July 1 - Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!

Psalm 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance

Canadian Flag - elcivics.com

Canada is my Home

Canada's Birthday is July 1, 1967

Our National Anthem

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


Things about Canada

In Canada we like to say ...eh?
Canadians are known to be a very nice, polite people. That doesn't always prove true though. Manitoba's license plate even has the words  "Friendly Manitoba" inscribed into it.

example of Manitoba license plate - mpi.mb.ca

Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister. He has a majority Conservative government and I am happy for that. He is a good Christian family man, who loves his wife and children.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper - thestar.com

 He provides stability to our country in these days of financial and general world crisis.
In Canada, we are free to worship the true God and our Saviour Jesus Christ without fear.
The federal government works out of Ottawa, Ontario
Our police force is called the RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RCMP - rcmp.grc.gc.ca

Canada has a good military
Canada is a friend to the nation of Israel and I believe God has blessed Canada for that.
Canada is the land of Tim Horton's coffee

everycup.ca

We use the loonie $1 coin, and the toonie $2 coin
The capital city of Manitoba is Winnipeg. The province of Manitoba currently has an NDP ( New Democratic Party) government with Greg Selinger as Premier.
Manitoba is home to the NHL team the Winnipeg Jets as well as the CFL team the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Canada has a reputation of having extremely cold weather. Sometimes people even refer to Winnipeg as Winterpeg. The truth is we have good and not so great weather in all of our seasons. Every season of the year brings nice days.

Winter in Manitoba fineartamerica.com

Canada has an excellent health care system. A lot of care is covered by taxes so therefore, in Canada you can see your family doctor at no charge as well as receive the required hospital care at no charge. Medications prescribed by the doctor (outside a hospital) are paid by the individual family unless the family's income is very low or the medications required exceed the income-based level.
Canada's seniors receive good care in the nursing homes. Seniors start receiving old age pensions from the government at the age of 65.
The CBC ( Canadian Broadcast Corporation) and CTV are Canada's main news networks.
Canada's most popular TV news broadcaster is Peter Mansbridge on CBC's The National nightly news broadcast.

Peter Mansbridge - cbc.ca

Queen Elizabeth and all the royal family are Canada's royal family and loved by most Canadians.
British Columbia is known for its beauty. Alberta is wild rose country and rich with oil. Saskatchewan is home to the comedy show Corner Gas. It was very popular among Canadians though some of the content of the show would not meet Biblical Christian standards.
As Canadians, we love our North and cherish the people who live up there.
The story of Anne of Green Gables is set in the PEI ( Prince Edward Island) on the eastern coast.
Canada is a bilingual country with both English and French being our nation's languages.

Hello in French -   
Quebec is made up of mostly French people, and though we love them, many of them would like to separate from Canada and it is always an on going debate.


May God Bless Canada!!

Depending on God ( from Psalm 91 )

Do you want to live in a place of safety and security? If the answer is yes, then Psalm 91 has a message for you. I wrote this Bible Study for my Live By Faith Bible Studies blog -link to blog here Live By Faith Bible Studies 

 This is a beautiful and rich Psalm filled with assurances of God's protection and provision. God's provisions are available to each one of us who diligently seek Him. Please join me in the study of Psalm 91 as we go through the entire Psalm verse by verse.

Verse 1 - 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Here we learn that it is possible for us to actually enter the secret place of God Almighty Himself - not only can we enter but we are to "dwell" here in the shadow of Almighty God. The word dwell means to live or to abide, it is our home. How infinitely humbling to hear these words - You and I can live with God our Heavenly Father safely in His shadow. His shadow is a place of protection, safety and comfort. It is home - our eternal home in heaven but it is also ours here and now while we live here on earth.

Verse 2 - 

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

We must put our hope and trust in the Lord - not in ourselves or in money, our jobs or possessions, friends, family or even in doctors. The Lord alone is our refuge and strength. We must put our full trust and confidence in Him. Lay down our burdens at His feet and allow Him to work through our situations.

