Perspective – Page 16

Distress

& Trouble All This Long Day?

Welcome to the Human Race.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Peace,

Even In The Longest Darkness,

Or The Longest Day!

Psalm 25:17

Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.

John 16:33

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’

Words of Grace For Today

I’m sure that to the many first century Christians who were persecuted and killed for their faith the statement that ‘Jesus had conquered the world’ rang pretty empty. As it has for so many persecuted Christians since,

Even to this day.

Truer to so many hearts are the Psalmist’s words, “Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.” and in the German the translation include, “The anxieties of my heart are great!”

Troubles are one thing that is common to most humans. And the most destructive response is fear run wild become panic.

In panic we are unable to do anything wise.

Thus Jesus’ words are most helpful, “I have said this to you so that you may have peace!”

Peace is the beginning of coping with any situation, even the most dire and even those that are sure to result in great suffering and even our deaths.

Peace.

May it permeate from God’s Spirit to our spirits and into our bones, muscles and minds,

Also this long summer equinox day, with all it’s inevitable troubles.

Poor

At Thinking? And Doing Right?

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

How Long Will It Be Before

No Eggs Will Hatch?

Psalm 102:17

God will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.

Philippians 4:6

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Words of Grace For Today

The not unusual question came over the phone from a telephone support person, “Are there any other questions you have?”

I gave him a list:

What is the meaning of life?
How can we deal with world overpopulation?
How can we solve Climate Change this year?
How do we solve the pervasive problem of racism and injustice against the poor?
How can we solve the huge inequality problem throughout the world that is the root cause of so many other problems?
How will I ever get out of debt?
What is God doing while we systematically, methodically wipe out the environment that supports life on earth?
How can we finally get truth to be valued and upheld in all aspects of life, especially in our courts?
Are we going to poison ourselves to death like the Romans did with lead; though we are using the likes of PFAS and so many other toxins in daily life, like gasoline?

I ended with, “Those are just a few question I have.”

The reply was, “I’m not philosophical, so I don’t have the answers.”

I chuckled as the help person did as well.

But these questions are not laughing matters.

And the truth is, whether one is philosophical or not one needs to ask them and have at least a rough outline of possible answers. That’s a basic responsibility for anyone renting air on earth these days.

In the end, whether we solve any of these or none, we all need most of to

pray.

Turn Away?

Surely NOT Us!

Ah, But Really?

Monday, June 19, 2023

*No Credit Given at https://www.wionews.com/science/direct-from-star-wars-tatooine-like-planet-discovered-that-orbits-twin-stars-604080 13 Je 2023*

How Many Suns?

How Many ‘gods’?

Ah, If Only We Admitted

How Many ‘gods’

We Turn To?

Jeremiah 17:13

O hope of Israel! O Lord! All who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be recorded in the underworld, for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord.

Revelation 21:6

Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Words of Grace For Today

We humans have made up commandments and rituals and criteria to convince ourselves WE have followed God and deserve to enter heaven: St. Peter, Open the Gates!

But

it is all self-deception.

Worse, we turn our commandments and rituals and criteria as the basis of judgment against others who have not complied and followed our ways, which we claim are God’s ways.

So we condemn them, damning them to hell,

and we ‘save’ ourselves, sending us to heaven

or so we think.

Truth is our commandments and rituals and criteria are not God’s. Our judgments are not God’s. And St. Peter ain’t opening the gates for us. Instead the devil is. And the Devil gleefully welcomes us into what he has made to look exactly like what we conjured up our ‘heaven’ to look like, … which is totally separate from the essence of God, namely grace, mercy, and unconditional love. The Devil doesn’t wait for us to die, either. Forget that delayed ‘reward’ idea. It’s now and forever

unless

God intervenes with grace, mercy, and unconditional love, saving us from ourselves and our judgments of others.

We have all turned away from God. We have all forsaken God and God’s good ways for us.

We can only beg,

beg for grace,

beg for mercy,

beg for unconditional love

to save us.

Thankfully God has plenty of grace, mercy, and unconditional love for us all. God asks that we exercise that same grace, mercy, and unconditional love for others. So much for our commandments and rituals and criteria by which to judge others, and deceive ourselves.

Ah, mercy me!

Can we abandon our commandments and rituals and criteria for God’s grace, mercy, and unconditional love, also this day? By the Holy Spirit working in us, why not!

The Glue-i-ness

Of All That Is

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Five Useful Things,

New In the Last 50 Years,

and a Stapler

(older than 50 years).

