don’t shove the gospel down their throat so much that they run away. At the same time don’t feel bad if who you have been speaking to doesn’t come to Jesus right then, you have planted the seed, you don’t know how or when that seed will grow, that’s up to God. We don’t change people, God does. We don’t fix the soul, God does. God influences people even when they don’t realize it, so if you have planted a seed you can know that God can make it grow.
Grapes of forgiveness
You never know what another person is going through, and you never know why they react poisonously towards you. I would never justify somebody mistreating somebody else for a personal reason, but when you think that maybe they’ve had a rough day, or a rough week, it helps you to not feel so hurt by their actions. It’s not right to take out your own personal problems on somebody else, but lots of people do it and like the person standing too close to Godzilla’s tail you may be the one who gets crushed under their wrath. Again I’m not saying that that’s good or okay, but if you consider things from their point of view and, instead of reacting Let It Go-I say that one more time because it hurts-Let It Go, then not only will you not cause more problems for yourself but you may also cause that other person to feel a little bit guilty, and that guilt may cause them to re-evaluate their actions and they may even later apologize…..and they may not; just remember that the other person’s problem is not your fault and if you can, try to walk away without carrying the sting from how they’ve treated you with you because it’s not your burden to carry. If you can, try praying for them, not only is it biblically correct but you’d be amazed at the times when simply asking God to help the other person will cause that other person to react better to you. Again not always, but even if they don’t react better to you, you have still done the right thing.
Solitary life
This is a world that has ended. In this world, nothing is born….anymore. That which is alive doesn’t stay that way for loong. In this world lives a solitary girl who wishes to become… something, but what is it? Alive perhaps? Or maybe human? maybe she wants to be more than what she is? Do you live in a solitary world where nothing grows, nothing begins, everything has ended? Don’t we all? Don’t we all live in a world just like that? Don’t we need somebody to reach down and bring us out of world of decay? Don’t we all need a savior?
what’s your next step? Where are you going from here? Will you stay in your world that has ended? Sad, alone. A solitary figure, wanting more but more of what? Or will you branch out, find God, ask God what you should do next? and then what?
Who knows!?! The possibilities are endless!
Why? Because God’s possibilities ARE endless.
In this solitary world where it feels like nothing good is ever born and that which is withers and dies quickly, that’s just the wrong perspective. Some people see only god as exisisting and nothing bad is ever born in their worlds, now that’s not realistic either, but a world where everything is dark is not the kind of world you should live in, you should live in a world where everything is light, because the darkness has been illuminated by Jesus and He has expelled the darkness.
Easter isn’t just about Sunday
If this video doesn’t want to connect to your server, I’ve uploaded the same one to the Carried in the Cross facebook page.
Lent devotional 39
Resting
It’s been hard work, everyone is tired, the teacher also feels weary.
“Okay class, today let’s take a break! We will sit outside, have a pick nick, discuss our lessons over the past few days, rest and pray.”
The class cheers!
Everyone races outside to greet the sunshine! The teacher smiles and follows behind, a hand touches his and looks to see one of the shy kids in the class, chewing a finger nail and timidly holding the teacher’s hand.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to go play?” The teacher asks.
The little child shakes their head and steps closer to the teacher.
The teacher smiles, “why not?”
…the child looks at their feet, “I feel safer here with you.”
“Oh?”
“Besides….you’re leaving soon aren’t you?”
The teacher sits on the school step and the child sets next to Him, “I am, but I will be back.”
“Still, how will I know it’s you when you come back?”
“Because I will still be your friend and teacher, I will still be the person that you know.”
“Won’t you look different?”
“Maybe a little, but have to go, it’s my duty.”
The child nods, “can I still stay her with you anyway?”
The teacher puts a gentle hand on the child’s shoulder, “you can stay here as long as like, I all always here for you.”
As far as we know today was a day of rest for Jesus. What He and His followers did on this day is anyone’s guess, but a walk and a pick nick sounds nice to me so I imagine they did that…. though walking and eating outside was kind of their whole traveling agenda. All we know is that Jesus Knew He was leaving soon, so He worked hard and was tired, so we guess this unaccounted for day was a day of rest. Imagine being the one follower who truly got that Jesus was leaving, it would be heartbreaking! You would want every moment closer to Him until He left! And to think, He died for me. For you. When you rest today, remember what Jesus has done for you.
Lent devotional 38
Teacher
Jesus was and is so many things, but what was His main title other than savior? Teacher.
Today during Holy Week, Jesus took His followers and went to the Mount of Olives to teach them. He taught them about Faith. Why on one of Jesus’ last days as a person here on Earth did He choose to teach on faith? I am guessing because He knew how tested the faith of His friends would be over the next few days. He wanted them to remember that no matter how tempted we are to lose Faith and turn to despair that we should never follow that path. Jesus knew that we would doubt, He knew that we would be afraid, so on a walk to the Mount of Olives, Jesus taught His people to have faith. Don’t lose your faith friends, Jesus was talking to you too❤
Lent devotional 37
At the temple
To be honest, Jesus’ clearing of the temple is one of my favorite Bible scenes. Why? Because it is the most “human” moment we see. Here is the moment of a man who sees something that used to be beautiful, something He loves, desecrated by people. So He makes a whip and in a moment of agony so deep that anger filled His heart Jesus drives people out of the Temple, He scatters money, (so precious to some, so easily evil in the hands of others,) across the floor so it is lost between the slats. It was a good business idea, a great way to make money, but it was also sinful and wrong. We have seen so many ‘great business’ ideas and good ways to make money that have cost people and caused pain. Take the rainforest, one of the major heart beats of sustaining this planet, and what do the great ways to make money tell us to do? They destroy the forests. They clear cut full groves! Something beautiful, desecrated. So to a small extent I understand Jesus’ rage. Unfortunately deforestation is not a sin, but selling offerings at the temple gate was. Jesus saw something He adored being tarnished and in a moment of pain He tore the scene apart and cleansed the Temple. He did the same at the cross, He tore apart our sin and cleansed us. Even Jesus who is pure knew the rage of seeing an atrocity. He understands us better than we bother to remember . He gets your rage and pain because He has felt it too. But He healed the world by dying. So how can we help stop the wrong in this world? By being like Jesus and being the right.
Lent devotional 36
Palm Sunday
Palm trees are synonymous with peace. Palm trees signify tropical vacations. Palm fronds are common in gardens meant to draw us to serenity. So isn’t it fitting that the king who came to give us peace would ride in on an animal of peace stepping upon plants of peace. In truth palm Sunday is a very sad day, it’s the beggining of the suffering of Jesus, the true suffering. Jesus rode in amungst cheers and worship, but He knew that it was the beggining of His suffering. His smile would have masked the pain surrounding His heart, not particualrilly because He would suffer and die but because He, the one who knew God fully and had basked in the glory of His Father, would now know the cold wasteland of being without God. For us who know God a little here, the best we can on the earth, being without Him feels crushing. Now imagine knowing God completely and having been there since the first day, and now knowing that He would have a time away from that glorious God was heartbreaking.
Palm Sunday was a celebration. And we should celebrate Jesus and all He has done, but it was also a sorrow for the one who knew what was ahead.
Carried in the cross 