Starting a Business during a Pan-Demic

What astounding changes! The year 2020 brought unexpected shifts to every family. Health care workers, government budgets, and politicians forever seemed to be catching up to events as Covid-19 silently and invisibly spread sinister small spikes, triggering suffering and grief.

Before the end of the year, the digital world had zoomed itself into a preeminent position. Students study at home, slumping on couches, sandwiched between homework, social media, and songs sanctioned if listened to in a regular classroom. Working mothers at home bounce between work assignments and their young children’s demands for attention. Scientists’ sleepless nights supplied statistics that resulted in new vaccines, even as increasing opposition to vaccinations became a concern to health officials.

In February, I completed the banking requirements to sell books in the USA. My company, Century One Chronicles, was launched. In March, I uploaded my first novel onto Amazon, expecting that before the end of April, I would organize book-signing events in May and June.

But you know what happened! Plans to gather with friends were tossed from Windows 10. I entered the digital world—big time-for me. 

Century One Chronicles is a business that generally would demand face-to-face contact to show my books to interested persons.

Now, as we come to the last days of December, 

I have a Century One Chronicles store on Shopify.

I am organized to sell books on Facebook, eBay, Amazon, and Instagram. I aim to help other writers publish and get their books circulating without going through the demanding steep learning curve needed when forming a digital store.

Truth be told, I would far sooner write a 400-page historical novel with complex characters than face the daunting task of managing the radio buttons on Amazon’s Seller Central and other programs. After weeks of attempting to set things up on Amazon, I am still struggling to connect all the moving parts.

However, I fell blessed. Elizabeth, my daughter, has helped me set up Shopify, my digital shop. I feel like a baby just learning to crawl; such is the gap between my present knowledge of the digital world with its thousands of websites and my limited skill base.

I’m blessed to have the continuing help of three persons. A great illustrator, Dusan Arsenic, lives in Serbia, and he does fantastic things with his digital brushes. He has created the first three book covers and will continue with the next books. Jerry Whittaker is my primary editor, enhancing the story-line and making helpful suggestions. Daphne Parsekian is my final copy editor. Many people read pre-published copies of my novels. I see the Lord’s gracious hand in helping me connect with so many who have helped me at every step of the way.

Two books appeared online as e-Books and paperbacks and are being circulated:

Through the Fire: A Chronicle of Pergamum, Heartbeats of Courage, Book One, in April, and

Never Enough Gold: A Chronicle of Sardis, Heartbeats of Courage, Book Two, in November.

In 2021, Lord Willing, I have three more volumes ready to publish, and in 2022, the last two novels in the series of the Seven Churches of the Revelation.

Thanks for being a prayer partner in this enterprise. I hope to send the proceeds from the sale of these books to help widows and orphan children who need to learn to read in four of the developing countries.

Warmest regards on these chilly winter mornings! Love and prayers for the joy of it all, David 

A cold, delayed December funeral

The early December afternoon showed a cold face as we arrived at the cemetery. A chilly wind blew from the west, and the spacious parking lot was empty. A small gathering showed people standing close together down one of the hills but not touching each other—another funeral.

We waited in our car. Five minutes later, a blue Toyota came beside us. This was my first view of the lady who phoned me two days ago. She had come with her two daughters. She waved at me, and I motioned, indicating that I would follow their car to the site of the newly covered grave.

We followed the three mourners to the grave, recently closed and now covered high with colorful plastic flowers of every description. The light-brown earth was covered beneath an abundance of flowers. Many people loved this man who passed away before he could experience a mid-life crisis. But he had been buried without so much as a prayer.

The mother-in-law asked me two days ago to read three passages: Psalm 23, I Corinthians 13, and Revelation 21. I asked them where they wanted to stand, and they took their place at the foot of the grave. My wife stood with them. Normally, internment would be accompanied by a hug or something spontaneous like a kind word matched by a loving gesture. But this is the world made fearful by Covid-19. Even though the man died from a kidney problem, we are constantly impacted by the fear of spreading it or getting the disease.

As I led this unexpected service to commit the body to the grave and his spirit to the Lord, many things passed through my mind. After only a few minutes in the open air under a cloudless sky, the gusty wind had us all shivering. Moved by emotion, I proclaimed the Gospel in simple terms. I gulped for air and caught my breath as I imagined the beautiful young widow who has returned to her home for the last 32 days, struggling to bring up two young teens.

And in between so many other thoughts, I returned to a growing awareness. Many of us have been commenting on this common thread: During a time of a public health crisis, the power of the Gospel has not been curtailed. Last night on a zoom call, we heard people saying they are praying more and reflecting more on the path their lives are taking. This morning, on another zoom meeting, we received repeated words of comfort, songs, news of creative ministries of feeding the poor in our area, the beginning of a read-through of the Book of John, and opportunities for sharing and receiving prayers. And this delayed funeral, requested by an unknown widow for her widowed daughter, is one more evidence that the Lord is with us, always the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

And more than that, we returned home having made three new friends. There was something very warming in the early winter winds of December.

An Unexpected Phone Call

 

The cell phone rings just as I park the car in front of a multi-story building. Few things in life are as difficult as the sudden news of a person dying. It's all so opposite from the entrance of life, coming through the long, slow, welcome swelling of a mother's stomach that promises a new life. A birth brings the joy of family members gathered around, the sudden laugher, and sometimes tears of overwhelming emotion, like touching the soft, smooth skin of a healthy newborn.

Tears at the time of death are so different. They hide many complex emotions. A mother grieves for her son, who has passed prematurely. She stumbles from the memories of the past to the agony of her daughter, who now is a single mother. She tells me of the man, whom I had never met. He leaves a young daughter and a son, two years younger.

