When I visited Maui last month, I admired the lush vegetation and beautiful flowers. The impatiens and dusty millar were twice as high as in my garden. I even saw a 100-year-old mango tree. One particular kind of bird intrigued me, however. It looked like a dove with white-tipped wings.
This bird appeared unaware of its surroundings. Once, as my husband and I walked down the concrete pathway to our hotel room, I spotted this bird standing by the nearby wall. Although my husband stepped a few inches from this bird, it never flinched. A few days later the bird looked as if it was waiting for us by our door. It never flew away as we approached and seemed oblivious to a cat peering intently at it several feet away.
This bird reminded me of our spiritual condition before we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The Bible says that everyone is born spiritually dead. We were born with a sin nature because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Since this is true, it does not take very long before we personally commit sin.
Just like that bird, dead people do not react. We are utterly incapable of responding to God and blind to spiritual realities. The Holy Spirit must first lovingly open our hearts to hear the Lord speak through his Word, the Bible. Only by the grace of God do spiritually dead people become alive. What a precious gift of God!
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:1, 2 NIV).
www.tale2k.com
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Waiting on the Lord
After scurrying across the yard, the rabbit plopped down on the driveway. Its ears stood straight and tall, listening for any sign of trouble. For more than five minutes, the rabbit sat still and did not move a muscle.
Several times I left the room and then came back to see if the rabbit was still there. It was. How unlike that rabbit most of us are! We hurry from one activity to another, never stopping to take a break. Life is a rat race, a never-ending whirl of things to do.
We need to sit down like the rabbit and listen to the Lord. The Psalmist writes, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).
If we take the time to be quiet and hear God in his Word, then we will not be caught off guard or unprepared when the trials of life besiege us. Instead we will draw our strength from the Lord.
www.tale2k.com
Several times I left the room and then came back to see if the rabbit was still there. It was. How unlike that rabbit most of us are! We hurry from one activity to another, never stopping to take a break. Life is a rat race, a never-ending whirl of things to do.
We need to sit down like the rabbit and listen to the Lord. The Psalmist writes, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).
If we take the time to be quiet and hear God in his Word, then we will not be caught off guard or unprepared when the trials of life besiege us. Instead we will draw our strength from the Lord.
www.tale2k.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
Struggling with Sin
Sometimes the changing seasons appear to engage in a tug of war with each other. Are you glad when you see a robin, the first sign of spring? Yet that robin does not necessarily mean the end of winter weather. Less than a week after I saw a robin this year, winter returned with a vengeance. Some communities in southern Ontario received the same amount of snowfall as a January storm.
I do not know how you feel, but I enjoy the opposite—a heat wave in September. It means one more chance to go canoeing or sailing before cold grips the land. In contrast, skiers rejoice when they can ski in April. Others prefer not to have to deal with shoveling more snow. Whatever your preferences, everyone must accept the fact that summer and winter do not usually end abruptly. From a human viewpoint, there is a tug of war between the seasons.
The same situation occurs spiritually. When a person is saved, he or she accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour. No longer are we legally guilty of our sins because Jesus took the punishment, which we deserve. Nevertheless the long process of sanctification begins. The new nature in Christ struggles to eradicate and replace the old sin nature. What a tug of war spiritually!
The apostle Paul lamented, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18, 19 NIV).
Paul struggled with sin in his life, just as we do. Thankfully, the Lord continues the painful process of sanctification in believers. He never gave up on Paul. Likewise God will never stop working to make us more like Jesus.
www.tale2k.com
I do not know how you feel, but I enjoy the opposite—a heat wave in September. It means one more chance to go canoeing or sailing before cold grips the land. In contrast, skiers rejoice when they can ski in April. Others prefer not to have to deal with shoveling more snow. Whatever your preferences, everyone must accept the fact that summer and winter do not usually end abruptly. From a human viewpoint, there is a tug of war between the seasons.
The same situation occurs spiritually. When a person is saved, he or she accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour. No longer are we legally guilty of our sins because Jesus took the punishment, which we deserve. Nevertheless the long process of sanctification begins. The new nature in Christ struggles to eradicate and replace the old sin nature. What a tug of war spiritually!
The apostle Paul lamented, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18, 19 NIV).
Paul struggled with sin in his life, just as we do. Thankfully, the Lord continues the painful process of sanctification in believers. He never gave up on Paul. Likewise God will never stop working to make us more like Jesus.
www.tale2k.com
Thursday, April 02, 2009
God's Hidden Handiwork
During the winter snow covers the landscape and hides the dead grass. In the spring the snow melts and reveals dormant plants waiting for warmth to grow again. Sometimes you may notice long wiggly paths imprinted in your yard—the work of voles winding their way over the frozen ground.
I have often looked out the window after a storm to admire the smooth layer of freshly fallen snow. Until recently, it never occurred to me that some animals might be busy going about their business, sight unseen.
God operates like those voles, hidden from view. If you are a believer, he is busy working in your life as well as mine. Often we do not know or understand what is happening. We likely will not fully comprehend everything the Lord has done until we get to heaven. As the hymn writer William Cowper explains, “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.” We are God’s handiwork. He weaves your life experiences and mine together into a beautiful tapestry.
Perhaps you are experiencing sorrow or heartache today. Take heart. If you belong to God, he is working out everything for your good and for his honour and glory.
I have often looked out the window after a storm to admire the smooth layer of freshly fallen snow. Until recently, it never occurred to me that some animals might be busy going about their business, sight unseen.
God operates like those voles, hidden from view. If you are a believer, he is busy working in your life as well as mine. Often we do not know or understand what is happening. We likely will not fully comprehend everything the Lord has done until we get to heaven. As the hymn writer William Cowper explains, “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.” We are God’s handiwork. He weaves your life experiences and mine together into a beautiful tapestry.