Can You Name Them?

Psalm 89:12-13

The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.

Colossians 1:16-17

for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Words of Grace For Today

As exciting as it is to read of new sub-atomic discoveries and theories of how matter is constructed, and that anti-matter must exist … and

As exciting as it is to see new photos of new galaxies, stars and planets, even planets in stable orbits around two stars, and to read of more discoveries about the universe and its origins … and

As exciting as it is to read about and be able to use new discoveries and technologies that give us new and useful products for daily living, like oscillating saws, instant oatmeal, microwaves, heat pumps, hydrogen and/or electric vehicles, computers, cell phones, LED screens, LED lights, and crazy glue (just to name a few things that have become staples for many people over the last 50 years) …

There is no discovery yet that explains the whole universe in all it’s order or rather orders and in all its variations and samenesses, and in its chaos and disorder.

It is tempting, as humans have for all of our history, to turn to our concepts of ‘God’ to explain only the inexplicable, and say that there is no complete explanation for the universe this is ‘proof’ that God must exist.

The saner turn of thought is to accept the reality that if God exists (and we do so believe) and if God created the whole universe and all that is in it (and we do so believe) then:

All that we discover in and about the universe is made possible by God’s creating the universe in such a manner, and by God’s creating us in such a manner

so that: we can discover order and explanations for things that exist –

so that: we can invent new things that are of great usefulness to us –

so that: we can imagine wondrous things (such as Tatooine orbiting around binary suns), and later discover that they are actually things that exist in the universe

so that: we see God in all that is and all that is possible for us to imagine and to discover and to use well.

Take crazy glue. It is so good at mending broken skin, so much so that medical variations of it are used now in surgery to replace stitches and even to hold tissues together that stitches cannot. Yet when used as a regular glue, at least my attempts prove, it fails as a glue more often than not.

Thus perhaps a helpful analogy is that God is the ‘glue’ that holds the universe together, that holds us together, a ‘glue’ that is so much better at its purpose than crazy glue, a ‘glue’ that is perfect and a ‘glue’ that created everything in the beginning as well.

Now to ‘discover’ and ‘use’ that ‘glue’ would be more than a little exciting. That would bring us to break out in a joyous shout of amazement. So it is for Tabor and Hermon and countless people through all time, and even me and you today (again) to break out in joyous praise and wonder at all God has made and is

for and with us even today.

…

… now back to the top for the answer

to what are the five useful things in the photo, besides the stapler, that are new in the last 50 years. Actually the miniature stapler is new in the last 50 years, just not the plain old stapler. –

…

ready?

crazy glue
coloured and clear plastic, stick on, page markers, dispensed in serial
floss – now replaced by floss sticks-picks
the plastic mat under everything
(the stapler, but it does not count for this quiz and, finally,)
the LED flashlight providing the light (a tricky, hidden thing, but what fun is a ‘find everything in the photo’ without something tricky, not unlike the whole universe, or?)

…

Notice the shadow. Everything has a dark side, eh!

Oh, And Happy Father’s Day,

now if the kids would just be in contact, it would make my day!

At Sunrise

And At Sunset …

Saturday, June 17, 2023

The Sun Sets,

Through the Smoke From Wildfires.

Psalm 50:1

A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Luke 17:20-21

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

Words of Grace For Today

The sun rises.

The sun sets.

Life on earth goes on (for some of us, but for many not!)

Climate change, and other troubling developments, lead us easily to say we are seeing the end of all time, the Apocalypse, the Parousia.

Yes, climate change is human created destruction of the environment that sustains life on earth, at a rate never seen or heard of before.

But this is not a sign of the end of time. It may well be the end of life on earth as we know it. Already the severe weather of last year has become the norm for this, and it scares any sensible person about what the future may bring, for it will get much, much worse!

Even in this time, with crises of wildfires and pervasive smoke across Canada, Jesus is already with us.

Jesus is already with us.

Jesus is here, with us, suffering with us, celebrating with us, and showing us how to care for each other, the earth, our environment,

and pointing us to the mercy and grace of God which will give us renewed life each day, in such bounty that we can share it just as bountifully with everyone.

The sun rises.

The sun sets.

And God makes it so, also mercifully giving us new life as the sun rises and as the sun sets.

Holy,

Holy, Holy

And Gracious

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

God’s Grace Blossoms Full Today,

And

God Promises Grace

For Each New Day.