Her daughter is grieving and upset and unable to sleep, but she is now the family's breadwinner. The boy attempts to shrug off his pain. When she asked, "How are you?" he answers his grandmother, "I'm fine." Nothing more. We all know he's not fine, but where is the key to open this lovely young boy's heart so that he can share the pain and loss of his dad. Who has that key hidden away?

The phone call came while driving, while we were delivering Christmas cheer. My wife has made several batches of her famous granola, the breakfast I never get tired of eating. We are delivering bottles to many people we've come to know in our community over the previous two years, up until when the Gathering Place had to shut down like everything else during the Covid-19 crisis. And I'm speaking with a grieving mother.

Inside the building, my wife is passing a Christmas gift into the hands of a lovely young woman from Africa. She saw family members being brutally killed in a war no one knows about or wants to hear of. It seems that no one in our land has time to hear about Africans having been killed in uprisings. In this case, over one million persons. We have enough of death here. I can't imagine the anguish resulting from a complete breakdown of governments. A million people, actually far more than that...my mind goes numb. I can't imagine the faces or any details.

But I can imagine a widow's pain. This phone call brings me close to a woman who has experienced too much in her life. Those of her husband and two children were too many deaths, infants who left short memories before being laid to rest in the black earth. For half an hour, I listen and ask a few questions, and gradually the story comes out of her son-in-law's sickness. Her questions never stop. "Should we have done this? Could we have done more?"

And the dreaded questions and doubts gradually shed more light on the situation as trust is built over the invisible network of radio signals between her phone and mine. "There were no prayers. No Bible reading. Just dust sprinkled over his feet. Will he be judged by God because the ashes were not sprinkled on the casket over his head? I shared with my son-in-law how he could come to know God, to kneel beside his bed and ask for forgiveness for his sins."

Details flow out, sadness filling the space between us, the love and comfort of the Holy Spirit beginning to flow as a tiny stream of peace that will bind us, who until half an hour ago, were strangers. Now we are sharing deeply, thanking the Lord for the common friend who wanted her to phone me.

A rush of holy awe overwhelms me. The mystery of faith. The conviction of eternal life. The welcome invasion into my time table, my schedule open to His leading, to His call to share and minister. And we begin to think of what a funeral might look like under the circumstances. My wife closes the door, having delivered words of comfort and the best granola on this side of excellence. Tomorrow we'll plan the funeral, wondering how to celebrate a life taken away after a year of declining health.

The Comfort of Prayers

The early December afternoon showed a cold face as we arrived at the cemetery. A chilly wind blew from the west, and the spacious parking lot was empty. A small gathering showed people standing close together down one of the hills but not touching each other—another funeral. 

We waited in our car. Five minutes later, a blue Toyota came beside us. This was my first view of the lady who phoned me two days ago. She had come with her two daughters. She waved at me, and I motioned, indicating that I would follow their car to the site of the newly covered grave. 

We followed the three mourners to the grave, recently closed and now covered high with colorful plastic flowers of every description. The light-brown earth was covered beneath an abundance of flowers. Many people loved this man who passed away before he could experience a mid-life crisis. But he had been buried without so much as a prayer.

The mother-in-law asked me two days ago to read three passages: Psalm 23, I Corinthians 13, and Revelation 21. I asked them where they wanted to stand, and they took their place at the foot of the grave. My wife stood with them. Normally, an internment would be accompanied by a hug or something spontaneous like a kind word matched by a loving gesture. But this is the world made fearful by Covid-19. Even though the man died from a kidney problem, we are constantly impacted by the fear of spreading it or getting the disease. 

As I led this unexpected service to commit the body to the grave and his spirit to the Lord, many things passed through my mind. After only a few minutes in the open air under a cloudless sky, the gusty wind had us all shivering. Moved by emotion, I proclaimed the Gospel in simple terms. I gulped for air and caught my breath as I imagined the beautiful young widow who has returned to her home for the last 32 days, struggling to bring up two young teens. 

And in between so many other thoughts, I returned to a growing awareness. Many of us have been commenting on this common thread: During a time of a public health crisis, the power of the Gospel has not been curtailed. Last night on a zoom call, we heard people saying they are praying more and reflecting more on the path their lives are taking. This morning, on another zoom meeting, we received repeated words of comfort, songs, news of creative ministries of feeding the poor in our area, the beginning of a read-through of the Book of John, and opportunities for sharing and receiving prayers. And this delayed funeral, requested by an unknown widow for her widowed daughter, is one more evidence that the Lord is with us, always the same, yesterday, today, and forever. 

And more than that, we returned home having made three new friends. There was something very warming in the early winter winds of December. 

Nation at Prayer

 

Living the Power of God's Presence

“When will this be over?” - one of those simple yet impossible questions asked of a politician in a recent media scrum. Obviously surprised by the question that is on everyone’s mind, his immediate response was “Only God knows!” In that short answer is the profound truth that the challenges facing elected representatives at this time are so far beyond human capability and limitation that only God does know and beyond that, only God has the wisdom and the power to meet and overcome every challenge. For over 17 years now, Nation At Prayer continues to witness the impact when the Holy Spirit infuses the lives of elected representatives and the lives of those who lift them in prayer. Refreshing winds of the Holy Spirit are blowing across the nation and around the globe in amazing ways. It is our great privilege and joy to witness and be in the midst. Today is an opportunity for you to share in this exceptional time of ministry: as we continue to actively engage and pray with politicians at every level as the Lord continues to open new initiatives with Indigenous leaders  as we witness a deepening of faith and expressed need for God’s presence and power by politicians at every level as we witness the expanding numbers of those responding to the call to pray for the Lord’s Power and Presence in the lives of elected leaders and nations as the necessity to gather virtually has led to our involvement in innovative and powerful events for worship and prayer for our nation and for the world as we engage in exciting initiatives uniting the full body of believers across the nation and around the globe as the Lord extends our global reach   As we live to the full the truth that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5 NLT) may the Lord’s transforming Presence and Power infuse you this Christmas season. Thanks to Mel and Sue Finlay for this letter and their ongoing, amazing work in Ottawa, and across our nation, bringing us to pray together with Christians who believe God is at work in Canada!

