The Heavens Declare

It had been cold, overcast and dark, a very grey day. The trek to the family cottage had been a quick one, to prepare for leaf-raking day in a week or two once most of the leaves were down.

"Let's go for a walk to the beach before we leave!"

Sure glad we did! As we emerged from the trees, we could see the sun breaking through the clouds.

God's glory is on tour in the skies, 

God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. 

Psalm 19:1 (The Message)

Invigorating! Suddenly, it didn't seem as cold. The air was fresher. Breathing was easier! The day would end well, with hope for a nicer weather day tomorrow.

  
It was time to head out. Grab some dinner and head home.


Instead of the normal, 80 km/h country roads, I felt a nudge to take the 40 km/h beach road. Rejecting of the routine which gets us home quickest, we stayed on Tiny Beaches Road.

As we made our way along, the light from the sun started to change colour. After a couple of miles, we parked the car at Balm Beach to take it in.

How clearly the sky reveals God's glory! How plainly it shows what he has done!

Psalm 19:1 (Good News Translation)

Beautiful!

Now I was hooked. We stayed on the beach road, slowing to catch glimpses of the sky between the cottages and trees. Jackson Park was the first opportunity to park the car, so we stopped again to see this...

Breathtaking!

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  

Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

The camera, especially in these hands, can not and did not fully capture the breathtaking beauty, the amazing masterpiece we beheld. I felt so very humbled, to witness this great spectacle. I could feel His very presence around me, smiling - God had done this for us. It wasn't there a couple of minutes earlier, and would be gone a couple later. He was giving us a glimpse of His glory!

To think we almost missed it!! 

Everything within me wanted to stick to the routine, to get home. I almost ignored that still small voice directing me to turn right on Tiny Beaches Road.  Yet, because we followed where He led, we were able to revel in an extraordinary encounter moment in an otherwise very ordinary day.


How often in the course of my daily routine do I miss that still small voice? The very interruption I scorn could be an invitation from God to be part of what He is doing... the same things Jesus did as He walked this earth: sharing the Good News of Christ, teaching His disciples, extending His grace, feeding the hungry, challenging injustice, comforting the hurting, healing the sick, even raising the dead - He did say His followers would do even greater things than He - all focused on evidencing His glory and helping people find their way back to God.


My world could be, and I would be, so different were I to listen for, hear and heed His voice in the midst of my routine. I could again catch a glimpse of His glory, in others around me, as they respond to His call back to relationship with Him. Perhaps I might even have opportunity to have a part in it!

Living Life to the Full

This is Rufus.


Rufus is a male Betta Fish. He came back with Sandra from Sudbury at the start of one reading week, and never went back. A drop out?  Perhaps, but I think he would have gone back to finish his year if he had the choice.


Rufus is now my office roommate. He doesn't talk much, but he does react when I come into the room, especially if he hasn’t been fed in a while or I pick up his food shaker.

Betta fish create nests made of floating bubbles, blowing them with saliva. I wondered what that noise was. These bubble nests are for the fertilized eggs. The nest is guarded by the male until the small Betta fishes hatch. There is one problem with the nest Rufus built - he's in the tank by himself. There are no eggs to guard. Maybe he's giving me a hint!


Rufus has his little world, where he rules. He appears to be quite content, other than the nest thing, and comfortable - he certainly doesn't like to leave, moving amazingly fast when I net him to put him in a plastic cup while I clean the tank and change the water!


While I do have a nest and family for me to protect, I’m thinking there are more similarities between me and Rufus than might be apparent at first blush. I too have been quite content and wanted to stay in my little world, where I’m in charge (or at least think I am). I ask God to bless our family, to drop some blessings into our world, to provide what we need and want.

In the wild, Bettas live in Thailand’s rice paddies and ponds. This is a world Rufus knows nothing about, one where he likely wouldn’t survive for long - unlike in Finding Nemo! 


God has a far greater world for me too. Jesus is the way for those who believe in Him to be restored to God. He paid the price that I should have paid. But He didn’t do this just so I would have a clean little kingdom with a food plan and a ticket to Heaven when the time comes. 


Like Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, He calls me to do the same, to leave behind my little kingdom to follow Him and have life to the full, transformed to be free of the constraints of my little kingdom.


He invites me to be part of His enterprise, His Kingdom coming, His will being done, on earth as in Heaven. He wants to work in and through me to realize the full potential of His plans for me. Then I can be one of His witnesses, walking first-hand proof of the power of God to transform and empower lives.


My safe little world seems far less attractive...

Look at the Birds

A couple of house guests moved in a few weeks ago. A pair of robins found the perfect spot, on top of the utility box on the side of the garage, nicely protected by the arbour. 

They painstakingly built their nest for several days until it was just right. Once everything was the way they wanted, Mrs. Robin took up her post.

April and May brought warm and sunny, as well as cold and blustery. She sat on that nest day and night, under all extremes of conditions. No cable. No satellite. No video games. Not even a book. Just the same window.

Every time we would come and go, Robin was there. We could see her head and beak peeking out.  She became somewhat accustomed to us. We could even get pretty close without spooking her, a good thing since she was in a rather high traffic area, near the front of the garage.

The Robin family were quiet guests.  We only heard them one time, on Saturday evening through an open window. Perhaps they were chasing away a predator who got too close.  Or, maybe she was scolding him for spending too much time hanging out with the boys and not doing his share of the egg-sitting.

She had become more active, often being seen perched on the edge of the nest with a worm in her beak. It was fascinating to watch her head bobbing as she was feeding the little inhabitants of the nest. They were likely very tiny still, as there was no chirping to be heard. Later, she would be sitting on the nest once again. We wondered how she could sit on a bunch of little ones with sharp beaks... would she know it was time to get more food when they began to poke her?

Last Friday morning, though, when I left for a meeting, neither Mr. or Mrs. Robin were anywhere to be found. Odd, I thought, but perhaps something had startled them, or they were somewhat further afield seeking grub for the family.

Returning from my meeting a short while later, I expected to see Mrs. Robin back at her post. But she wasn't there. Didn't make an appearance all day!

On Saturday morning, my curiosity got the best of me.  I climbed the step ladder to get a good look.

The nest was very tidy... with five little featherless, motionless babies, curled up together into one little ball. My heart sank.

Why would such a faithful robin abandon her next, the one she sat in for hours on end, days on end?  Maybe something spooked her, making her suspect the safety of the nest had been compromised. Perhaps a cat had taken her as they foraged for food. Maybe, when I came home Thursday after dark startling her, she flew into an unseen obstacle in the dark.

As I thought about what I should do with the abandoned nest and little family, in my mind I could hear George Beverly Shea, my dad's favorite, sing "His eye is on the sparrow".

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free, For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.

I somehow felt comfort knowing that God's eye was on this little robin family.

Jesus used birds to illustrate the Father's love for us, for me.

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? - Matthew 6:26

He continues with an incredible promise in Matthew 6:31-33:

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Amazing.

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Can You See the Solution?

In Matthew 14, after John the Baptist had been killed, Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. The crowds followed him on foot. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 

As evening approached, the disciples came to him to send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 

Pretty matter of fact response. Problem? What problem? Just give them something to eat.

The disciples only had five loaves of bread and two fish. In their minds, this would not come close to addressing their need for food, let alone for thousands!


Jesus didn’t flinch. He took that small amount, thanked God for it and sent the disciples out to distribute. When everyone was satisfied, the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of left overs.


Jesus sees problems and solutions from a higher plane and perspective than I do. There are needs to be met, and more than enough resources to do so when God is in the picture.

After all, God fed an entire nation in the desert out of thin air for forty years - five loaves and two fish are more than enough to feed five thousand! Elisha did a similar miracle multiplying the oil for the widow who had debts beyond her ability to pay, providing her with more than enough to repay. The Bible has many other accounts of miraculous provision.

Imagine being part of this, handing out food to hundreds and thousands from a basket that never gets empty.

Like the disciples, I see the obvious problem rather than the solution. In the next chapter, they faced a similar problem with a hungry crowd of 4,000, yet with seven loaves and a few small fish in hand, still didn’t see the solution. With this miraculous distribution fresh in their minds, they should have seen it, but didn't.

For the challenges and sometimes desperate situations I face, either for the “five thousand” around me or for my own needs, do I even think of moving forward with what I have? Or, am I overwhelmed and paralyzed by the situation, as the disciples were looking at the crowd? 

What “little” do I have, do you have, that God can stretch to provide what is needed in our lives, or for those around us?

Ski Day

Wednesday was a ski day. Nothing fancy, just a day at a local Ontario resort, but with good company.  Thank you Sandra, for asking if we could go skiing one day during Reading Week.  Pffff!  Yeah!

It's been a long time since I've had a ski day, two maybe even three years!  Way too long. The ski legs were a little rusty, taking a few runs to get confident again. 

Parabolic, or shaped, skis have been around a couple of decades now. They are shorter and have a bigger sweet spot than conventional skis, making them more forgiving, easier to ski, higher performing and a lot more fun to ski on. I like to think of them as power steering skis. After the prolonged hiatus, I certainly appreciated them afresh this week!

Being frugal, ok cheap, I waited a long time to get with the parabolic trend. I finally succumbed a couple of BC trips back, buying a pair of all mountain Atomic R11's. It turns out these are based on a World Cup GS racing ski, which means its "ancestral voices whisper of high speeds and long, arcing turns carved across smooth sheets of hard snow". That is definitely their sweet spot. They are not mogul skis, at least not under my boots. The trick to these skis is getting on the edge and carving, so that the skis do the work of turning. When you do, you can fly down the slopes effortlessly. Quite the rush!

