Of Great concern

I saw an article today that told of the Ontario Minister of education telling the Catholic school board that they cannot teach pro-life, even though they are a religious based school and it is part of their faith.  Whether you like the catholics or not you have to see that this is a matter of great concern.  The idea that any religious group should be told by the government that they cannot teach their faith should concern us.  It would be different if this was a matter of a group that was teaching "hate" or "violence" but this is not related to teaching against the laws of our country.  

This is another evidence that these supposed laws like ones about "abortion" are actually now being used to restrict freedom and not to grant it.  So instead of such laws that are contrary to the Christian faith, allowing those who have a different belief to not be restricted in this area, instead now faith groups are going to be restricted unless they teach what the government says is ok.  This sounds really scary.  

Not only is this a poor precedent but this particular issue is of great importance.  The teaching of the sanctity of life and the precious gift of children is deeply rooted in the Bible.  Yet our society has decided that human life is not very important, it can be thrown away like trash.  Yet we have groups that seek to preserve and conserve the eggs of birds and their nests, we have scientists that look for signs of life in strange places and even on other planets, they would see the smallest microbe and proclaim life, yet a child that has not yet been born does not rate as life.  This is a sad state and a matter of great concern.

Our politicians went out on a limb to attempt to re-open this discussion and I applaud them.  Yet many groups claimed they did not respect women due to wanting to make sure life is properly defined.  But what about the unborn female?  Currently there is no protection for the unborn female in Canada.  A family with a background that puts greater value on male children can elect to have a female child aborted.  This is a horrible situation, that we would allow gender selection in our country is so very scary.

We need to be a people who really think these things through, the decisions of that past did not see the big picture and now we are in a situation that should give us Great Concern!

Preacherman

Our Inheritance & God's Glory

Ephesians 1:11-14 (ESV)
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

What about Atheists?

I saw some posts today about Atheism and thought I would share my thoughts about the issue.  To be an Atheist in the truest sense you have to believe that there is no God, that no Creator started this existence and made the universe   An Atheist must truly believe that the entirety of all that exists came from nothing.  Nothing therefore must be the supreme force and the highest point of belief for an Atheist.  It is the lack of existence of God that is the basis of their drive toward nothing.  They embrace nothing as the standard and source for how life has been made and is to be lived.  Nothing is their deity, their mantra, their source of truth and morality.  


The truth is that we can poke fun at Atheists all day, because it is easy to do.  But really we should be praying for them and seeking to help them understand that there is another way to think.  It includes Hope, a God who created us and loves us enough to want to have a real and living relationship with us.  Life with God can have great meaning and purpose, it is a joy to know God and I want to help others know Him too.

So please pray for and share with your Atheist friends.

Preacherman

Eph 1:3-10 - Predestined +

The second segment in our series on Ephesians

Ephesians 1:1-2 ESV Intro

Beginning of our walk through Ephesians

A Thankful Walk of Prayer

This morning was a wonderful blessing.  Blue skies, no rain, crisp and cool but not cold, God is so very good.  What a great day for a prayer walk.  So off I went to walk around our neighborhood and pray.  Being thanksgiving weekend it was also a great opportunity to thank God for our community, our neighbors and friends, and the many blessing we have received.  

As I walked I continued to pray that God would use us to help our community, to help us make a difference here in the lives of people.  I asked God to give us wisdom on how to best encourage others and how to best share the Truth of His Word and the message of the gospel with them.  I was hoping that by 9am I might find some people out and about but not today, so I continued to pray for them anyway.  

I am so very thankful today for Jesus the master and Lord of everything and the One who provides salvation to all who come to Him.  I was reminded that this is no "fire escape" plan, but so much more.  God's plan of salvation is about us being transformed into who He created us to be so that we could live as His people under His Lordship, here and now and eternally in Heaven.  What a wonderful gift to be thankful for.

Let us continue on in a spirit of thanksgiving unto the Lord.

Preacherman

So Thankful for Community

Last night I had music / worship practice time at the Church.  It has been a busy time and one part of me felt that I should not be doing this, that I should have worked harder to find someone else to fill in.  But another part of me felt drawn to spend time with some of my friends, my brothers and sisters, in worship.  I am so glad that I was there.  The Lord used that time as a great encouragement to me.  Sure practice happened but more importantly worship took place, prayer was shared and experienced, and community was shared.  

Times of solitude are important for getting our focus right and some other things.   But too often the great gift of community that God has given us is overlooked or treated as a secondary thing.  I believe that God has called us to live, grow, worship, pray, teach, preach, work, share, make a difference ... all of this primarily in community.  Sure we all need to be growing in our personal walk with God, but if we are not walking that road together with out brothers and sisters then we will be weak, we will be less effective, we will be dis-obedient because as we look at the Bible, it is full of references to the Church and plural designations for how we are to live and serve God together.  

The Mystery of our faith is that when we acknowledge that God is there and that He is Holy, Just and Loving, and then we acknowledge that we are not, that we are sinful and have no way on our own to achieve a relationship with God.  The we are to accept Jesus and His finished work on the Cross, which paid the price for our sin and gives us a new relationship with God for all eternity.  We do this as we repent with humility because of our sinfulness and joyfully we pray accepting forgiveness and freedom that Jesus offers us.  At this point He (Jesus) by the power of the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us.  This is the great mystery.  But the effect or result of that mystery is we become a Holy community through Jesus.  We are joined together in unity by our Lord, we are His family, we are His Body.

I am so very thankful for the community that God has place me in.  His family, His Body, is so full of support and encouragement that it overwhelms me.  Lord thank you so very much for Your great sacrifice that has made it all possible.  Jesus you are amazing.

Preacherman

Thanksgiving Week

This week we are heading towards Canadian Thanksgiving.  It is a great time for us to be reminded of the importance of giving thanks, appreciating what God has done, is doing and will do in our lives.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

http://bible.us/col3.16-17.esv

Such a great passage, a reminder the as Christians we are to have the Word of Christ dwell in us with a richness, a fullness, a depth.  We are to use this gift to teach and admonish one another, we are to help each other grow and become strong, seeking to walk together in victory over sin.  We do all of this in worship, we sing, we exclaim thanksgiving to God.  In everything we do, all things, all the time, we are to live in the name of Jesus giving thanks to God through our relationship with Him.

So let us live our lives, founded on the word of God, Centered on Jesus, continually giving thanks to the Father.  This is a life of Worship, a life of Thanksgiving.

Preacherman

A New Beginning

Welcome to my new blog homestead.  Sometimes you just need a fresh start.  I like to blog and have been active in a variety of blogs before this one.  But they have all been with a particular theme.  So I decided that this blog would be just simply "my blog" where I will blog about whatever is on my mind.  So the theme could jump around and change but that is fine with me.  Anyway I hope you enjoy it, I know it is good for me to use this venue to express myself.

Cheers!

Preacherman