When Death Comes Knocking

The cell phone rings just as I park the car in front of a multi-story building. Few things in life are as difficult as the sudden news of a person dying. It's all so opposite from the entrance of life, coming through the long, slow, welcome swelling of a mother's stomach that promises a new life. A birth brings the joy of family members gathered around, the sudden laugher, and sometimes tears of overwhelming emotion, like touching the soft smooth skin of a healthy newborn.

Tears at the time of death are so different. They hide many complex emotions. A mother grieves for her son, who has passed prematurely. She stumbles from the memories of the past to the agony of her daughter, who now is a single mother. She tells me of the man, whom I had never met. He leaves a young daughter and a son, two years younger. 

Her daughter is grieving and upset and unable to sleep, but she is now the family's breadwinner. The boy attempts to shrug off his pain. When she asked, "How are you?" he answers his grandmother, "I'm fine." Nothing more. We all know he's not fine, but where is the key to open this lovely young boy's heart so that he can share the pain and loss of his dad. Who has that key hidden away?

The phone call came while driving, while we were delivering Christmas cheer. My wife has made several batches of her famous granola, the breakfast I never get tired of eating. We are delivering bottles to many people we've come to know in our community over the previous two years, up until when the Gathering Place had to shut down like everything else during the Covid-19 crisis. And I'm speaking with a grieving mother. 

Inside the building, my wife is passing a Christmas gift into the hands of a lovely young woman from Africa. She saw family members being brutally killed in a war no one knows about or wants to hear of. It seems that no one in our land has time to hear about Africans having been killed in uprisings. In this case, over one million persons. We have enough of death here. I can't imagine the anguish resulting from a complete breakdown of governments. A million people, actually far more than that...my mind goes numb. I can't imagine the faces or any details.

But I can imagine a widow's pain. This phone call brings me close to a woman who has experienced too much in her life. Those of her husband and two children were too many deaths, infants who left short memories before being laid to rest in the black earth. For half an hour, I listen and ask a few questions, and gradually the story comes out of her son-in-law's sickness. Her questions never stop. "Should we have done this? Could we have done more?"

And the dreaded questions and doubts gradually shed more light on the situation as trust is built over the invisible network of radio signals between her phone and mine. "There were no prayers. No Bible reading. Just dust sprinkled over his feet. Will he be judged by God because the ashes were not sprinkled on the casket over his head? I shared with my son-in-law how he could come to know God, to kneel beside his bed and ask for forgiveness for his sins." 

Details flow out, sadness filling the space between us, the love and comfort of the Holy Spirit beginning to flow as a tiny stream of peace that will bind us, who until half an hour ago, were strangers. Now we are sharing deeply, thanking the Lord for the common friend who wanted her to phone me. 

A rush of holy awe overwhelms me. The mystery of faith. The conviction of eternal life. The welcome invasion into my time table, my schedule open to His leading, to His call to share and minister. And we begin to think of what a funeral might look like under the circumstances. My wife closes the door, having delivered words of comfort and the best granola this side of excellence. Tomorrow we'll plan the funeral, wondering how to celebrate a life taken away after a year of declining health. 

Standing Together While Physically Apart

The Coronavirus Covid-19 has caused us to think aloud about a truth we don't often dwell on. Our normal tendency is to think locally, not globally. However, this health crisis is forcing us to reconsider the nature of human interactions across national boundaries. This is precious. We are not alone. Our actions in one place can influence the health of others far away. That's how the virus spread from China to Italy, the USA, and every country globally. 

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Thanks be to God! We come from many traditions. The Bible teaches us that there is "One Lord, one faith, one body..." With our eyes, we cannot see the Church how the Lord sees it through time and space. We often disagree, and sometimes these disagreements throughout history have turned violent. Nevertheless, your church is part of a wider body of believers. 

Roman Catholics are grouped in the largest body of believers in the world. The Orthodox churches are next in size. Anglican churches also baptize infants. Both these churches count men and women, boys and girls, all those baptized at birth, which is different from "Believers' churches." 

The next largest grouping is found in those churches organized around New Testament principles, in which adults are baptized members. The Baptist World Alliance is one grouping that brings believers together. The BWA is found in every country. In a year with unprecedented disruptions, God’s global mission is unchanging, as is the BWA mission.

 Despite isolation and separation, the Baptist movement worldwide has found ways to stand together, creatively adapting, compassionately caring, and continuing to minister throughout this year. These three examples represent hundreds, no thousands, of ways Christians have been sharing with one another.

 

• In Mexico, Baptists partnered to send medicine to rural areas with limited healthcare.

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Baptists purchased their first radio airtime to broadcast messages of help and hope in Christ.

• In Bangladesh, Baptists built public hand-washing stations outside of their churches in areas where up to 25 families share a single water tap.

 

You are a key part of this global missional movement. In fact, you helped financially empower every one of these ministries. If you represent another group of Christians, be thankful for the worldwide body of believers through whom you can fellowship and worship our Lord.

Lord Jesus, Think on Me

 A hymn that doesn't get old! Ever! This was written in AD 410.

Lord Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin;

     from earthborn passions set me free and make me pure within.

Lord Jesus, think on me, with care and woe oppressed; 

     let me thy loving servant be and gain thy promised rest.

Lord Jesus, think on me nor let me go astray;

     through darkness and perplexity point thou the heavenly way.

Lord Jesus, think on me, that when the flood is past,

     I may th'eternal brightness see and share thy joy at last.

Written by Synesius of Cyrene, North Africa, (today situated on or near Benghazi, Libya)

Set to the tune Damon.