Numbers 14:17

And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, ….

Luke 1:49

… for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Words of Grace For Today

There is always more that has gone before, and more after.

Not just in words of God’s promise, but in our lives. God has worked wonders in our past and promises many more in our futures.

So it is that each day, we give God praise, and hallow God’s name with our worship of songs, prayers, and deeds that extend God’s great works of grace to other people.

Charged and convicted of a crime that never happened, stripped of more than three times the money I had for retirement so that I can never hope to be out of debt, and left unable to even rent an apartment to live in, I have been blessed to live in a self-made camp as a mystic, a hermit, beside a lake, in the midst of nature, able to see the wonders of God each day.

God’s grace abounds. For while many would say I have lost nearly everything, precisely in having next to nothing or any prospects of ever having enough to live in a house again, I have gained full awareness of God’s grace and presence with me, through all that has been unjustly done to me, through all the challenges that the cold, heat, bugs, wild animals (worst are the two legged ones), storms, and equipment and body failures have thrown at me.

God’s grace abounds.

There is nothing

more so crucial

in all of life.

Bus u. Bet Tag

Begging Day

Monday, June 12, 2023

With the Heat Above 30⁰ Now For Days

Remembering -38⁰ Doesn’t Help.

Begging God for Deliverance Does.

(It motivates us to chill. A little heat is nothing compared to the heat, smoke, drought, floods, storms, and disasters of all kinds, which others suffer already, and we may well suffer soon enough.)

Psalm 25:18

Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

Luke 15:7

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

Words of Grace For Today

Hah!

I’d like to meet even one of those 99 people who do not need repentance!

…

Of course I’d like more to see one of those 99 in the mirror each morning, noon, and night.

But it just ain’t so for me.

Nor for any other living human being, or for any now dead, when they were still alive (since after we die, it’s too late for repentance.)

What is wonderful is that there is great joy in heaven when we do repent.

So today, call it Buss und Bet Tag, (day of repentance and prayer)

In our prayers and repentance we can beg God for mercy, for Christ promises us God will be gracious with us

again

and again

always.

The Perfect

The Very Perfect

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Not All of Us Can Be Perfect,

Or Capture the ‘Perfect Water Droplet’

(which does not exists, anyway.)

Isaiah 31:6

Turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel.

1 Timothy 1:15

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

Words of Grace For Today

Humble Pie.

While the world is full of bullies, liars, and doers of evil, so much so it seems it’s impossible to find even one good person –

which reminds one of the visiting pastor to the Lutheran Church of Hope in Tinytown, Anywhere. He was following up on inquiry made to him directly about serving this new church in his spare time. That was an odd request since he was moving to a small town a little jaunt away to start his retirement. Still he met with the chairperson, who showed him around the church building and the church yard. It looked pretty new if small.

He asked as they approached the altar how many members the congregation had. The reply told him everything he needed to know, and more:

Well, ten years ago we were 150 members. But so many were not serious about their faith, so most of them left leaving us with 30 active members. Then two years ago there was a fight between two families. It was groundless, at least in the present. But they had been fighting for generations so who knows what it really was about anymore. So I told both families they could either make peace or leave. Both families left, not just the one’s fighting but all their relatives and a few friends. That left us with 10 active members. In the last two years I’ve worked to avoid any more fights. When someone does not measure up to the standards of our faith I tell them to shape up or ship out. All of them have chosen to ship out. Now we have a real good congregation of two people: myself and my husband. But lately I’m not so sure about him either. I’ve come close a few times to telling him to shape up or ship out. But he’s come around on his own.

–

The problem with fixing everyone else, is it blinds us to our own faults, and that blindness drives us to judge others harshly, maybe as harshly as they deserve, but not as harshly as we ourselves deserve.

The sign of a faithful person is one who can readily say that God’s grace is needed more by one’s own miserable sinful self than any other person.

The writer of the letter to Timothy had it right:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

We can be glad that he claimed that spot. At least we are not as bad off as he was … or?

May your day not force you to be humble, but may you find joy in starting each day humbled by the wonders of God’s grace, and Christ’s work to save us all.

Bullies and Liars

Come in All Sizes

Saturday, June 10, 2023

God’s Grace Meets Us All!

Can You See It?

…

Do We Need To

Zoom In Closer?

Jeremiah 31:25

I will satisfy the weary, and all who are faint I will replenish.

