Salvogesis

These stories (Esther, Terah, Barak, and many like them) have impacted my theology greatly over the years. I think this is one of the many keys to comprehending how God works in our world.   These passages and stories of which they are a part really answer the question, “What do I do when God is calling me to do something?” “What do I do when the Lord has put someone on my heart?”  and to some extent, in some ways, “What happens if I don’t do what God asks me to do?”  “Can God be thwarted?” He can’t. Luke Chapter 19:40: “I tell you…if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”   Luke 19 has the very good news that if it is the time that God wants something done, He will do it. God loves us and He will reach out to us to help us in our distress. The question for us today is what happens if God wants to use us to reach out to others in distress and we refuse? The short answer is that God will do it anyway. In the stories of Barak and of Terah we see that because t...

Israel is in a bit of trouble here. Ezekiel has just put on this big show so that the exiles at the time and the rest of us now might learn from it. Remember that Ezekiel is not in Jerusalem, Judah, or even Israel as he is acting out this prophesy. Ezekiel is a  thirty-year-old  man who would like nothing more than to be a priest in Jerusalem instead he is sitting by the probably very dirty water near his refugee camp and then spending much of his time lying on his side eating food cooked on animal dung and doing everything else mentioned in this book.   The message Ezekiel seems to be giving the people in the refugee camp  with him  is this: It seems that the people were comforting themselves in their exile by  saying  that God would never let anything happen to Jerusalem and that He would never let anything happen to the temple  in Jerusalem ; some people even believed that  God   actually lived  just there  – even though...

Genesis 40 has been in my thoughts quite a bit recently. Genesis 40 tells the story of the king's cup bearer and baker who both wind up in prison with Joseph. They each have a dream for which God provides Joseph an interpretation for his fellow prisoners. Joseph informs the king's cup bearer that in 3 days he will be restored to his position and Joseph informs the king's baker that in 3 days he will be executed. I have been thinking a lot lately about 2 employees that used to work for us in one of our appointments. They each had been employed for a while and they each had had some discussions with various supervisors over the years about their employment. There was a significant incident involving both of them. ER needed to be called. A decision needed to be made. One, it was decided, would be returned to their position. One, it was decided, would not.   I imagine that this is similar to the two employees of the King of Egypt in Genesis 40. It seemed to be that the two empl...

PRESENTED AT THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION, 01 JULY 2021 . [1]   In the Alberni Valley today we would like to acknowledge Winston Joseph, who has passed on since the previous Canada Day. He was the driving force behind our community's Canada Day activities for many years.   Canada Day is very important to our veterans as they offered up their lives and many of them laid down their lives for Canada and for all of us.   Today we are gathering to remember Canada and, as always at the Legion, those who have lived, fought and died for Canada and for our future. One of the many brave people from this area who offered their lives up for the future of others was Edward John Clutesi of the Tseshaht Nation. (Our community is on the un-ceded territories of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations)   Today, heavy on our hearts is the tragedy of the horrors of the residential schools and those who suffe...

Fathers’ Day: At one point we actually had a glimmer of hope that we would see Rebecca on Fathers' Day weekend and for most of the week leading up to it, it looked like Susan, Sarah-Grace, and Heather would be able to head to the mainland this weekend to see her, but it didn’t work out.  Fathers’ Day is often a chance when children are able to visit their fathers. This can be quite an occasion if the children live a distance from their fathers and/or if they don’t get to see their fathers very often. If they live quite a distance away sometimes the visits are longer because of it. Children, even adult children going to see their fathers can be quite an occasion.    Jesus, in our passage today is speaking about going to see his father. Jesus is unmarried and probably in his early thirties and he is at dinner with his students and closest friends when he tells them that he is going to see his father and the conversation that ensues with his disciples is quite interesting....

Romans 12 has been on my mind a little bit this past week as we are hopefully coming out of this pandemic very soon. The Apostle Paul  is speaking about the 'new normal' of the Kingdom of God and thus he gives us some great words of wisdom that we can keep in mind in as we enter our ‘new normal’ of the post-covid world.[1] Paul tells us to offer up our lives to God and not conform to society but instead to renew our minds so that we can do what God would like us to do. He then goes on to explain what it is that God wants us to do with our lives as part of the "new normal". Paul says that, as opposed to what society says, we are to: ·        Not think of ourselves as the greatest at whatever we do, or the smartest person in the room.[2] You and I can be wrong about something. Be thankful for that! That is how we learn and get better and smarter! ·        Work together as a team. Not everyone has the same job, skills and abilities. Work togethe...

I read this verse this week as we are (hopefully) seeing the end of the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic in the not too distant future. The Lord has certainly rescued many people in our community here through the efforts of many people and agencies including The Salvation Army food bank and the Bread of Life Soup kitchen. The Bread of Life Centre was also rescued by the Lord through this pandemic. In the months before the pandemic, the Bread of Life was broke. It had gone through a number of Executive Directors in a short period of time. The end of their long history of ministry to the community seemed like it was coming to an end. A couple of members of their board came and spoke to me at The Salvation Army about the possibility of the Army absorbing the Bread of Life. Through many months of discussions, we then agreed instead to an operational agreement. The Bread of Life would continue to exist. The Bread of Life would recommit to its Christian roots, heritage, and mission. The Salvati...