Please Pray for Jennifer Lau, General Secretary of CBM

It is not a surprise that charitable organizations are feeling the pinch these days. Covid-19 has affected everyone and hit every church hard. Ministries that major in overseas relationships, ministries, projects, scholarships, and outreach such as Canadian Baptist Ministries, CBM, find this a challenging time.

Our local church is meeting its financial needs, thanks to the generosity of its membership. We will be up to date with our giving to CBM by the end of the year. Still, I am sure many churches across our nation have significant challenges. Some will find it difficult to contribute to CBM’s wide-spread ministries.

We are privileged to be believers in Canada. All Christians are to be committed to the Lord’s call: make disciples of all nations. CBM enables us to achieve the prayer of Jesus in John 17.

Therefore, I hope you will uphold Jennifer Lau in your family prayers and your church worship.  Jennifer spoke at our church, and she is a great communicator. The CBM Board saw in her the qualities they wanted for the next General Secretary.  She has a very demanding job, giving leadership for a church constituency composed of 1,200 congregations across ten provinces and two territories. 

May the Lord give Jennifer courage, patience, and much love for God’s people in our land.

“Lord, I lift up Jennifer Lau and her family to you. Give her wisdom as she and the CBM staff continue to partner with other Christians around the world. Thank you for the leadership gifts you gave to her through the Holy Spirit. The opportunities to proclaim Jesus Christ are so numerous! May she know how much time to spend in the office and how much time to be on the road. Give her joy in her role as General Secretary. May she have enough time with her family. May she spread the hope of the Gospel to many. May she stay faithful to the truths of the Scriptures, and may she be led every day by your Holy Spirit.”

Overcomers of - Pride

Thank goodness! Seven days cleaning out this cupboard has taken long enough. What a lot of junk was stored on each shelf. I bend down to the bottom shelf and there's a sparkling wrapper with the single word, "I" written on it. It's almost magic. Anything this wrapper, (is it made out of something modern like plastic, or something old like linen?) touches, it makes the object take on dazzling colors. 

I walk around the house and place the wrapper over my graduation diploma. A thousand memories come back, all of them proving I was the best in my class, even though in my heart I know I wasn't the best. But pride feels good. It covers over the time I cheated on a test or told a lie about being so busy that I couldn't finish an assignment on time. 

Oh, it's such a beautiful thing. I put the wrapper over my shoulders and then look in the mirror. Who's the most intelligent? the best looking? the wisest? Pride, the wrapper I've kept hidden all these years, tells me "I am." In my heart, I know I'm not, but look how pride changes my perception of EVERYTHING! I wear it over my nightclothes and the next day, I'm even proud of my pride!

Walking back to the living room, I stumble and fall. Beside me is an open Bible and I read, "I wisdom, dwell together with prudence. I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior, and perverse speech." Proverbs 8:12,13

I wonder why I fell, why I lost my balance so easily, and read, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

I flip the pages once more and come across the longest fall any mortal ever experienced. King Nebuchadnezzar wrote after losing his mind, and living like an animal eating grass for seven years, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of Heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble." Daniel 4:37

I take comfort in the following verses, to which I have referred each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for such clear guidance in your Word. I don't want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. I want you to control my tendency to prideful thoughts. I thank you that in you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

Overcomers of - Envy

Finding the tiny box at the back of the sixth shelf in the cupboard, nearly at the bottom, is something I do reluctantly. I have to bend down on my knees to see the box. I pull it out and see the most amazing item ever produced with human hands. I turn on a TV that comes up on my cell phone. 

It only takes a second, and once again I have the TV turned on. Whatever channel I select, there's a numbing repetition. Ten minutes of programming is followed by ads. I turn off the sound and begin counting. Nine, ten, eleven. Eleven ads, one after the other! I can't even remember the various articles being advertised. The products are all a jumble But then, I realize something significant. The joint impact of movies, shows, carefully dolled-up women, and handsome men pulls at me. Ah, that emotion!

It's called Envy. I would like to have that beautiful house. That's a wonderful job, redoing that bathroom. And, I'm not really satisfied with my car. Hey! Here's another vehicle. It's just a little bit more expensive than what I have, perhaps, but if I budget things a bit better, and if I get rid of all emergencies in my life, then I'll be able to afford that new self-parking vehicle! Oh, I want it all! 

Unfortunately, envy doesn't make us wealthier. Instead, this sin has a devastating effect on the human body. "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30

We are to enjoy life, but not envy things that make us feel wealthier! ""These are the decrees the Lord God directed me to teach you to observe in the land, so that you, your children, and their children after them, may fear the Lord ... and so that you may enjoy long life." Deuteronomy 6:1,2

So much on TV is about love! Love affairs. Loving pets. Loving holidays. Love is one of the predominant themes. Envy is often the core motive behind the endless murder-detective shows. How about this contrast between Love and Envy? "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." I Corinthians 13:4. 

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for such clear guidance in your Word. I don't want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. I want you to control my tendency to envy. I thank you that in you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

Overcomers of - Wrath

This is a day when we regretfully open the cupboard that hides our secrets. We glance at the shelves near the floor and sigh gratefully. After today, only two more secret sins, the kind we keep so close to our chests that sometimes we even refuse to admit them. 

The fifth shelf is almost empty, well then, we bend down. Stuffed against the wall at the back, there's this tiny object. It's like a kid's toy. You touch it, and it expands quickly, then touch it again, and it goes back to this small size. On the bottom, you look for where it's made. We read "Wrath - Made in Everywhere." 

Oh. It's so unfortunate that a word, a gesture, a letter through the mail, a phone call, or a social tweet can set off this emotion. Wrath colors the eyes red and makes the lungs work twice the normal rate with half the oxygen. Wrath even turns our affection for someone we love into a target of an insult, or worse yet, some kind of violence. 

Jesus spoke of anger and murder in the same breath. I'm reminded of Cain and Able, and the angry words exchanged before the first murder took place. So many of the brutal killings in the Old Testament can be traced back to raging emotions. Intense emotions are stirred when we perceive that our human rights have been trampled upon. Perceived provocations usually don't invite dialogue and a path to reconciliation. 

I love the instructions in Ephesians 4:31, 32 "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every kind of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you." Wow! What a different kind of world God's Word presents!

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for such clear guidance in your Word. I don't want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. I want you to control my emotions, and I thank you that in you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

 

Overcomers of - Sloth

Today, we feel tired and hesitant before going to the cupboard where secret sins are stored away, out of view. On the fourth shelf is a tiny box. We open it and see tiny slips of paper. We look at the name on the outside and shove it back into the cupboard. "Sloth" is written in tiny, sloppy letters as if someone was too lazy to even label the container correctly. 

Slothfulness and sloth - two words hardly ever used today! And certainly not in polite company. When was the last time you heard that word, and not talking about an animal? We value people whose schedules are so full that it's a privilege to get even a bit of their time. Still, there is a temptation to let things go, to stay away from hard and honest work. Procrastination sometimes gets the better of us. (Hint: I think this is a temptation that targets males, not women. Most of the verses in the Bible about sloth fit the male personality!)

"Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry." Proverbs 19:15

"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!" Proverbs 19:24

"A sluggard does not plow in season, so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." Proverbs 20:4

"The sluggard's craving will be the death of him because his hands refuse to work." Proverbs 21:25

"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside!' or, 'I will be murdered in the streets.'" Proverbs 22:13

Jesus told the story of a man who received one talent, and he hid it. That is a picture of slothfulness.

Paul told lazy people in Thessalonica that they should get to work. "For while we were with you, we gave you this rule, 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'" 2 Thessalonians 3:10

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for enough for today, for home, family, friends, and my community. I praise you for opportunities, work, and motivation to get up each day knowing you are leading me forward. I need to learn new skills, new vocabulary, new ways of doing things, and for these, I trust your grace. I thank you that in you, I find our sufficiency. In you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

Overcomers of - Greed

I don't want to open the cupboard today and take a look in the box pushed to the back of the third shelf. I close my eyes before reading the name on the carefully wrapped box. The top of the box comes off without any effort. It's as though it wants to throw everything inside at me. And there are endless magazines, each one with more beautiful photos than the other.

Taking the magazines out, amazing photography indicates splendor, glory, and a sense of well-being. Larger homes, fancier cars, better technology, more imaginative ways of getting money back on credit cards: it's all there in amazing detail. Oh, the credit cards! Thousands of them! Endless articles on how to retire with enough to live a comfortable life.

Luxurious hotel rooms on the Pacific islands can't quite match the tours promoted in European travel magazines. Beautifully decorated rooms, gorgeous women, and handsome men, all without a blemish, promise happiness. The more I pull out the magazines, the more seem to appear in this box. It seems bottomless! And it is! Then it hits me...all these images feed the greed that lies within my heart. 

Jesus said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions. Then he told them this parable." There was a rich man who wanted bigger barns... Luke 12:14,15.

"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of ... greed..." Romans 1:28,29

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived...the greedy... will not inherit the kingdom of God, And that is what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." I Corinthians 6:9-11

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for enough for today, for home, family, friends, and my community. I praise you for the skills I have, my memories, and the imagination of how to earn a living honestly. We thank you that in you, we find our sufficiency. In you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

Overcomers of - Gluttony

Ouch! When we are talking with one another we don't like to admit any of the sins that lie hidden away. But up there, on the second shelf in the unseen cupboard, there's a box full of secret desires. On the outside of the box with a word written on it in large letters: "Gluttony." Inside are three tightly wrapped parcels.

The first package has a bright, shiny label: "Not satisfied with how much is on my plate." This parcel is lifted down and re-wrapped several times a year. Usually, it happens on family occasions. The table is piled high with food when suddenly, a quiet sigh hides the emotions. A sly glance notes how much others got.

The second parcel has a very old sticker. "I want more and more." Solomon, who gave hundreds of banquets in his palace, wrote it after observing a guest. "When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony." Proverbs 23:1 I don't think that person got invited to another one of his feasts.

Written in tiny letters on the third package are these words: "Worried that I won't have enough tomorrow." Jesus addressed this head-on in his sermons: "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 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? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'" Matthew 6:25-27,31

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

 "Thank you, Loving Father, for the joy of eating, of living with plenty, and loving life. We thank you that in you we find our sufficiency. In you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me." 

Overcomers of ... Lust

No one likes to talk about sins, especially those that are hidden. We were created in such a way as to be able to hide our innermost thoughts from others! A nine-year-old child can keep her intentions secret from her mother. A husband, young or old, can remain outwardly faithful to his wife yet keep lustful thoughts close to the surface of his consciousness. 

Lust is the first of the Seven Deadly Sins. This is the first of my seven blog posts on these hidden sins, those we cram into a closed room in the house we call our consciousness. The "deadly sins" are those that no one else knows about. Lust is hidden away in a box on the top of seven shelves.

Many hundreds of years ago, theologians determined that some sins are "deadly." They realized these thoughts serve as the motivations for our actions. These sins cause our conscience to become numb towards spiritual matters, and the end result is this: We block the moving of God's Holy Spirit to work in our minds and hearts. 

Jesus confronted the seven deadly sins head-on. Every man is challenged by his words: "You have heard it said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew5:27-28

King Solomon, certainly a man who knew something about lust, wrote, "Do not lust in your heart after (the immoral woman) or let her captivate you with her eyes." He knew the power of the 'second look.' A wandering eye, an immoral TV program, a soap opera, or binge-watching are a few of the gates through which Proverbs 6:25 can activate lust in our hearts.

Believers 2000 years ago in the historic city of Colossae, about a day's walk from Laodicea, or the same distance from Hierapolis, were instructed to, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry..." Colossians 3:5

We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I will refer to each day for the next week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.) 