Verse 3 -
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

Who will help me? The answer is the Lord God Almighty - He will help me, He will deliver me from the traps of the devil and from the troubles that surround me. A simple explanation for the snare of the fowler and noisome pestilences are our ordinary troubles and diseases that come to us. We trust in God to help us. He sees us in our situation and He is available to come to our aid at all times. We need to come to Him humbly in repentance and faith and not doubt Him even if things do not play out the way we would like them to.

Verse 4 -
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
This verse reminds me of how a mother hen will cover her baby chicks with her wings and feathers. A mother hen will shield her little ones while they sleep and rest and also from any form of danger. Just as a mother hen watches out for her chicks and calls them to the safety of the shelter of her wings so also and even more our Heavenly Father will shield us. We are safe under His wings. He calls us out of danger and as we come to Him, He will "cover" us. Our Heavenly Father cares for us with such incredible love and mercy. God is 100% truth, He only tells the truth, and the Word of God which we find in the Bible is 100% truth.

Verse 5 - 
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
We are not to be afraid of any evil in the night nor in the daytime. God is watching over us because we are His children.

Verse 6 -  
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

We are not to be afraid of the troubles that come to our lives. This could be sickness, loss of a job or relationship, death of a loved one, barrenness, crop failure, or weather related destruction. God is there with us and He will go with us through our hardships. He never leaves us - He is always there. We need to seek Him in our good times and in our hardships.

Verse 7 & 8 -
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
These two verses are hard to comprehend. We know that these verses cannot mean that we will never experience hardships because every one of us does. Christians do experience crises and bad things do happen. So we have to take an eternal perspective on this. Many people will say that the worst thing that can happen is death. Well for those of us who know Christ as our Savior, we know that death is actually only a door - a door that leads us out of this temporary state to our eternal destination. We leave this earth and we enter eternity through the door of death. If we are still alive here when Jesus comes back to earth, then of course we will not need to die. We will be changed and receive our eternal bodies so who knows - depending on when Jesus returns some of us will not need to die. When the non-Christian dies, their eternal destination is separation from our Heavenly Father. This is a place called hell. None of us needs to end up in hell because through faith in Jesus we can be saved to eternal heaven. Jesus died in my place and in your place on the cross. He took our sin upon himself and paid for it all there on the cross. He died and rose again and ascended up to Heaven. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Verse 9 -
  Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Our dwelling place is with the Lord. He is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. We look forward to our eternal home with the Lord Jesus in Heaven.

Verse 10-
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
We are secure in the Lord. No evil or harm will ever come to us without the Lord knowing about it and having His hand on the controls. What ever He allows into our lives He is also able and willing to help us with. He will never leave us alone in our situations. He loves us dearly. We are His children if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.

Verse 11 & 12 -  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

These two verses are so very precious. God our Heavenly Father has assigned some angels to take care of us. The angel carries me in his hand. I have a guardian angel whose duty it is to protect me and to keep me as I go about my day. Wow! that is really good news!

Verse 13 - 
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Here the lion, the adder, the dragon represent evil that we encounter in our lives. We encounter evil almost daily as we go about our daily lives. Godless people all around us are doing godless things and though we do not want any part of what they are doing, we live in the same world and therefore see and hear things that are very upsetting to the Christian heart. But we are encouraged here in this verse to "trample it under our feet". We must be careful to put evil away from us. Abstain from every form of evil. With the Lord as our Protector, He guards our hearts that the evil all around us does not cause us to stumble and fall into sin.

Verse 14 -
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
The Lord sees and knows those who are His own and those who truly love Him. The Lord says that those who are His own, He will set on high. What does it mean to know His Name? - It means to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, we live in His Presence while we are here on earth.

