Monday, October 5, 2009
Okanagan Trip
We recently were in the Okanagan sharing in Vernon Christian Fellowship and then having some time with our family friend Kathy Malone. Here are some pics from our time there.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Skulls and Flames
It is very interesting when we learn a bit about what the Bible teaches us on the subject of the devil and how he works. He is called both a robber and a thief. He is definitely both -- but these are not the same words -- neither do they involve similar strategies. Living in Africa has shown me that Satan is a robber; he tries to violently remove from us both our physical and spiritual possessions. A robber uses violence to get his job done. He is confident that his use of force will get the job done. Think of a highway robber -- he is usually armed to the teeth to outduel the stagecoach or the armoured car. in Uganda we see witchcraft, poverty, and death all staring us and taunting us to our face. In Uganda we face continual agressive attempts to remove our faith, hope and joy through Satans's fear campaign.
I find that Satan's technique in the west, where we are "developed", is one of thievery. Our enemy uses tricks like over-exosure,deception and mindgames to slowly turn up that the heat under our cauldren of self-indulgence. Interesting how common symbols of death and hell have become very commonplace on our clothing, vehicles and coffee mugs. We seem to be in love with skulls,bones and flames! Cool or Crazy?? How abzurd that we love the symbols of death and hell! We are now coming to a season when we celebrate death and evil! We think ghosts and gobblins are a joke -- we think hell is a joke!! Satan is decieving us to death. Just because we see flames and skulls in the most ordinary of places every day doesn't make hell cease to exist nor does it keep the devil off our back. The demons and witchdoctors in Uganda are agents of the devil; so are t-shirt shops and media companies in Canada. The reality is Satan wants our soul -- wether he gets it by thievery or robbery makes no difference to him. The scariest place is not in a witchdoctors hut, nor in a haunted house--the scariest place is a soul without Jesus - a soul bound for hell!
The wonderful thing is that while we have life and breath we can turn to God and ask Him to come and chase out all the evil that has bound us so tightly! His wonderful life and light will then fill us!
I find that Satan's technique in the west, where we are "developed", is one of thievery. Our enemy uses tricks like over-exosure,deception and mindgames to slowly turn up that the heat under our cauldren of self-indulgence. Interesting how common symbols of death and hell have become very commonplace on our clothing, vehicles and coffee mugs. We seem to be in love with skulls,bones and flames! Cool or Crazy?? How abzurd that we love the symbols of death and hell! We are now coming to a season when we celebrate death and evil! We think ghosts and gobblins are a joke -- we think hell is a joke!! Satan is decieving us to death. Just because we see flames and skulls in the most ordinary of places every day doesn't make hell cease to exist nor does it keep the devil off our back. The demons and witchdoctors in Uganda are agents of the devil; so are t-shirt shops and media companies in Canada. The reality is Satan wants our soul -- wether he gets it by thievery or robbery makes no difference to him. The scariest place is not in a witchdoctors hut, nor in a haunted house--the scariest place is a soul without Jesus - a soul bound for hell!
The wonderful thing is that while we have life and breath we can turn to God and ask Him to come and chase out all the evil that has bound us so tightly! His wonderful life and light will then fill us!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
joy or fun
It seems our western worls is in constant pursuit of fun. Fun seems to only last as long as an event. We often say "that was fun!" admitting that the fun only lasted as long as a given event. But as children of God we can say |
fun and joy (a devotional)
|
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Talking to Little Kids about Big Problems
Today I took the assembly at King Road Traditional School in Abbotsford. It was lots of fun -- I basically did a slide show that I narrated as I went. I made comments about the pictures and tried to help the kids understand life for children their age in Uganda.
I wonder what kids think when the see someone their age going to school with no shoes on and a bloated stomach -- or fetching water in big jerry-cans?? Or what do they think when you tell them that there are no taps - or that you have to kill snakes so that they don't kill you??. I think it is hard to register. I suppose that a lot of this never hits home for many people until they are adults and they witness a third world country in person where poverty, death, disease and malnutrition stare at you every day as you roam the dirt roads of any given village in such a place as Uganda.
In Abbotsford, we too have malnourished people, some with very bad shoes, many with no home or only a cardboard box to shelter them from the elements. They also don't have their own tap to turn on and take a hot bath.
The suffering world around us are victims of sin -- their own sin and others sin all wrapped up into one complicated mess.We too, except for God's providence in our lives could be out on a street, down on our luck, or left to starve in a sun-scorched, war-torn land.
Our goal is not to alleviate all suffering nor to fill every need -- our goal is to show people and tell people about Christ. He can remove our guilty stains, fill our spiritual hunger and quench our eternal thirst. The physical needs are the pathway to the human need for forgiveness and atonement; the need to be in a good relationship with God. We can tolerate much physical suffering when we know our soul is secure. And, interestingly enough, secure souls tend to make more decisions that lead to less physical suffering.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)