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it...Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10 

Thank you - to Teachers and Schools

Thank you - to teachers and schools.

(Number eight in a series of eight prayers.)

Loving Heavenly Father, so much of our world involves teaching, and so much of your word is the best teaching ever! 

Just as each tree at this autumn season has its own beauty, each student has their particular abilities. Thank you that you want us to learn!

Thank you for students, for teachers, and for schools. Thank you for universities, publishers of books, and school boards. Without educational facilities, our life would revert to an age when disease, famine, local wars, and ignorance dominated societies. Even today, we can look at vast areas of the world and witness how much basic education is needed.

Yet, Lord, where gratitude exists in my heart for education in general, I wrestle with trends in our society that are harmful. Many young people are not learning well during this Covid-19 epidemic. A large percentage is being left behind. Several reasons are causing difficulties for students. Depression and social isolation are happening during social distancing.

Simultaneously, many educators in classrooms across our nation do not have a foundation built upon the Judeo-Christian heritage. Secularism and its many offshoots have led wide swaths of our society astray. The power of educational institutions has grown so that the message of Jesus Christ is being stamped out in many quarters. Often this happens deliberately. Religious freedoms are being threatened.

Lord, you call us to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Messiah, was the greatest teacher who ever walked this earth. His words changed men and women back then and continue to bring faith, hope, and love in our age. May the words of our Savior penetrate the hearts and minds of all learners. 

"At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'" Luke 1021-22

Thank you - to Funeral Homes

Thank you - to Funeral Home Directors and staff

(Number seven in a series of eight prayers.)

God of all creation, we pause to consider the worth of a single human life. No scientist, no matter how clever, can create even a single cell. The simplest creature on this planet is beyond the capacity of any person to create. We acknowledge your creative power, having made the sea, the earth, the sky, and all that is therein.  

So, it is with praise and worship that we recognize your providential care of our lives. You are the author of life. When life comes to an end, we rejoice with the Psalmist, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

We rarely stop to thank you for the men and women who take care of details at the end of life. Poets often compare our last days of life to the winter season when the trees have lost their foliage and when nothing grows. 

Funeral homes take on unique responsibilities, preparing a body for the last rites. The staff members at funeral chapels deal daily with death, and they see grief poured out repeatedly. Thank you, Almighty Lord, for the courageous way these people help us through the collective moments of grieving. 

Lord, I lift these fellow human beings up into your care. May they never become calloused in their hearts. Help them to look to Jesus Christ, the Author of Life, the Author and Perfector of our faith. May the words of our resurrected Lord resound in their hearts, over and over. 

"Jesus said to (Martha). I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 10 25,26.  

Thank you - to Ambulance Drivers, Police and First Responders

 

Thank you - to Ambulance drivers, police, and first responders

(Number six in a series of eight prayers.)

Almighty God, the sound of sirens passing by causes us to perk up our ears. "Who's been affected? Is there a fire close by? Perhaps the police are being called to a robbery. Was someone speeding? No, that's the sound of an ambulance! I wonder what happened. Is it serious? A stroke perhaps, or someone just suffered a heart attack? Who is seeking help?" 

Lord, you knew what you were doing when you designed our bodies when we were knit together before our mothers gave birth. Psalm 139:13 You fashioned some persons with the ability to jump into action at the first sign of smoke or a stroke or a neighbor's house, where broken glass might indicate a robbery is taking place. Thank you for professionals who exercise acts of mercy. What wonderful gifts they have!

Our modern-day society depends upon thousands of first responders. We drive past a hospital entrance, glancing quickly at the Emergency Entrance. Is there an ambulance there? 

Today, people stand in long lines or wait in their cars, waiting for their opportunity to get tested for Covid-19. Ambulance drivers and staff dial in the latest address sent to them, seeking another person who needs urgent attention. 

How blessed we are, Loving Father! Most nations in the world cannot expect this immediate attention. Small villages in the Andes Mountains or across the African Sahara or on small islands in the Pacific Ocean lack this training and personnel. They would love to have someone who seeks the homes of the sick and then zooms off to the nearest hospital. Here, how often we take such facilities for granted. Thank you for the example of Jesus who attended to the blind, the sick, and lame.

Lord, as we pass from autumn to winter, may these highly trained men and women seek you. May they become more aware of your being even closer to them in times of trouble than they are to the people calling for their help. May they give heed to your call upon their lives. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Isaiah 55:6,7. Thank you, Jesus Christ, that you will always attend to people in an emergency." 

Thank you - to Counsellors and Good Friends

 

Thank you - to Counselors and Good Friends

(Number five in a series of eight prayers.)

Loving Father, we live in a time of anxiety and stress. Much of the stress comes from the day-to-day rush that society imposes upon us. Raising children, getting them off to school, keeping up with homework, and driving them to sports events has been the order of the day. It's enough to exhaust the most energetic parent, at times. 

But the stressful situation caused by Covid-19 is not a repeat of other school years. Many children are not seeing their friends in a normal way. Some children are studying at home with one computer shared between two or three students. Some areas of our country have insufficient bandwidth for the normal functioning of "school-at-home."

I bring before you parents, laid-off restaurant workers, former airplane pilots, and millions who are apprehensive about the disappearance of their workplace, Heavenly Father. Some have lost hope. A number want to end their own lives. In these situations, we keep hearing, "Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. And, love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30,31. So we reach out in love to them.

To this end, you have chosen some people with a unique gift. You have scattered counselors among us, people with a kind heart, whose ability to listen, and whose words bring encouragement and comfort. These are people who can "zoom in" on another person's emotions and discern what is shading the contours of their pain. Thank you for the gift of a listening ear and a wise heart. How we need your gifts, Almighty God!