Verse 15 -
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
We are to call on the Lord. Pray, pray and pray some more. The Lord promises to answer us when we call on Him. He promises to be with us in our troubles and to deliver us. Those are sweet words to ponder for me today! He also promises to honour us as we call on Him. I believe this means that He will stay true to His Word and His promises and will not let us down. We can put our full trust in the Lord. He will make things right and those of us who do put our trust in Him will be rewarded in eternity.

Verse 16 -
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
As we live in obedience to the Lord, He will bless us. In Him is life abundant. We live with hope in our hearts. We rest assured that this life is not all there is - we are on a journey to that heavenly kingdom where there is perfect peace and happiness for all eternity.

God Bless.

Wild Flowers

Psalm 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

A wild rose

I find that wild flowers are just as pretty as garden flowers. God created both with love and care. We can see His love in all creation and wild flowers are no exception.
I took these pictures close where we live. There is such beauty in God's creation!!

wild flowers of some kind

To My Husband on Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Cliff!
Thanks for encouraging our children to live for the Lord! God bless you....I love you!

www.thoughtsnprayers.net

This poem is for you...

Thank You, Dad

Thank you for the laughter, 
For the good times that we share, 
Thanks for always listening, 
For trying to be fair.

Thank you for your comfort,
When things are going bad,
Thank you for the shoulder,
To cry on when I'm sad.

This poem's a reminder that
All my life through,
I'll be thanking heaven
For a special dad like you.

--Anonymous

Happy Father's Day Messages

I thought about Father's Day and the thought that keeps coming into my mind is that we have a heavenly Father who loves and cares for us. Some of us have had good honorable loving earthly fathers but there are also many people who have never known a father who loves. Therefore let us remember to show love and respect to our earthly fathers but even more than that, let each one of us rededicate our lives to loving and serving our heavenly Father. Eternity is just around the corner and so we need to prepare to meet our heavenly Father today!

I want to share a few devotional snipets relating to Father's Day that I think we will all benefit from.

This first one is by Billy Graham - How Can I Be a Better Father?

Billy Graham writes the following:

I commend you for wanting to be a good father; almost nothing else in life is more important for you. May we not only honor our own fathers on this Father's Day, but may those of us who are fathers rededicate ourselves to this God-given responsibility.

Obviously I can't say everything in a few short paragraphs-but let me say two things. First, be an example of love both to them and your wife. Tell them you love them, and show them by your affection and your actions. Spend time with them and let them know they are very important to you. Be patient with them also; it may be more efficient to do a job around the house by yourself, but let them help whenever you can.

Remember also that love sometimes has to say "no"; part of your love for your children means teaching them right and wrong. Don't be harsh or unreasonable, however. The Bible says, "Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4, NLT).

Second, be an example to them of faith. God loves your children, and He gave them to you. Do they see Christ in you, and are you teaching them about His love? Make sure of your own commitment to Christ, and then make it your goal to point them to God, their Heavenly Father.

By Billy Graham - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association 

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1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

This next one is titled "Thanks Dad" - it is from Our Daily Bread Devotional 2010

Written by Albert

Albert Lee writes the following: 

In the US, more long distance calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day. But on Father’s Day, the most collect calls are made. It seems that children still depend on their fathers to provide, even when they are far away from home.

Fathers are needed and wanted for much more than financial help. While 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 is primarily directed toward church leaders, Paul talks about how their role is similar to a father’s. He states: “You know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children.”

Exhorted is “to call near.” It is easy for fathers to think that all that’s required of them is to bring home a paycheck. But children need their close encouragement.

The word comforted is “to console.” Nothing is more valuable to a child than the time given by a father to listen and talk. Without constant relating, relationships turn cold.

Charged is “to affirm.” Fathers challenge their children by affirming the truth of God’s Word as they live it out in front of them. And even in failings, they affirm what is right through the asking of forgiveness.

How thankful we can be for fathers who help their children “walk worthy of God” (v.12).

