Salvogesis

As you know we were in Toronto since I last had a chance to chat with you here. It was good. Our work here was actually mentioned in two workshops as positive examples – one on shelters was apparently all about our shelter (but they didn’t mention it’s name; so, that was a little weird) and one on Public Affairs (we received quite a few shout outs). We also got to go to a Blue Jays game which was fun and see a musical but then I had to go home. My cap and part of my tooth fell out – so I had to get a plane, trains, bus, ferry, and a ride to get back home in time for the dentist to try to save the tooth. I think she did. I have another appointment in the next week or two. We had planned to be in Toronto but I wound up back here. This reminds me of   Proverbs 16:9: In their hearts, humans plan their course; but the Lord establishes their steps.    and James 4:13-15: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on bus...

This has been a tough week or two. I am so thankful for DHQ and THQ support. These past couple of weeks we have been working on budgets. I am so thankful for Oxana, who works at headquarters, she has been doing an amazing job coordinating our budget because – as you may know – it is more complicated than ever before as we may be officially folding the Bread of Life into The Salvation Army and we have a new contract with BC Housing to provide a shelter for 25 people in the Bread of Life building and we have a lot of renovations, and we still have all of our other departments to budget for, as well.   We have also had a risk management assessment this week – this is an audit of sorts – and I am sure we have a lot to work on when we receive the completed report. All this work will actually be a good head start because this coming year we will need to be accredited because of our shelter – I am very thankful for all the help Terri Thompson from THQ is offering through this process. ...

This week was Chinese New Year. At Chinese New Year events they often give each person a loonie. What we will do for that is donate a loonie to Partners In Mission for each person here today. The other thing I associate with Chinese New Year is what most of us associate with Chinese food. Fortune Cookies. I often think it would be neat to have a Christian Chinese Food Restaurant where instead of fortunes in the cookies there would be scriptures or proverbs. So today I have proverb cookies – well proverb plastic eggs for us. Heather will hand them out. You can open yours up and look at it. Don’t lose it. I am going to ask people to read them out. And then we will share in a blessing from each one. Who has Proverbs 3:5? Read it out please. Trust in the Lord with all your heart     and lean not on your own understanding God confounds the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27); the sin of the book of judges shows just how much trouble can come when we ‘do what is right our own eyes’. The truth...

Plane and Fun Movie  Proverbs 17:22 "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." We were on vacation in Europe in March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the continent full force. I never really had a chance to chat with us as a congregation about our trip. It is August now and today is only my second time speaking with you here since March. I don’t think anyone could have predicted all this. Today, I thought that I would share some thoughts from our time away. On our flight to Europe Sarah-Grace and I were watching movies with sub-titles (we didn't have headphones). One very funny movie we watched was Blended about these two previously married people falling in love and their families coming together. The lady was divorced. The man's wife had died of cancer. Sarah-Grace and...

My family and I were on vacation in Europe when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the continent full force. On our flight my daughter and I were watching movies with sub-titles (we didn't have headphones). One very funny movie we watched was Blended about these two previously married people falling in love and their families coming together. The lady was divorced. The man's wife had died of cancer. We were laughing out loud so much that my wife (who was sitting a couple of rows up with my other daughter) came to see us. She asked what we were watching that was so funny; all she could find was a movie about some lady who died of cancer. It wasn't the same movie but my daughter and I couldn't help laughing all the more! (The possibility that her not funny movie was exactly the same as our funny movie to us was very funny) Now, of course, there is nothing funny about someone dying of cancer or Corona or anything else for that matter. But a lot of our healing and wholeness co...

The perfect present Is everything you’ve wanted Salvation is here Salvation is like a parcel delivered to you on your birthday or other such occasion. In this parcel is something that you have always needed. It was ordered for you at great expense by someone who loves you (Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour). It is yours. As you open it your whole life will change. Joy will fill your heart. If you never open it you will never experience it; if you put it away and stop using it you will no longer experience its joy. Your friend who loves you not only offers it to you, they have already given it to you. It is wrapped and sitting in your hands today. All you need to do is open it. https://www.facebook.com/Salvogesis/ www.sheepspeak.com

Proverbs 31:8-9: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Canada has the greatest provision for the needy in the Americas and is among the best in the entire world - however, we still have a long way to go... Persons in low income after tax, by prevalence in percent (StatsCan): 40.9% of Canadians in female lone-parent families are considered low-income 29.4% of all single Canadians (28.4% M, 30.5% F) are considered low-income If you remove seniors from the equation, the number of low-income single males shoots up to 30.7% and the percent of low-income females reaches 37.5% 11.5% of all Canadians are considered low-income Let us speak up for those in need in our community. More daily blogs at https://salvogesis.blogspot.ca/ More articles, sermons, and papers at www.sheepspeak.com

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. What does this mean? Does this mean that we are supposed to be timid from terror? No, it doesn’t. Yir’ah, the word translated fear hear probably most approximates the English word ‘deference’: Deference is not absent of fear but it more precisely refers to extreme, practical respect. I have witnessed deference firsthand in courtrooms among other places. You would be surprised at how quickly a person removes his hat or turns off her cell phone with just one sideways glance from that judge. I have seen people talking big outside the courtroom and then a moment later I have seen them inside bowing quickly to the authority and power of the courts. I have seen even your most law-abiding citizens who are in court to assist someone else and who know the judge quite well – when they are addressed by the judge - immediately defer to her position. This deference is not entirely without fear. Our ...

The passage today would be a wonderful teaching pericope on wisdom.  Ellen F. Davis has referred to the book of Proverbs as a series of haikus.[1] Can anyone tell me, what is a haiku? A haiku is a short Japanese poem that often has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third line; and the last line is supposed to make you think about the first 2 lines in a whole new way. Here are some examples for us by Udiah:[2] The Rainbow (Gen 9: 8-17) after summer's rain (5 syllables) God's promise is remembered (7 syllables) glorious rainbow (5 syllables) The Tree of Life (Gen 3:22) Partake of The Word (5) The Tree of Life, Jesus Christ (7) And live forever (5)    Here is one that Sarah-Grace shared with me when she was in elementary school that I think sums up haikus quite nicely. Haikus are easy but sometimes they don’t make sense Refrigerator Davis writes that, “like a haiku, [Proverbs] does not require a lot of scholarly expl...