Lord, I pray for those who pick up a phone or attend a suicide-watch line or volunteer at a school board. Remind them of the Holy Spirit, the greatest Comforter of all. May they themselves be comforted, as Paul was in a time of distress. "(by) the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so al through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Thank you - to Research Scientists

 

Thank you - to Research Scientists.

(Number four in a series of eight prayers.)

"Almighty God, I  thank you for the specialty of science that enables researchers to untangle the tiniest mysteries of life. I worship you, Lord, for you have made our bodies in such a way that even today, we still do not understand all the intricacies of what makes our bodies work day-by-day.

This is your doing, Lord. You give insight and wisdom to men and women. They have patience and dwell on tiny bits of information, studying one scientific test after another until they come up with observations on the smallest bits of matter. Yes, while many specialties engage in such research, medicine is a day-by-day topic right now. Actually, it's an essential hour-by-hour conversation. 

I am full of praise to you, Almighty God. Some of the oldest questions in the Scriptures still perplex the best minds of our time. Job asked, "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath." Job 39:4,5. 

Research scientists also ask Job's questions. What will a successful vaccination do? What causes the aging process in our bodies? How do we measure the passage of time so that older people think time passes more quickly? What is in our breath? How much oxygen must we have when ill? Why do some Covid-19 sufferers get by on less oxygen than normal? How much more will we learn about Covid-19 and other illnesses?

So many questions! Each laboratory is filled with enterprising men and women, all highly trained. But Lord, may they seek you, the giver of life, more than merely solutions, fame, and their names being published in the most prestigious scientific journals. I pray that this period of history will lead thousands of scientists to reflect on your glory, known through creation. May they find you, the True Source of Life! You are such a wonderful, powerful, truly awesome God. Praise be to your name!"

Thank you - to Doctors

Thank you - to doctors and medical staff.

(Number three in a series of eight prayers.)

Lord, God, I  thank you for medical doctors. Well, yes, for other specialties, too, but medicine is not only a day-by-day topic right now. It's an essential hour-by-hour conversation. 

With your creative power, you chose some men and women to possess skills and abilities that would bring healing to large communities. Lord of the Universe, great understanding and personal discipline combined with scientific knowledge come from you. I praise you for the mystery of life, which doctors are constantly attempting to understand. 

I praise you for the variety of specializations. Eye clinics make it possible to improve sight. Dentists and their assistants keep our oral hygiene in mind. The number of specializations seems endless. We are blessed to live at a time when countless discoveries have been made about the functioning of the human body. Each year, further knowledge is circulated in the medical community. I praise you that medical research has brought improvements to the great challenges of our time: cancer, diabetes, heart, and stroke. Thank you, Lord, for the mysteries of the brain, for the physical structure which contains our thoughts, memories, passions, motivations, and sense of purpose. I praise you for discoveries that gradually lead to an understanding of why some of us lose our memory functions.

I'm always amazed at how medical staff treat each person as an individual. That's wonderful. So unlike most of society. This photo reminded me of that aspect of a doctor's life.

When faced with an upcoming diagnosis, we often wait in fear for what the doctor will say to us. Lord, we seldom stop to think of the pressure on our medical staff. We can't even imagine what goes through a doctor's mind. No doctor wants to make an incorrect diagnosis. We think we are the most important person in their rounds, or in their office, yet an endless stream of patients comes to a clinic or a hospital. We pray for the pressure on doctors as the challenges of Covid-19 continue to rock the medical world.

Yet, in the middle of endless cases, I pray that doctors will remember the words of the psalmist, and worship you as the Creator God. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-15 

Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, may medical staff be led to worship you in spirit and truth as they constantly contemplate the intricacy of your work in creation. Amen."

Thank you - to people doing nursing care.

 

Thank you - to people doing nursing care.

(Number two in a series of eight prayers.)

Lord, God, I  thank you for nurses and the gifts they bring to all of us, combining the knowledge of science with the skills of empathy and care. They show us the face of love and patience. 

You are a gracious God, kind and understanding, showing your personal touch through the miracle of healing in our bodies, and for this, I praise you.

Thank you that nurses value life enough to give of themselves beyond what most of us would give. Often in messy situations, treating us is not what we imagine as our life's work, but they face these circumstances every day, usually with a smile.

But in your wisdom and gracious providence, you gave certain women and men an extra touch of
understanding. Thank you for the years of training under the most rigorous circumstances. Thank you for the teachers and professors who insist that nurses learn professional etiquette. Thank you for the hospitals and clinics where they spend endless hours, walking from one patient to another, often so tired they can hardly carry on. Thank you that they are willing to change from day shifts to evening and then the long night shifts, leaving aside their personal choices as they come back to extremely ill persons. 

Thank you, Lord, of Hosts, for the skills they learn, giving injections, giving enough time to listen to patients' personal lives, and then giving hope when often there seems to be no hope. Thank you for mid-wives who specialize in bringing a new life into the world. Thank you for the professional relationship between nurses and doctors, nurses and employers, nurses, and their family members. 

Lord, I ask for your favor on nurses at this time of Covid-19. This is such a difficult time, always having to be aware of the danger of an unseen virus. Give them the words to encourage patients who have been previously diagnosed with an illness and have their surgery on hold. May nurses "always give (themselves) fully to the work of the Lord, because (they) know that (their) labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:56. And for nurses who do not yet have a personal, living relationship with you, may they be led to the One who cares for them far more than any other earthly one. Amen 

Thank you - to Pastors

Thank you - to Pastors, Ministers, and Clergy.

(Number one in a series of eight prayers.)

Lord, God, I want to thank you for the gift you have given to your people in pastors, ministers, clergy, and chaplains. 

You gave each one a great spiritual gift, enabling them to come alongside people in the greatest moments of joy, surprise, and grief. At the child's birth, announcing to a congregation, their faces shine with joy. Baptisms bring families together in celebration. At the news of a young man and a young woman falling into love, there is the pleasure of surprise, anticipation, and beauty.