We’re thankful for our fathers, Lord,
They’re special gifts from You;
Help us to show we honor them
By what we say and do. —Sper

Good fathers reflect the heavenly Father.

http://odb.org/2010/06/20/thanks-dad/

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drocphoto.com

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ebay.com

In Memory of my Dad - Happy Father's Day!

Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

photo from zoom50.wordpress.com

I want to write this post in honor of my Dad. He had my greatest respect, trust and love and I will forever hold him dear in my heart. My Dad passed away in July 2004...I love you dearly Dad. It's been a while but we shall meet in heaven some sweet day.

My Dad

photo from funjooke.com

As I think about my Dad, I wonder how he became the gentle, kind and generous man that he was. I wonder if being a Dad to six little girls would help build those characteristics into a man.  He loved my mother , he could make my mom's eyes twinkle beautifully like nothing else except  his tender love ever could. He was fun to be around, joking around with us girls often times. But he was faithful to the calling of God on his life as a husband and father and a preacher of the gospel. We lived out in the country on a small farm milking cows and selling the cream and farming some land.

Now to start with a few special memories - I remember as a little girl oftentimes playing hair dressup with him. He would sit on the chair and allow me and my sister to give him a "hairdo".  We would comb his hair anyway we wanted and pin it up with bobby pins. Usually we would end off the hairdressing session by adorning him with a kerchief just like my mother would always wear. That was so much fun for us. Or he would sit on a chair in the kitchen and stretch out his legs and we would use his legs as a slide. - Climb up onto his lap and slide down over and over. Also very fun. One day I remember we had company over and my Dad and his guest were in the basement visiting.  I ( his little girl) decided to go downstairs also but I took a huge tumble down the stairs but guess what - Dad was right there at the bottom of the stairs ready to catch me before I got down too far and I didn't get hurt at all.  One time my Mom had her ironing board out and had been ironing clothes. I didn't know that the iron was still hot and I placed my whole hand flat on the iron. Why I would do such is beyond me but as I remember my Dad spent the rest of the evening tending to my hand, helping me to cool it and keep me comfortable. That is just the kind of man he was - always thinking of others.

His tender spirit would show up from time to time. I can still see him in my mind sitting on his favorite chair in the livingroom listening to a record on the old record player. ( Now we have CDs but back then we had records and eight track cassettes) I can see him sitting there listening to his record of Jim Reeves singing the song "Daddy, my Daddy teach me how to pray" The song was about a little boy coming and asking his Dad to teach him how to pray. The lines went something like -"........ You've taught me lots today, You brought me home a brand new kite and taught me how to fly, there ain't no other kid whose Dad can knock a ball so high, I want to thank God for you, but I don't know what to say - So Daddy, my Daddy, teach me how to pray......." It was a really nice gentle song and I saw my Dad fight back the tears every time he would hear that song play. It seemed that it touched his heart as a Father in a special way. 

Thank-you Heavenly Father for my Dad. Amen.

Ready or Not!! The Return of Jesus - Sunday Sermon Review

June 9, 2013
Sunday Sermon Review ( from my home church I attend regularly )
Matthew Series - Matthew 24:36-51 and Matthew 25:1-13
Speaker - Pastor Ben

We are continuing on in our Matthew series. This Sunday we covered a lot of verses. Pastor Ben started out by reminding us of the child's game of hide and seek. One person will count while the other children hide. Everyone is listening for the person who is counting to shout "Ready or not - here I come. Pastor Ben drew the comparison to our waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. When the time has come, Jesus will come whether you are ready or not.

Here is some more of what Pastor Ben said:

Don't be deceived - there is only one Savior and that is Jesus.
We know that before Jesus does return, things are going to get difficult - Christians will be hated and persecuted. Jesus will return and do away with evil. The question is - When will He return?
The  temple was destroyed in 70 AD. 
We do not know when Jesus will return.
Verse 36 says But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
We need to be ready to meet Him whenever He does return. We know He could return at any moment but we also know it could still be 2000 years from now. We just do not know.
We need to be ready to meet Jesus at any time. We could die at any moment - accidentally or tragically. We know we could be called to stand before God at any moment.

Keep Watch therefore and Be Ready

How do we get ready? We should always be ready.
When our church prepares for Communion, we announce it a week before to allow time for people to prepare. But we should always be ready to participate in Communion and to stand before the Lord.
Be ready in your ordinary normal life.

Repent and Confession
Make your peace with God and with others.
We need to accurately represent God in our world.
 Be ready in a moment of crisis to represent Christ in our world.
We confess we have failed many times.
We confess we have sometimes lived for ourselves and not served others as we should.

Ezekiel 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

We will now kneel down in a prayer of confession and repentance.

Now is the time to move forward and to change.
Commit yourself to living the life God wants for you.

Watch - open your eyes to the realty of god.
We can meet with God now.
Jesus is present with us.
Do we have our eyes open to see Jesus in our present world and lives.

Nature is infused with the glory of God. Spend time in nature - see God's creations.
Are we awake to the reality to the reality that God is here ever present with us?

Get Ready
To prepare for something you must practice ( examples are - learning to drive, rehearsals, sports events, playing music ) We have to practice.
So practice showing love to people.
Practice . It's okay if its not 100% right away - keep trying and practicing.
Practice praying. - keep practicing.
Practice reading your Bible. - Work at it. Its okay if you don't understand everything.

God is all around us, inviting us to be involved.

Watch, Wake up to the reality of God, Be Ready!

Matthew 24:36-25:13 (King James Version)

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

A message for Happy Father's Day...

www.inhabitots.com

When you become a Father - you also become responsible to lead those who are looking up to you....lead them in the way of truth and righteousness.
Let the Bible be your Guidebook every day!

photo - ifathersdaygifts.com

Deuteronomy 6:6-8

 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Temptation - Sunday Sermon Review

June 2, 2013 Sunday Sermon Review
Topic - Temptation
Speaker - guest speaker Mr. Niko Engbrecht

I would like to suggest you also study the blogpost on temptation that I wrote in January 2013. You can link to the post here Temptation blogpost

Here is some of what Mr. Niko Engbrecht said:

This is an important topic - Temptation
God frees us.
Satan uses temptation in our lives.

The text  for today is:
 1 John 2:15-17  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Mr Engbrecht said that he uses the KJV.

There are three categories of temptation.
1) the lust of the flesh
2) the lust of the eyes
3) the pride of life

Temptation is a desire to do something that is not the will of God. You have the choice to give in or to not do it. It is your decision. You have a way of escape. You do not have to sin.

Why do we get tempted?
James 1:13-15  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

*God does not tempt - you cannot blame God
* it is our own fault - the devil will seek to tempt us where we are the most vulnerable, 
* the devil will attack where you are vulnerable
* the devil is sneaky, he does not like losing so he comes in the back door
* it is our choice to give in or to be strong and stand against it

Jesus was tempted in each of the three categories of temptation. 
 Jesus withstood them all. Jesus was 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness being tempted by the devil.

1) Lust of the Flesh - Jesus was hungry, this was a temptation of the flesh. Jesus withstood this
Matthew 4:3-4 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Our application of lust of the flesh - doing things that make us feel good without looking at God - temptation may be for drinking, smoking, doing drugs, boredom, video games, 
We need to be reading the Bible, spending our time in fellowship with other believers, volunteering. There are a lot of souls that need to be brought to Jesus still. Find something to do that will expand the kingdom of God.


2) Lust of the Eyes - the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. This was the temptation of the eyes. Jesus quoted Scripture. 
Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Application - men looking at the ladies with lust have already committed adultery. This is a sin against God.
 Ladies please help the men in this area - dress modestly don't wear the short shorts and skirts etc., examine yourself.
God wants a woman to profess godliness being holy and self controlled. Be modest in shopping jewelry and clothing.
We need to be loving God and obeying his commandments. Study the word of God and apply it!


3) Pride of life -  You shall not tempt the Lord your God.
Matthew 4: 5-7 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Application - Don't sell your souls to the devil - 
music and movie industry. Many popular celebrities and movie stars have sold their souls to the devil. They openly admit it. Why would we as Christians follow them?
Don't follow the celebrities - Put God first in your life, Study the word of God so you will know it.
Mr Engbrecht stressed the importance of reading and studying the Bible and made this comment " I love the Bible - it has the answers to everything".
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding

Teach your children -What is our strongest weapon against temptation? It is to quote Scripture. Jesus quoted Scripture passages from the Old Testament to the devil.
Jesus was prepared with Scripture. - quote Scripture to yourself and to the devil, then we will not take the devil's bait. When we are saturating ourselves with Scripture there is no room for temptation. We are not hungry for temptation. Fill your heart with Scripture every morning. Develop an intimate relationship with Jesus. Then temptation and sin will have no room in our lives. If we fill our minds with worldly things we will drift away from the Lord. We will lose our desire for God and we fall into sin.
Ask God for guidance and for forgiveness.

We are to hunger and thirst for God - read and study the Bible by yourself and with others.
Examine yourself if you are in the faith - having no hunger for the word of God is an indication that you are in need of seeking Jesus for salvation.

Matthew 7:7-8  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

The Christian Response to Homosexuality ( from my home church )

This past Sunday my home church held a special session to talk about homosexuality and to give us some guidelines as to what our response as Christians ought to be. As we all know the homosexuals are forcefully pushing their way into our communities and schools. I want to share some of what was shared by our church leadership. Perhaps it will help those of you who read my blog to be encouraged.

The Bible teaches us firstly to love God and secondly to love your neighbor. There is no greater commandment.
Mark 12:30-32 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

What does this look like?

1 Corinthians 13 has the answer - verses 4-5  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Love must not be only in words - it must be words and actions.

Sex is a gift of God to be experienced only within the bonds of covenant marriage between man and wife. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman. There are no other options.

Homosexuality is sin, as is every other form of sexual activity outside of the one man and one woman covenant marriage. This is counter cultural.

Romans 1:26-27  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

How do we as Christians respond in our culture?
We must show respect and honor when dealing with those in authority over us, but we must remember to obey God above men.

 If we are being asked or required to do things contrary to the teachings of the Bible, we must always obey God even if this means hardship to us - such as loss of a job, loss of friends or persecution and imprisonment etc.

We need to stand up, speak up, protest in a peaceful way.

We must be willing to listen to those expressing an opposing view and always remember that what the homosexuals really need is salvation through Jesus Christ.

We must never slander the homosexuals, nor gossip, nor disrupt meetings

Canadians need Jesus.

Our goal is not to merely make morally upright people - our goal is to bring people to Jesus for salvation. 
To have people come to know Jesus is the fundamental need.
We need to speak out - there is a time and place to declare that homosexuality is sin.
We must not be quiet nor run and hide.

Fear and hate have no place in our conversations.
Be very very cautious with "righteous anger".

We are not abandoned in this world.
The Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of sin.
It is not our job to force people to change. Our job is to bear witness to God. Let the Holy Spirit convict.
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Ask God for wisdom.
Our goal is not to only prove our point but to point people to Jesus.

Becoming Practical
* Pray Pray Pray - for the teachers, the teacher's aides, the schoolboard, the government

* a child's greatest influence comes from their parents - so make a point to teach and influence your children.* as parents, we have been commanded to teach our children

* let your kids see you speaking out in love, your children will learn how to respond when you do this

*examine your life - show grace, mercy and truth


As Christians we are representatives of God in this world.
Speak the truth in love.