Work It!

Years ago a friend told me a priority guideline was: self, family (those under your roof), work, other people, other activities - and I struggled for a long time on the work area. What I defined as work was that which requires effort, or earns money. I identified my strengths and interests to seek a good way to earn a living. I also learned that relationships are key on every level, especially our relationship with God.  But work success eluded me.
What if work, as God defines it, is broader than work as I defined it? Jesus' disciples left their regular jobs to follow Him, and later again to spread the gospel. Paul earned his keep along the way, but his main priority was to carry the message. Learning and sharing about God, in whatever way we do it (singing, writing, speaking, acting, etc.) may be the 'work' focus the Lord ultimately wants for us.


*All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. (Colossians 1:6 b)

Walking Through Fire

"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."* Sometimes losses, homelessness, financial crisis, illness or serious injury happen or are imminent. These events seem like walking through fire because dangers abound, and outcomes are unclear. When in the midst of a difficult time, I pray (if I can), sometimes cry, take care of myself, and wait as things unfold. Afterward, I find that God has not let me down. Help was provided, and many of the possibilities did not come to pass. And those that did, have not consumed me.


* Isaiah 43:2 b NIV

A Bitter Taste

It seems like Christianity has fallen out of favour with many people. Although we enjoy the fruits of a Christian heritage in Canada, it seems like some take our privileges for granted. Is it because we no longer sense our need for God? It could be, but I also notice that people who speak strongly against religion were often soured by a personal incident that happened to them (or to a parent). It's a tragic misunderstanding, because although they have a legitimate grievance it is not against God or Christianity, but against that person* or institution who represented religion to them at the time when they were more open. 


*Luke 17:2 (NIV) "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin."

What You Were Made For

Heaven, what a lovely topic to consider. C.S. Lewis points out that the uniqueness of each individual will enable them to appreciate specific aspects of God like no one else. He writes, "if all experienced God in the same way and returned Him an identical worship, the song of the Church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note." In describing our innate desire for heaven he writes, "All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness." "... God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it - made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand." "Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say 'Here at last is the thing I was made for.'"*

"You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9:6 b NIV


* Quotes from 'Heaven' in "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis, pgs. 640 and 641 in The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics