This Christmas ...

         

          I was reminded and had my eyes opened this last Christmas - as we read through the Bible story of Jesus' birth and circumcision - how Mary was always wondering and mulling over the instances of Jesus' birth being published and spread to poor, humble folk and those who were far away from the place.

 

Every aspect of Mary's character was taken into account when she was selected to be the mother of Jesus, so I believe that this is an important idea to point out.

 

"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:19

(when the shepherds had explained their knowledge and went their way)

 

"And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him."

Luke 2:33

(when Mary and Joseph met Simeon in the temple for Mary's purification and Simeon had spoken to them about Jesus)

 

"...but his mother kept all these  things in her heart."

Luke 2:51

(when Mary and Joseph "lost" Jesus and found him speaking to the elders in the temple)

 

How many things have we learned from meditating on God's Word?

How many amazing things have been created due to the ideas that others have thought about? 

 

How many things have we discovered in the created things around us, because we were curious?

How must we question every aspect of the world's thinking in order to prepare ourselves with strength for Christian battles?

 

 

These instances - recorded in the Bible - are an important reminder that we must not be blinded by a certain way of thinking and that we should not become stagnant in the faith.

 

Instead, we should remember that there is always more and more to discover and put out for others and remember that God gave us the ability to think and to appreciate the natural world around us much more.

   

A Time for War and A Time for Peace (Bible Verse Reference)

          This is a very controversial subject among Christians, and it appears I opened a can of worms with my last post, "We Are the Dead."

          Please take note of my words here at the beginning: I don't believe in starting war; I believe in peace and promoting peace above all things. Peace pacts are just a paper, however, and no matter what you say, evil will still come to those seeking revenge, power, etc. (Modern examples, e.g. Russia over Ukraine, ISIS).

          As I said in an earlier comment, Jesus does not condone war, but neither does he condemn it; which is why, by the way, that we have to go to war when the government calls us - we are to obey the authority, so long as it doesn't interfere with God's commands (Romans 13:1-2, Acts 5: 29), which war and fighting is not a part of.

          If he would be completely against war, surely he would not have praised the centurion for such great faith (Matthew 8:10), surely he would not have used war as a metaphor when speaking about the Christian life (I. Timothy 6:12, Ephesians 6:13, II. Corinthians 10:4). What about the battle of Armageddon (Revelations 16:16)? - surely, if God condemns war so much, then there would be no last battle. To say the least, Jesus is constantly warring with Satan so that we do not come to harm (Deuteronomy 20:4, Psalm 138:7, Isaiah 42:13) - what is this called; sparring?

          If someone curses in my presence, I will tell them that I do not wish to hear them; if I find someone being beaten to death, I will definitely try and intervene - would you say that I shouldn't be defending this person? Or wickedness? Or evil? How are we to stop it if we tolerate it?

       
          Finally last, but not least, anyone who says that Jesus never resorted to violence should take a look at Matthew 21:12 again. 

Blog "Birthday"

     Now, I am not much into this thing called "blog birthday," but I came across this verse on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany: "But the men marvelled saying, What manner of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him" (Matthew 8: 27). 

     I am curious to see who reads this blog, and I would love to read what you think Jesus is (feel free to type as much as you think)

 

. Please don't be shy about typing your first name, either.

 I'll start it off:

Jessica

Jesus is the highest, yet the humblest.

The [Great] Scientific Debate

          

          First of all, why am I bringing this up? Because it's so important and so overlooked. People want scientific evidence to prove something. If there's evidence, it's right. - This is today's mentality; we want proof for everything, just where different people get that proof is a different story.

One day, I will be a scientist, and this will be part of my everday life. 

So let's deal with it right now and here.

          Any arguments on specific issues almost always end up having something to do with some sort of discussion on "evidence." 

"Where's the evidence"?

"Science says this..."

"Of course this is true; the geological column says it all"!

This whole scientific logic is flawed! 

          As my teacher recently stated in class (and as I have thought so many times over), "Science is all theories; they can be "disproved" at any time." Even tomorrow, some established scientific theory could suddenly be "wrong"! (Even scientific laws have been disproven!)

          Yes, you can say that a scientific theory is different from a "normally-constructed" theory, and it is; a scientific theory is "proven" by tons of observations and experimentation, whereas a theory to an average person would be more of a scientific hypothesis. But the reality is that it is science!

          It is observed and constructed and experimented through human senses and intelligence, and as we know, humans are imperfect. Flawed. Every piece of evidence is seen through human understanding, which is a tiny, tiny fraction of what actually goes on in nature. 

          There is no such thing as "evidence," really. It is just a form of trying to understand what goes on in life. We will never even come close to understanding and explaining everything in life. It's just too much for our puny little brains to understand.

          So that's why I don't put my faith in science. Yes, I can learn about it, and marvel at how we think things work, but we might be thinking it all wrong. What we learn may be completely different from how it actually is; perhaps we may come up with some novel tools to help explain it more accurately, or to disprove something, but those novel tools could end up being replaced by other more highly intelligent tools (which could negate current results). We really will never be completely sure about the scientific realm. Ever.

