Charles Schwab, the president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation hired a consultant and gave him the following challenge. “Show me how to get more things done with my time.” The advice given to him was three-fold: 1 – prioritize your tasks. 2 – start with number one and stay with it until completed. 3 – make these rules your habit every day. Schwab followed the consultant’s suggestions and within five years, Bethlehem Steel Corporation became the largest independent steel producer in the world. Time is one of our most valuable commodities. Jesus once posed the question – “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.” I urge you to take time for the important things. Become conscious of your spiritual needs – then turn your life over to the master – Jesus Christ. And let him direct your ways.

A never published reel-to-reel audio tape of an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King junior has been found in a Tennessee attic. The interview took place and was recorded on December 21, 1960. It was about King’s trip to Africa, which influenced his views on civil rights in America. Dr. King was tragically assassinated on April 4th, 1968. With this discovery, as well as many other recordings, King, though dead, in one sense continues to live. But there is another man, greater than all the Martin Luther King Jr’s of this world, who died and yet is alive. Jesus Christ has tasted death for everyone but, unlike Martin Luther King Jr., our Savior rose from the dead. John’s Gospel recorded Christ’s hope-filled promise to all those who put their trust in Him, when Jesus said, “because I live, you also will live.”

Have you had your passport picture taken lately? Passport pictures are notoriously unflattering. It has been said that if you can recognize yourself in a passport picture, you’re too old or too sick to travel. Most of us can relate to seeing a picture of ourselves that we really dislike. Perhaps it made us look too fat, or too thin, or had some physical distortion that displeased us. But there is one place where we get a true picture of ourselves. James wrote in the New Testament “…if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and forgets what he was like.” When we look into the mirror of God’s word and see our true selves, there is recognition of our spiritual needs, and an awareness that we need to ask God for his mercy and forgiveness.

It was scooped up from the sea after 98 years – a bottle with a message. Fisherman Andrew Leaper found the bottle released in 1914. It was part of a government experiment to map the under currents of the sea. It was the oldest message ever recorded in a bottle. But I’m thinking today of an older message, not in a bottle, but in a book – the Bible. In this remarkable book we read many wonderful messages. Here’s one – “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” God did all this that we might be forgiven. The 98 year old message in the bottle is very interesting. But this timeless message in the book is of far greater significance because it can be the means of transforming lives and preparing us for the next life.

In the busy-ness of life, it is easy to forget how truly amazing is this Earth on which we all live. For example, did you know that the area of the Earth is almost 200 million square miles? That Earth travels through space at 66,700 miles per hour? And that Earth’s oceans are an average of two miles deep? In the 19th Psalm in the Bible, we are reminded, “the heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” And John wrote in his gospel, about Christ, “all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Later in that same chapter, John wrote, “….to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the Children of God…” You can receive Christ into your life by a simple act of faith!

Environmentalist and author David Suzuki will give the 10th national Symons lecture on the state of confederation this November. In his mid-seventies, he said he is now in what he called “the death zone.” Suzuki was honestly facing the reality that all of us die eventually. When we are past 70, in most cases we are closer to it than those who are younger. But whatever our age, we all have a rendezvous with the grim reaper. Solomon, the world’s wisest man, was inspired to give some sound advice, both to Suzuki and all of us when he wrote, ”do not boast about tomorrow, you do not know what a day may bring forth.” And the prophet Amos added, appropriately, “prepare to meet your God.” We do that by becoming properly related to him, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Actor comedian Don Harron was a familiar figure in Canadian life for many years. He used wigs, makeup, a woman’s voice or a different pair of spectacles. Other times he donned a wool cap, raggedy sweater, and became lovable Charlie Farquharson. But from time to time he put away his costumes and appeared as himself. He once said ”Playing Don Harron is the toughest for me. I’m an actor and I like to hide.” And many of us find it easier to have different faces for different situations instead of facing our true selves courageously and admitting what we are really like. John’s Gospel says of Christ, “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in man.” God knows what we are all about. He calls on us to acknowledge what we are – sinners by nature and by choice – and He invites us turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and a right relationship with Him.

NASA scientists watched in suspense as the two billion dollar laboratory rover travelled millions of kilometers to look for signs of life, and landed safely on Mars. This amazing scientific feat is exciting for many reasons. It reveals the immensity of the universe, and gives a glimpse of the greatness of our creator. Genesis 1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” As the rover takes pictures identifying more of the size and complexity of our universe, we should see how naïve it is to suggest that this universe happened by accident. It is clearly the result of a direct act by an intelligent designer. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus is God, and that “All things were made through Him.” As Stuart Hamblen wrote, ”He’s big enough to rule the mighty universe, but small enough to live within my heart.” Is He in your life?