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Words of Grace For Today

Driving to town at 80 kph two vehicles passed me and an RCMP patrol car pulled up behind me. A few minutes later it turned on its lights. I pulled over, with a bit of pre-PTSD rising in me that I stuffed down. As I waited, I pulled out my Driver’s License, Registration and insurance papers so the cop could not accuse me of reaching for what? Something to threaten with?

He arrived behind the driver’s window, which I had rolled down as I saw him approach. “How are you, today?” “I was doing fine.” “Do you know why I stopped you.” “Not a clue.”

M. Tobias went on to say that the speed limit was 100 and I was going 80. That lots of cars were piled up behind me. That I was impeding traffic.

I told him in no uncertain terms the reason I was going 80 was because I was broke. I didn’t bother filling in that I am broke in large part because the RCMP had harassed me and aided my ex in sending me to jail for a crime that never happened. I have filed a 50 page complaint with the RCMP detailing their harassment, warning them that their sins are bound and if they bother me again I will sue them for harassment.

He asked for and took my papers. When he returned he handed me a print out of a warning. He threatened that it would be entered on my record.

I told him that neither going 80 nor being broke are crimes. I warned him in no uncertain terms that he was harassing me and I would sue him if he continued.

Later I noted that he had not indicated how I had ‘impeded traffic’ nor that I was going 80 kph. No doubt because if he did it would make him look like the fool and bully that he is.

I guess I should be more poor in spirit, not able to know when I’m being bullied and harassed, know when a cop is full of it, and not be so able to state my case clearly … then I’d be in the poor of spirit that God blesses, because

…

this flagrant abuse by a cop is not the first nor the last time cops will be fools and bullies, harass innocent people, and abuse their power, and

being the focus of that abuse is no blessing.

Or is it?

I was not able to work the rest of the day. That’s the PTSD running loose on my edges wiping out all concentration needed to work.

But I did get some badly needed rest. And when I cleared my mind of the event, I indeed was able to see how replenished I was, how God had indeed restored me to a peaceful heart, mind, and soul. Which was needed to deal with my ex’s lawyers either blatant incompetence or malicious malfeasance (not following a judge’s order and improperly filling out and sending a form to me that attempted to undermine the effect of the order).

I guess bullies, fools, and evil hearts will always be a part of one’s life. The question is how one responds.

God help us all, for as God must need respond graciously to our foolishness and sins, so we need help to extend that same grace to others.

But will that help M. Tobias stop bullying people and actually do the work he should be doing, like dealing with the real crimes that are committed on a regular basis around where I live: all the drinking and driving and tossing the cans out, cooking drugs in the campground, or cutting down living trees to make the ‘roadways’ wider, or camping for months and that within 30 metres of the lake (illegal in all of Canada!)

We can only pray, and hope that God will tend to our hearts, minds, and bodies.

When the red and blue lights stopped me, I was on my way to the food bank. That cop stop cost me another $3 or so; every trip to town is another $25, $30 if I go over 80 or ‘gun it’ out of the stop signs/lights. So how many cop-stops does it take to make a trip to the food bank impossible because I don’t have the money to pay for the trip?

Thankfully God walks with me, and suffers everything that lawyers, cops, and everyone else does to me; so I am not alone, nor deserted. I am accompanied and given help and hope that does not fail.

How’s your day looking? Ready to be challenged by people doing evil things, grounded in God’s presence, and humble but not defeated by evil?

Have at it. God protects us.

Not Loonie

Bins.

Just Hope Filled

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

No Need To Be Loonie,

Loons Do That

Wisely.

Deuteronomy 5:33

You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess.

Romans 15:4

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Words of Grace For Today

If hope is dependent upon one’s own merit, then all is lost.

Yes, everyday thinking assumes if I preform well today then there is hope for tomorrow and all that may come my way.

But when it really counts, our own merit provides little security or hope. Death will find us, usually unawares, no matter how well our last few days or weeks or years have gone. If we deny that death will claim us, no matter what, then we live as fools, perhaps foolishly enjoying life, but foolish none the same for what really matters: that God has us in God’s good hands.

For only in God’s good hands can we face death knowing that all is well, all manner of things are well, for us and all creation.

So obey God, yes. It is a way to live well enough, sometimes even the way to live long lives.

But trust not, not a bit, in one’s own merits. Trust only God’s good hands, and God’s good grace promised us. With that we can dance with joy each day, no matter what comes our way, no matter how others may think that the worst of life has found us.

Ah, hope.

The power of knowing God’s goodness carries one!