Buzz aside, skiing has often been a spiritual experience for me, especially in the mountains.  While re-discovering that parabolic sweet spot, it occurred to me that God's principles are to life what those skis are to skiing:

• If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. Leviticus 26:3-5, 10 
• Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  Matthew 6:33 
• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  Acts 1:8 

Amazing skis, but not when skiing cautiously, only when you get moving down the hill.

Even more amazing promises, but only when we step out into the life for which God has created us, and learn to live by them!

Summing Up the Law

I hate traffic lights.  They seem to spend most of their time turning red, especially when I've left just a little late to get somewhere.

A long run of green lights is rare.  It did happen the other day on Erin Mills Parkway, nothbound from the QEW.  It was as we approached Thomas St when I realized it had been such a quick run because the lights were all green. Of course, as soon as I thought it, you guessed it... the next one was an amber, the one after that red.
 
Not long ago, I was stopped at a red light. A sign noted no right turn on red. There was a car in the right turn lane, patiently waiting for the light to change so he could proceed. Yet the driver in the car behind him was leaning on the horn, likely thinking and perhaps saying “Why isn’t this idiot turning?” Um, no. That wasn’t me, at least not this time.

Why do we need so many traffic lights anyway?  Why do we need so many laws?

After the Israelites left Egypt and went through the Red Sea, God called Moses up on to Mt. Sinai, into the cloud that hid the presence of God. There Moses received the Ten Commandments, scribed by the very hand of God. In addition, God gave a comprehensive set of laws for the people to live by.

Exodus 21:1  These are the laws you are to set before them...

Why?

God chose the people of Israel to be His people, set apart as an example of how people can live in community together. In an anarchistic world where people mistreated even abused each other, God gave a set of rules to show the people how to relate to God and how to treat each other... husbands & wives, slaves, widows, orphans, animals... how to build a compassionate society in a brutally harsh world.

This was contrary to the self-centred focus of the day. The law spelled out in detail: it’s not about you - it’s about God, and others. Here's how you live it.

Thousands of years later, in a modern, "civil" society, have we evolved to be better? Do we need less laws, or more? 

It seems more and more laws are coming into effect every year. It’s paradoxical that in our world of abundance, we seem increasingly focused on our own interests regardless of how others might be impacted. The more we have, the more we want, the more we hoard, the angrier we get when someone gets in our way. And we need more laws to protect ourselves from each other.

Much after Moses, Jesus would sum up all the law in two commandments: love God with all you are, and love your neighbour as yourself. That’s it. Simple.

If we all lived by these principles, our society wouldn’t need so many laws. Let me not wait for others, though - I can make a difference in my circles of influence by living according to these principles, as an example of how to live life to the full by loving God, and loving others. Maybe others will follow suit, making the community, nation and world a better place.

Paying a High Price for Quality

Our Boxing Day travels today took us to two extremes.

At one extreme, there was the Amish Furniture Outlet.  The store was easily navigated. Every piece was beautiful, solid oak, maple or cherry, and hand-crafted. There were no screws or nails to be seen, but perfect fits including dovetail joints holding the pieces together. But, with list prices reaching $15,000 for an exquisite bedroom set, buyers in a tough economy were apparently too few, pushing them into bankruptcy.

At the other extreme is a big box furniture chain. Every piece looks good, but with solid veneer on pressboard, fibreboard or particleboard, there's nary solid wood to be found in most items. However, the price is right, and the quality good enough, at least for a short while. Besides, who needs dovetail joints when you have bolts and flanges. For the price of one kitchen chair from the Amish, one can purchase and assemble a full kitchen set with a table and four chairs. Business is booming, so they must be doing something right!

Life often requires us to choose between quality and cost. I certainly would love the hand-crafted solid wood pieces, they are spectacular pieces of furniture! More often than not, they are well beyond my budget and I have to settle for the engineered wood with veneer. 

There are often other choices between quality and cost as well, not just when we shop. Think of  choices around diet and exercise, especially at this time of year, or relationships, personal development or so many other aspects of life.

Luke 2:11-12 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Christmas reminds us that God did not sacrifice quality or cost when it comes to His love for mankind. He didn't hold anything back in terms of quality or cost, wrapping Himself in human form to come to earth as a little baby in a manger... feedtray for animals! 

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

Jesus came to show us how to live and love, and to give us the way back to the Father.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Jesus came to pay the ultimate price that we would have life in abundance. And investing His Spirit in us, He works to transform us from a particleboard core into the high quality, "solid wood" people God originally designed us to be!