Biblical Reference 

(Just for curiosities sake; I was writing this post before I read these verses, but I thought they fit perfectly for my little lecture)

          I. Corinthians 13: 9 - For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

          I. Corinthians 13: 12 - For now we see through a glass, darkly;...

          Ecclesiastes 3: 11 - ...he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

And yes, I am writing (or rather, finished writing) this at 1:30 am; that's when my thoughts seem to run the best. :D

A Nice Start to October

Little niece

"Just a little smile for auntie...."

Be gentle.

Panorama to get the whole cloud growth on there.

A little sideroad near our home.

All nature speaks of its Creator.

Isn't this tree (or double-tree) just the prettiest gem ever?
Four colours; red, orange, yellow, green.



White-washed tree.

This section - on the corner of our road and the sideroad - used to have a historical marker which said (I can't remember exactly), "Peel Presbyterian(?) Church."

"Look, I got lots of flowers!"
Then my mother was worried and asked where they were from.
"From the flowerbed."
Then mom was super worried that she would have ripped out all these big flower plants, until she saw how little those flowers were.

We each got one, and they smelled pretty nice for flowers.
(aren't those green eyes just the prettiest things?!)

 

And there was a bit of a fog hanging around this morning when I left for school.

The sun did come out later.

 

Evening sunset.

Shark attack!!!!!!!!!!!
(Can you see those sharky snouts and that dorsal fin?)

A Letter to the Mafia

James 5:1-6

1 …ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is [because] of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in the day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

This post has been a long time in coming. Although it may be somewhat risky (trust me, I don’t have any inside information, but who likes being condemned?), I have had it on my heart for awhile and realize we must be made more aware of this evil and dangerous enemy. The mafia is a clique of secretive, fraudulent businessmen who become rich on others’ hard-earned money (their latest episode: mixing olive oil with vegetable oil [which is cheaper] and selling it at the same price as 100% olive oil). It originated, apparently, on the island of Sicily, but spread to the whole of Italy. You wouldn’t believe it, but Guelph – in Ontario, Canada – is the mafia capital of the world!

To the Mafia:

            Why do you think it’s okay to steal others’ money – those who work an honest living and wish only to do what’s right? Read these verses. Read what the Lord has discovered long before you existed.

            These people (“…the hire…”) who earn their bread with honest labour (“…of the labourers…”) have been heard by the Lord (“…the cries of them… are entered into the ears of the Lord…”), because they were jipped (“…have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back…”) by your fraud (“…by fraud…”). Do you realize, in your greed, that all those treasures which you possess will be of little importance (“Your riches… corrupted...your garments motheaten….gold…silver…cankered;…”) at the end of the world, but in fact, will increase (“…rust…shall be a witness against you…”) your torment (“…shall eat your flesh…”) in hell (“…as it were fire….”)? You live with your greed, lust (“…lived in pleasure…and been wanton;…”), and all your hearts’ desires (“…nourished your hearts,…”), yet those who have done the right thing by running away from you are shot so you are not disclosed (“…killed the just;…”). Your devilish power (“…doth not resist you.”) is gained by fear (“…condemned…the just;…”) and blackmail; but I am warning you, God’s power is much stronger than Satan’s power, and each one of you who participates in this murder and ruination of honesty will be sentenced to an ETERNITY in HELL (“…miseries that shall come upon you…”) if repentance and belief in the Lord God is far from your hearts. You, yourselves, will be responsible for the outcome of your judgement – hell or heaven – on Judgement Day. On that day, you will either be delivered to the tormentors, or God will open up the gates of heaven for your entrance.

            It’s your choice: will your greed send you to an “everlasting fire” (Matthew 25: 41), or will your honest living gain you residence in the beautiful city?

 

Here's My Thought:

               Justin Trudeau did not deserve the number of votes he got; not a majority, and maybe not even a minority. Yes, he seems like a very charming prime minister (who wouldn’t be proud of showing off such an outgoing leader?) especially relating to the younger group, he seems to have (how shall I say it) rather engaging looks, and he has the ultimate perfect family of a beautiful wife and two lovely children – a girl and a boy. Yet as a ruler, he seems quite sketchy. First of all, how do you promise money if you have a debt? I can guarantee you that it doesn’t come out of thin air! Not to mention (although, I guess I am not letting him time enough to prove himself) his almost nonexistent backbone, which seeks to keep peace (or should I say – truce) by avoiding conflict instead of confronting it. Besides what kind of person wants to see Mr. Prime Minister posing with an unclothed person?!

                On the other hand, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper was an exception - people never see good until it is out of their grasp. He kept a tight rein on the finances (what is the lack of money, on the basis of sacrificing morals?), lowered the taxes, and it is even reported that he attended church! So what if he wasn’t really a people person. So what if he didn’t really relate to the younger crowd. Those traits don’t necessarily make a bad leader. We need a leader who can satisfy the needs of the country, not the wants of the people.

R, B.Sc.N.

     It is official. R completed 4 years of university for Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She will make an excellent nurse, and we are all very happy for her.

Procession of faculty

Keeping her entertained during the ceremony.

R being presented with the hood. Sorry for the bad quality.