Colleen Christensen of Saskatoon made an unusual discovery while working in her garden. Wrapped around the roots of some lilies, she discovered a wedding ring engraved with the letters J & J 8/19/62. Although she is conducting an exhaustive search, she has not yet found the owner. It’s always a happy day when you find something you have lost isn’t it? But more serious than losing a valued object is when you lose such things as peace and hope for the future. While some things can be restored, only God can restore our souls. Remember David’s words in the famous 23rd Psalm, “He restores my soul.” He is indeed, “A friend who sticks closer than a brother”, and He can restore peace and hope to our lives. All we need do is enter into a personal relationship with Him by faith, and sincerely ask for restoration. Have you done that?
Category Archives: Just a minute
August 24 – Justin Bieber’s Advice
Justin Bieber, the famous young singer recently sang on the steps of the Avon theatre in Stratford Ontario where he was born, like he did before he was famous. He also paid tribute to his early days on Twitter, saying, “Always remember where you came from.” Good advice we should all heed. There is no point in trying to hide our past, or declaring we are something we are not. We are who we are. We don’t fool anyone, least of all God, who knows us best of all. In the 139th Psalm, David spoke truth for us all, writing, “Lord you have searched me and known me. You know my thoughts and are acquainted with all my ways, you covered me in my mother’s womb.” Justin Bieber’s advice was good. “Remember where you came from.” God made us all, he knows all about us and it is to him we must give account one day. Are you ready for that inevitable meeting?
August 22 – Conquered by Mt. Everest
Shrya Shah Klorfine, a 33 year old woman from Toronto, reached the summit of Mt. Everest, but sadly she died while descending. Great mountains are pitiless. A British naturalist made the comment, “We may be visitors on these mountains, but not conquerors.” In our lives, we too face mountains that seem unconquerable, sometimes feeling there is nowhere to turn and no way to solve our huge problems. Perhaps David the psalmist felt like that when he was inspired to write, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” Then later, having been delivered by God, he issued the invitation, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Are you facing your own mountains today? If so, then I urge you to turn to the Lord Jesus for help. He said, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
August 20 – Nothing to Live For
Robert Webster and Martin Chisholm have been awarded the chief’s award – the city of Calgary’s highest level of recognition – for assisting a young man who was trying to commit suicide. He said that no one cared for him and he had nothing to live for. But Webster and Chisholm convinced him that his life was worth living, and led him to safety. This is a sad story which, except for these two caring men, would have ended tragically. The young man had lost all hope. In our troubled world, more and more people are finding themselves in a similar situation. If that is where you are today, please listen to the words of David in the 61st Psalm. Describing his circumstances he wrote, “Hear my cry, O God… when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” That higher power, that rock, is Jesus. You can reach out to him today. He cares.
August 17 – Elvis’ Tomb
For the right price, you can rest in peace in the tomb of the king. That’s correct. The original resting place of Elvis Presley is to be sold at auction. Elvis was interred in this tomb, but later moved and re-buried at his Graceland home. Who would want this I can’t imagine – sounds a bit ghoulish to me. But there is another empty tomb. For three days it held the body of Jesus. But he arose from that tomb, victorious over death, and today offers eternal life to all who accept his gift of forgiveness. Paul wrote, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” And best of all, it is all free. No auction, no bidding, no charge.
August 15 – Freebie for Proctor and Gamble
Advertisers spend millions to get their products advertised on television during major sporting events. But Proctor and Gamble got a freebie recently during the Daytona 500, when officials used boxes of Tide to clean up after a fiery crash. Proctor and Gamble took advantage of this with a commercial that said, “You keep inventing stains, we’ll keep inventing ways to get them out.” Tide is considered a good product by many, but there is one stain it can never remove. I refer to the stain of sin. No amount of self-effort can remove this stain, only the love of Jesus, expressed on the cross. A much loved old hymn says it well, “Calvary covers it all, my past with its sin and stain. My guilt and despair, Jesus took on him there, and Calvary covers it all.” Christ died for our sins. When we ask Him for forgiveness, He removes the stain forever.
August 13 – False kindness to children
A high school in Bedfordhire England has a policy of not correcting any more than three spelling errors in students’ work for fear that such an action would damage their self-image. Local MP Andrew Selous called this “a false kindness to children” – and he is surely correct. It seems we will go to any length to pretend unpleasantness doesn’t exist. We pretend we are not sick and fail to get needed medical help. We pretend that death ends all. We pretend that sin is just an error in judgment. But the pretense with the most far-reaching and most tragic results is pretending there is no God and no life after death. But truth is never changed by pretense. In the book of Galatians Paul wrote, “do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows he will also reap.” Isn’t it time you got our head out of the sand?
August 10 – Hope Based on a Falsehood
A fable is told of a man sentenced to death, but who was granted a reprieve of one year by the king. Learning that the king was fond of horses, he had promised he would teach the king’s horse how to fly within a year. His friends laughed but he said,” within the year, the king may die, the horse may die, I may die, or who knows, the king’s horse may learn to fly. This bizarre anecdote teaches us that hope based on unreality is no hope at all – just silly optimism. How much better it is to base one’s hope for time and eternity on the one who can fulfill that hope. One hymn writer put it well, “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.” On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” Also, Paul the apostle wrote, “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing …” In what are you putting your hope for the future?
August 8 – Attacked by Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees at a sanctuary for animals in South Africa pulled an American researcher into their enclosure, bit him severely and dragged him nearly half a mile, leaving him in critical condition. The event underscored the unpredictable nature of wild animals. But it can also remind us of dangers that beset us daily – such as temptations to have unscrupulous business deals, to indulge in immorality, to dabble in harmful addictions, or more seriously, to reject and revile the God who made us. These may appear attractive at the beginning, but in the end their bite is more vicious than that of the chimps that day, and can carry us into dangerous territory. Jesus said “the truth shall set you free” – so that when we are properly related to God, through faith in Christ, we have the strength to resist and be victorious over such powerful enticements.
August 6 – Starting Over
In his best-selling book come before winter and share my hope, Dr. Charles Swindoll made the following insightful statement – “to start over, you have to know where you are. To get somewhere else, it’s necessary to know where you are standing.” Perhaps today you are assessing your life, acknowledging your needs and wanting to start over. Maybe you have finished running and ready to change your mind about a lot of things – your lifestyle, the next life, and God. If so, it is necessary to know where you are. The Bible tells us that we are all out of fellowship with our maker until Christ is in our lives. But when we want to start over, Jesus offers us forgiveness for the past and hope for the future. He says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice I will come in.”
Tools for HOPE 