Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Apologetics is essentially a defense for the Christian faith. A defense through persuasion rather than arguments. A defense that has been extremely well prepared. A defense that understands what is on the line. (Someone’s eternal destination) More…
Friday, August 14th, 2009
1. Mountains
Mountains change the game. They make all other cities without mountain views look pathetic. I’ll miss waking up to them. Plus, how am I going to tell which way is north without them?
2. Sushi
The sushi is unbeatable here. It’s the best sushi I’ve had in North America. The portions are huge. The fish is fresh. And the price is right. What’s not to like? Sushi alone is enough of a reason for me to come back in the future.
3. Skytrain
It’s fast. It’s convenient. You never lose cell phone reception. The monthly transit pass is 30 dollars cheaper than Toronto. Plus you can take up to five guests with you on Sundays for free! I’ve never seen another transit system quite like the one here.
4. Starbucks
I’d hate to say it, but I’ll miss seeing Starbucks on every block. They make some good coffee and give you two hours of free internet. It really is a lifestyle.
5. 8-Rinks
I know I’m going to be getting my fair share of ice time in when I’m back in Waterloo, but there is no replacement for a building that contains 8 ice rinks inside. Watching two free hockey games at the same time is pretty fun.
6. Yam Fries
It is very good out West. You’ll just have to take my word for it. Oh how I am going to miss you…
7. Lifestyle
People are just more relaxed here. Life moves at a different pace and the people are nicer. When was the last time you heard people shout “thank you” to the bus driver as they get off? Well, people do it here everyday at every stop.
8. Beach
I was never much of a beach person, but the beaches here are beautiful. Lots of fun things to do; unfortunately I did not get the chance to try kite-surfing – maybe next time. Let’s not forget, the ocean brings in a nice refreshing breeze.
9. Weather
I know most people will be thinking, “What the heck? Isn’t it rainy there?” But the summer is beautiful in Vancouver. It didn’t rain for 3 months. The sun always gives me long days AND there was no humidity.
10. Friends
Save the best for last. I’m definitely going to miss the group of friends I’ve found here. Just like any other place, the people make of break your experience in the city. The friends I have in this city, definitely made it a memorable experience.
Friday, July 24th, 2009
This isn’t actually going to be my writing, but I read it and thought I’d share. I used to make fun of this Bible verse when I was a kid, but now I truly appreciate the mandate it implies.
Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. —1 Timothy 4:12
The preacher was speaking tongue-in-cheek when he complained, “My wife is absolutely unreasonable. She actually expects me to live everything I preach!” It’s so much easier to tell someone what is right than to practice it personally.
When my son and I play golf together, I can tell him exactly how to play the hole and hit the shots. But my own ability to hit those shots is sadly limited. I suppose this is what is meant when we refer to athletes who “talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.” Anyone can talk a good game, but actually performing well is far more difficult.
This is particularly true in the challenge of following Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to talk about faith—we must live out our faith. Perhaps that is why Paul, after giving instructions to his young protégé Timothy about how to preach, included this reminder: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. . . . Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them” (1 Tim. 4:12,15).
As Christ’s followers, we do not have the luxury of just talking a good game—we must live lives of exemplary faith in Jesus Christ. We must walk the walk.
— Bill Crowder
Do others know from how we act
At home, at work, at play,
That we have Jesus in our heart
And live for Him each day?
—D. De Haan
We please God when our walk matches our talk.
Monday, July 20th, 2009
This was shared with me last week. It’s so good, I just have to pass it along. Enjoy. Comment on what you liked best, for it’s filled with goodies.
by Pete Grieg
So this guy comes up to me and says, “What’s the vision? What’s the big idea?”
I open up my mouth and the words come out like this…The vision?
The vision is Jesus:
obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.The vision is of an army of young people.
You see bones?
I see an army.And they are free from materialism—
They laugh at nine-to-five little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn’t even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.They are mobile like the wind.
They belong to the nations.
They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting, dirty and dying.What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimal integrity long ago to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.Light flickers from every secret motive, from every conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps—their Satan games.This is an army that would lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day, its soldiers choose to lose that they might one day win the great “well done” of faithful sons and daughters.Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don’t need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: “COME ON!”
And this is the sound of the underground, the whisper of history in the making, foundations shaking, revolutionaries dreaming once again.
Mystery is scheming in whispers, conspiracy is breathing…
This is the sound of the underground.And the army is disciple(in)ed—
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners.
Martyrs.
Who can stop them?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed?
Can fear scare them or death kill them?And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulfuric tears and great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting.
Watching.
24-7-365.Whatever it takes they will give:
Breaking the rules,
Shaking mediocrity from its cozy little hide,
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs,
Laughing at labels,
Fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late-night parties before the cockerel cries.They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive on the inside.
On the outside?
They hardly care!
They wear clothes like costumes: to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their lives, swap seats with the man on death row, guilty as hell: a throne of an electric chair.With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as though it all depends on them.
Their DNA chooses Jesus.
He breathes out.
They breathe in.
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.Their words make demons scream in shopping malls.
Don’t you hear them coming?Herald the weirdoes!
Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes!
They walk tall and trees applaud.
Skyscrapers bow.
Mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension.Their prayers summon the Hound of Heaven and evoke the dream of Eden.
And, this vision will be.
It will come to pass.
It will come easily.
It will come soon.How do I know?
Because, this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the spirit, the very dream of God.My tomorrow is His today.
My distant hope is His 3-D.
And, my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking, great “AMEN!” from countless angels, from heroes of the faith, from Christ himself.And He is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.
Guaranteed.
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.
Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a pouch lying in the road where the boulder had been. The pouch contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.