Perhaps you are experiencing sorrow or heartache today. Take heart. If you belong to God, he is working out everything for your good and for his honour and glory.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A Winter Wonderland
A thick layer of freshly fallen snow covers the yard like a pure white blanket. Tiny crater-like holes are scattered haphazardly under the trees—the result of snow falling from branches. The tracks of a rabbit cross the backyard. The ditch by the road shows evidence of children tumbling down the incline as they wait for the school bus.
Without the snowfall, I would never have known that a rabbit had scampered through the yard. Without the snowfall, I would not have realized that children liked to slide into the ditch. Free of snow, the trees would not bow down and shed their heavy load.
I was unaware of all these activities taking place in my yard. It took the snowfall to reveal them. Likewise, we are unaware of sin in our lives until we gaze upon the holiness of God. His purity sheds light on our sinfulness. Like Isaiah of old, we will fall down in dismay.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV).
If you feel like this, do not fear. Jesus paid the penalty for sinners. If you believe that Jesus died for you, then he will remove your guilt. Look to Jesus and live!
www.tale2k.com
Without the snowfall, I would never have known that a rabbit had scampered through the yard. Without the snowfall, I would not have realized that children liked to slide into the ditch. Free of snow, the trees would not bow down and shed their heavy load.
I was unaware of all these activities taking place in my yard. It took the snowfall to reveal them. Likewise, we are unaware of sin in our lives until we gaze upon the holiness of God. His purity sheds light on our sinfulness. Like Isaiah of old, we will fall down in dismay.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV).
If you feel like this, do not fear. Jesus paid the penalty for sinners. If you believe that Jesus died for you, then he will remove your guilt. Look to Jesus and live!
www.tale2k.com
Friday, December 12, 2008
Economic Uncertainty
We live in interesting economic times. How often have you heard those words? Companies are laying off workers. Other businesses have declared bankruptcy. Retirees do not have as much disposable income, especially if they depend on dividends from their stock portfolio. Baby boomers wonder whether they will have to work longer than they intended.
Lately the news consists of a constant diet of doom and gloom. Therefore many people are afraid to spend although they can afford it. Banks are refusing to lend even when they are able.
How should believers, who trust in the goodness and providence of God, react to this economic uncertainty? God reminded me of the answer when I looked outside my window the other day. A brightly coloured blue jay landed on a snow-laden evergreen tree. Tiny chickadees, almost hidden from view, hopped from one pine branch to another. They were not worried about what they would eat or wear.
Jesus instructed his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25, 26 NIV).
I know a chorus, “Why Worry When You Can Pray?”. Let us learn from the birds. Do not worry about the falling stock market or the subprime mortgage fiasco. Instead ask your Heavenly Father to supply your needs, not your wants. Then trust him to do it.
www.tale2k.com
Lately the news consists of a constant diet of doom and gloom. Therefore many people are afraid to spend although they can afford it. Banks are refusing to lend even when they are able.
How should believers, who trust in the goodness and providence of God, react to this economic uncertainty? God reminded me of the answer when I looked outside my window the other day. A brightly coloured blue jay landed on a snow-laden evergreen tree. Tiny chickadees, almost hidden from view, hopped from one pine branch to another. They were not worried about what they would eat or wear.
Jesus instructed his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25, 26 NIV).
I know a chorus, “Why Worry When You Can Pray?”. Let us learn from the birds. Do not worry about the falling stock market or the subprime mortgage fiasco. Instead ask your Heavenly Father to supply your needs, not your wants. Then trust him to do it.
www.tale2k.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Unexpected Winter Driving Hazards
Long ago God promised Noah, as long as the earth exists, we would always have four seasons. Winter follows fall every year. It’s guaranteed. Yet, when it comes to winter driving, people seem to have short memories.
Although it is not officially winter, this season has arrived in southern Ontario and is here to stay for a while. Last week Toronto received its first snowfall of the season. In one day police responded to over four hundred accidents. The next day a policeman commented on the television news that all those collisions were caused by speed.
Many people are caught off guard and unprepared for winter even though it happens every year. Are you ready for Jesus’ second coming? I wonder how many will be unprepared or shocked.
Jesus told his disciples, “The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44 NIV). This means that Jesus will come back when he is least expected. Since this is true, what advice does Jesus give believers? “So stay awake and be prepared, for you do not know the date or moment of My return” (Matthew 25:13 Living NT).
How are we to be prepared for Jesus’ return? Those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour will definitely be unprepared. This fact should sadden the heart of every believer. Judging by the rest of Matthew 25, believers must do the work, which Jesus wants us to do. This means that we should live to please him by sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus alone.
www.tale2k.com
Although it is not officially winter, this season has arrived in southern Ontario and is here to stay for a while. Last week Toronto received its first snowfall of the season. In one day police responded to over four hundred accidents. The next day a policeman commented on the television news that all those collisions were caused by speed.
Many people are caught off guard and unprepared for winter even though it happens every year. Are you ready for Jesus’ second coming? I wonder how many will be unprepared or shocked.
Jesus told his disciples, “The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44 NIV). This means that Jesus will come back when he is least expected. Since this is true, what advice does Jesus give believers? “So stay awake and be prepared, for you do not know the date or moment of My return” (Matthew 25:13 Living NT).
How are we to be prepared for Jesus’ return? Those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour will definitely be unprepared. This fact should sadden the heart of every believer. Judging by the rest of Matthew 25, believers must do the work, which Jesus wants us to do. This means that we should live to please him by sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus alone.
www.tale2k.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
