One Big Eraser

We all have lives that twist and turn. We might even think of life as navigating a maze. Most of the time we don’t know where we are going, or for that matter, where we have been. Even with five senses we have trouble, and some just seem to get it first time around. A typical thought for me at 2am and not being able to sleep.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands and too many thoughts that clog the mind while going in so many directions. I remember seeing a video of a mouse trying to work its way through a wooden maze to get to the cheese. With only its sense of smell moving it forward, it found the prize. When it did, I think we all cheered.  

Most of the time when I wake up I’m thinking of people I know and care about. I try not to get too bent out of shape or interfere. It is then that I realize, I can only pray for each of them and let them find their own way through the maze of life. I pray harder for those I know are at a dead end and don’t know which way to turn. After all, been there and done that. For me, it’s hard to let them learn on their own, to find their way out and to the prize. Just thought, when we get to the end of the maze, we find freedom.

Paul talked about life as a race and “pressing on to take hold of the prize…” When I watched that mouse, I so wanted for him to be able to understand the directions I was screaming out to him. I was calling out with everything that is within me to let him know which way to go. Do you realize that God is doing something similar when He watches us navigate life. Just want you to know, God has a very large eraser to help us find His way. 

As I write this I can hear David’s words in Psalms, “Where can I go where you are not there”. And even though James Taylor didn’t write his song with God in mind, it sure is reassuring to think of God in our life at those moments in life when we stare at a dead end, - and start to hear God say to us;

You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am

I'll come running…

Something to think about

Rob

Delights of Life - Smile

One delight of living in a world created by God is, it has so many things to explore. Every one of them can and should bring a smile to our faces, and excitement to our lives. I heard that! There really is and our seasons are one of the best evidences of that.

Here is my short list.  Fall is definitely upon us and the leaves are falling. Well, in most of the province but not entirely here in the Hamilton area. It’s called fall for a reason but before they fall we have this amazing display of unimaginable colour that defies the imagination. God does paint with a different brush than we have ever seen. And yes, it makes me smile.

Before we know it, frozen water will come to us as the season changes to winter. I think this might be Gods’ way of covering up the mess of fall when those colourful leaves all turn brown. Remember looking out the front window last year on that fresh layer of the white stuff and thinking how beautiful it was? That was before you realized you had to go dig out.

How about spring? Almost felt like it is never going to come after those six weeks and one groundhog. The bulbs come and then the buds. It’s new life and we to come out of our hibernation. The sun warms our backs and all the white stuff melts away to reveal and new beginning and our first Robin.

This brings us to summer. Wonderfully God continually places in front of us so many things He created that we may not have noticed before. For me, most sunsets catch my attention as it sets in the west just behind our tv set in the front room. What a joy to see again God’s display of colour in the warm evening sky. Never the same, just the same painter.

Most of the time, all I can do is say, “Thank you Lord”.

Something to think about

Robin

One Thing Never Changes

I was noticing so many changes around the city lately. And not just my home town of Stoney Creek but every other town or city I have had the pleasure of driving through. Even many sleepy towns are changing.

That usually brings us to that famous question, “Is change good?” Many of us, presumably the older generation, don’t think so. The young people who are inheriting that past think it’s old, outdate and just needing replacement. That’s okay with me but I hope they don’t mean us as well.  Remember part of the town that has stood for generations? Consider the many people who put up buildings, homes, monuments, churches, and even factories up just so they could leave a legacy to let us know they were here.

I know that progress is not always moving forward. We are in a disposable age; even more than we were forty years ago when we first coined that phrase. It is very evident that we live in a society that looks for change. My premise is this, change when it is needed, but don’t change unless it is replaced with something better.  People put their names to buildings to let people know they have made something beautiful to leave the generations that follow.

The same thing that is happening in life also happens in our churches as well. Here is what I see. People have left the church because they think it is old and outdated and there is something better. Sorry to say, there is nothing better than Jesus dying to take our sins away. That doesn’t have to change but the method that we use to let people know the truth of Christ needs to.

Our bible is never out of date, old or needing a replacement. It is as fresh as it was when first written. It is a totally practical guide for living well in a sin sick world. What we need to do is dust it off and open its pages to discover the relevance of its words in our everyday life. Here is a verse from that book to start with. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Something to think about.

Rob 

Hand In The Hand

I was thinking this morning that life is a series of holding other peoples hands. It had me thinking about how we get to where we are going. Depending where you are in life, you will have or had dreams and ambitions that you would have loved to grown into. For us older, or shall I say, more mature, we had those a lifetime ago and to some degree still have a small glimmer left in us. Some happened, many didn’t. If you are younger, you may still have them in abundance. Or should I say, your working on some of them and realizing others, even though they are attainable, are not what reality would be for you anymore.
It takes work and dedication and focus to reach our dreams and goals. It also takes insight on what is right and true for us, individually. I believe life continually places options on our path and we choose which path looks best.  Should I be working in an office or enjoying making things with my hands, working with people or machines?  You choose one and then you have a couple of other choices that present themselves. And on it goes.
But all along life's road there are constants. There are family and friends. People who walk down life’s road and they are there so all of us can ask for help and advice. The people in our lives create an environment where helping each other leads to making some hard decisions and living with the consequence both good and bad. Life goes on.
Life also has road blocks and detours. Sometimes there are places in life where the bridge is out. Time to regroup, refocus and realize there is always a way around the problems.
The best way around these hard places of life is to change direction and reach out to the best friend we have and take hold the hand of Jesus, because He knows the way ahead and we just have to follow Him.
"What a friend we have in Jesus..."
Something to think about though out all of life.
Rob

A Changing World

In our world today there is nothing but change all around us. The greatest evidence of it is in the item you hold in your hand. New cell phones are issued monthly and most people are at the gate when they arrive at the store. Our cars change every couple of years. Many people want the latest and greatest. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding in my brothers ’54 Woody Wagon, but probably not every day to work.

Clothing styles change almost as often as the wind direction. And shoes? You got it. It’s so part of our modern culture and it’s hard to keep up with what’s new. Saw a commercial yesterday that had a fellow going from business to business and it looked like he just came, took something and left the store. In actual fact his watch and phone worked together to pay for each transaction without a glance. That’s the money less culture we are moving to. Don’t even have to tap the card.

Unfortunately there are hold outs to change. Just read about the closing of 16 churches up north all at the same time. The person in charge said something like; People don’t gravitate to our way of doing church, so, we are not going to change as we would rather close than change. What he must have said was, the world can change but we will stay the same.

Out here in the real world, there are people all around us who are looking to find answers to faith and life and can’t seem to find any. You may be one of those people yourself. Where do we find those answers? We find faith in changing methods that don’t change the message or the messenger. Over the years I have used two words that seem to help everyday people in everyday situations find their answers in Jesus Christ. Those words are, “get practical”. God’s message of love, grace and forgiveness will never change because it is practical to every generation and they are found in The Book. To you and to me, in an ever changing world we discover, when we connect Christ to our everyday questions, we have the answers of everyday life and faith.

Something to think about  

Rob