And at any moment, there may come a phone call, telling them of a death.

Thank you, Loving Father, that pastors and all who care for human souls can come close to men and women's deepest emotions. Thank you for the high calling in Jesus Christ to speak of eternal things, of salvation, redemption, the cross's message, and reconciliation between those who have been divided because of race, religion, ethnic background, or economic station. 

Many ministers walk a lonely life. My prayer at this time of the Covid-19 crisis is for stamina in the face of discouragement. Many older pastors have little experience with digital communications. May they find people to help them communicate to all members of their community. May pastors and ministers have the courage to share the Gospel when convenient and when it is not so convenient. 

In a day when training others is difficult, may they remember one of the purposes given to them: "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13. 

Lord God, build up your church in the midst of these years. Amen."

Well done, Lorna Joseph!

 

"Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the presence of your Lord." 

Those are the words I imagine Lorna Joseph heard on Monday, October 12th, as she breathed her last and then passed through the valley of the shadow of death. 

I appreciated Lorna's lovely spirit. Despite needing a double lung transplant, and although she often had to carry her oxygen tank around with her, she had the most bubbly and dynamic personality one could ever meet. I didn't know her for long since Cathie and I only came into the church fellowship in more recent days. But, every time I talked with her, Lorna gave me an abiding sense of the presence of her Lord.

Paul talked about the aroma that believers give off as others come close by. Lorna Joseph was one of those whose personality caused me to linger by the church pew as she gathered her things before leaving the building. Then, as we became better friends at The Gathering Place, she seemed to take a turn for the better. One day she arrived and said, "I've been healed!" She told everyone gathered there that the doctors had permitted her to stop using the oxygen. Her lungs had shown a remarkable turn for the better. She would no longer need surgery.

But that improvement only lasted 18 months or so. Today, we are preparing to say a final goodbye, whether we are at her funeral personally or some other way. Thank you, special friend. You have been a servant to so many people, and now the Lord has called you to your eternal home. You left the presence of Jesus Christ in many lives, and because of that, we are blessed. 

A Transforming Warmth

I'll call him K.C. That's not his real name, but the trajectory of his life-long search for peace in his soul is very real. 

K.C. doesn't remember anything about his dad. Only his first name. His mother gave him up before he was one year old, and he was passed from one foster home to another. Sometimes, he came back to the same foster home. Life as a teenager became complicated. He stole from one home and then from another. At first, it was only petty crime, and the RCMP let him go after an hour at the police station. 

But then, things got more serious. As an adult, K.C. spent more than 30 years in jail. His redemption began when a Christian family made a commitment in their small community. That decision came in a service when they heard the words, "what you have done to the least of  these, my brethren, you have done to me." 

This family asked the police, "Who is the least likable, least likely to succeed person in our community?" That's how K.C. got taken into their home. The road has not been smooth, as it never is in a land that suffers 24 hours of darkness on the shortest day of the year, but K.C. is a rejoicing and happy Christian man today. His loud voice often rises over those of others in worship and prayer time. Temptations come, wanting him to go back to those days when alcohol eased the burdens of loneliness and rejection. 

But K.C. rejoices in two things. The transforming warmth of God's love, and the transforming acceptance of a Christian family on the Arctic Circle.  

Courage - Daring to Speak Out

In 1950 Communist forces in Romania convened a gathering known as the Congress of the Cults. One by one, church leaders agreed to the Communist demands. They would not seek to spread their Christian faith. All members of congregations would be made known to the authorities. Other demands were also agreed to. 

One man, Richard Wurmbrand, refused to comply. His wife, Sabina, had said to him the previous night, "I don't want a husband who is a coward."Together they had been preaching to a Lutheran congregation. He had a special place in his heart for Jews, and he spent much time sharing his Christian faith with Red Army soldiers, who were backed by Moscow. 

Refusing to submit, he spoke on the radio. Other ministers had given in to the Communists, but Wurmbrand explained that he would never change the Gospel's message. Sabina whispered to her husband, "They are spitting in the face of Christ. Will you not speak up?" 

The next ten minutes cost Wurmbrand 14 years in prison. He was sentenced to jail and spent years in solitary confinement. He had a prodigious memory, and later he could preach any one of the 350 sermons he composed during that period of silence and total darkness.  

Sabina suffered too. She was forced to work on constructing a canal to enable traffic between the Black Sea and the Danube River. 

At one time or another, all of us will face a critical moment. We'll have to define our foundational values. May each of us have the power of the Holy Spirit to be a faithful witness when our moment comes to speak what is at the bottom of our hearts!

Thanksgiving In Word and Deed

They broke bread in their homes.

How blessed we are to be part of a loving Christian community. This morning, at worship, which was both live in the sanctuary and viewed over simultaneous broadcast on YouTube, we heard almost 50 persons give thanks and praise to the Lord for what has happened during Covid-19. This was an extraordinary manifestation of what is in their hearts as people reflected on more than seven months of sudden and unexpected change to their lives. I deeply appreciated both of our pastors taking the time during the previous weeks to ask individuals to answer this question: "Why am I thankful for the Covic-19 Pandemic?" 

In our immediate surroundings, our church has come to know of scores of persons who are struggling. Most of these people do not attend our congregation, but through the friendship offered each Thursday at the Gathering Place, a warm sense of camaraderie has been formed. The Missions Committee decided to share a lovely Thanksgiving meal with several people we now consider our friends. 

For many, just coming to the end of the month with money for rent or food is a real effort. 

On Saturday morning, each home supplied part of the Thanksgiving meal with an extraordinary willingness. By six o'clock on Saturday evening, about 20 persons had received a generous meal delivered to their door. What a joy to watch this generosity in action and to participate in the distribution of a wonderful meal! Thanks to everyone who made our Thanksgiving weekend so special.