Asleep in the Boat

A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the story of Jesus asleep in the boat during the storm from Mark 4:35-41.  As I was looking at this passage, I was reminded of Psalm 121 that says that we can trust in God since he neither slumbers nor sleeps.  The problem is: the New Testament teaches that Jesus is God and that he was slumbering and sleeping the moment that they needed him!  The key is the incarnation which teaches that Jesus is not God disguised as a human but God as human.  In the boat incident, Jesus was not taking the divine role of watching, but was choosing to provide the human model of trust in the Father.  Jesus was so confident in the care of the Father that he was content to sleep on a cushion.  The lesson for us is to reflect on Psalm 121 and be encouraged that God is awake and in that trust, grab a pillow and have a rest with Jesus.

Another Week of Camp

As you know, we sent Logan to a week of day camp at Tyndale a while back.  It went so well, we decided to take it the next level.  Instead of just day camp, we sent Logan to overnight camp at Word of Life.  I will admit that we were nervous.  He half expected a phone call in the middle of the first night.  But Logan did great.  Word of Life was good enough to provide a one-to-one counselor for Logan.  We were extremely impressed.  We went to the awards ceremony and got to see Logan.  The smiles we saw on Logan's face was well worth the price.  What a blessing this was.  We would highly recommend Word of Life camp to other parents.

Living the Message

I just finished reading a devotional book by Eugene Peterson called Living the Message.  The basic pattern of the devotions are a reflection on a passage of scripture followed by a passage from Peterson's Message translation.  The devotions are quite good.  They are of varying length from a couple of sentences to a page and a half.  They are especially good for pastors and other leaders as Peterson reflects on issues specific to those in Christian ministry.  But don't be fooled by the simplicity of the language in the Message.  There were a number of devotions where Peterson used words I had never heard of (and I am on my fifth university degree).  Still, if you are looking for a good devotional book, I would recommend this.

Good Puns

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.  He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

15. The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

16. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.

21.  A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons.  The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'

22.  Two fish swim into a concrete wall.  One turns to the other and says 'Dam!'

23.  Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft.  Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

24.  Two hydrogen atoms meet.  One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

25.  Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal?  His goal: transcend dental medication.

26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.  No pun in ten did.

The Lord's Prayer

Last Sunday we moved into the New Testament in our Genesis to Revelation series.  We began the NT by looking at the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:1-15.  Here are some of the things we looked at:

1. Father - How we address God says much about how we see him.  'God' could simply be an acknowledgment of God's attributes.  'Lord' could be an acknowledgment of a Master-servant relationship. But Father speak of a relationship of care and intimacy.  Notice that it is OUR Father.  Even when we pray in solitude it is Our Father because we are praying in a community of worldwide believers.
2. Holy Kingdom - We make God's name holy by choosing to live holy lives.  God's kingdom comes when we choose to allow his will to reign in our lives.
3. Daily Bread - There is nothing wrong or unspiritual about praying for yourself, although the emphasis is on immediate needs.
4. Forgiveness - Our ultimate need is forgiveness from God.  But Jesus closely connects this with the importance of forgiving others.  This is so important that this is the one section that Jesus gives further teaching on.

These principles are vital, not just for Christian prayer, but for Christian living.  You can find this message on www.stephenjbedard.podbean.com.

Outlive Your Life

Max Lucado's latest book is called Outlive Your Life.  The basic idea is that it is possible for our influence to remain in this world long after we have died.  We can make choices to help others and to build a legacy that lasts.  In a society where the emphasis is on having the latest gadget and enjoying the latest pleasure, this is a timely message.  Max takes the reader on a tour of the book of Acts.  He is somehow able to recapture the wonder of those early Christians as they were trying to figure out what Jesus living looked like in their world while at the same time make the stories relevant and practical to our present world.  Max takes us back to familiar stories, forces us to look at them with fresh eyes and brings them alive with inspiring illustrations, often from his own experience.  This book is thoroughly biblical and is a joy to read. I highly recommend that you get a copy of this book and consider it as a Bible study (there is a participants guide available).

Book has been provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc and Thomas Nelson Publishers. Available now at your favourite bookseller.

CBD Book Store

If you currently buy books from Christian Book Distributors (and you should check them out as they have great deals), please consider making your purchases through our CBD Book Store.  If you do this, a portion of your purchase will go to support the new journal Hope's Reason: A Journal of Apologetics.

Moon

Every once in a while Amanda and I take a chance with a movie.  We will pick up DVDs on sale that look interesting even if we have never heard of them.  We have picked up some pretty bad movies.  You definitely can't always judge a movie by its cover.

One of the movies we recently picked up was Moon.  It sat in our movie cabinet for quite a while before we decided to try it.  It takes place on the moon (surprise, surprise).  Harvesting takes place on the moon which supplies the earth with power.  There is only one worker on the lunar base and he has a three year contract.  Near the end of his contract, the worker has an accident and discovers that reality is not at all the way he thought.  This movie is rated R for language, and there is some swearing, but really was not that bad.  The story was very interesting and the acting by Sam Rockwell was fantastic.  I strongly recommend that you get a hold of this little known but excellent movie.

A Great Day is Coming

Two weeks ago at church we wrapped up our Old Testament stage of our Genesis to Revelation series by looking at Zechariah and Malachi.  The Old Testament ends with things not so great but with a vision toward the future when God would do something incredible.  Much of this was included in the concept of the Day of the Lord when God would make everything right.  There is so much throughout the Old Testament that we could look at but we focused on Zechariah and Malachi.  We saw the prophecy of the return of Elijah, God (somehow in personal form) landing on and splitting the Mount of Olives and God also (again somehow) being pierced.  This makes sense when we look to the New Testament.  Elijah did not come physically but John the Baptist appeared, dressing like Elijah and performing Elijah's ministry.  Jesus appeared, God in human flesh.  Jesus promised to return and fulfill the prophecies of the Day of the Lord.  But before he did that, he was pierced by the nails and the spear on the cross.  We see from this that Jesus is the key for us to understand the Old Testament vision of God's faithfulness.

This message is on my podcast page www.stephenjbedard.podbean.com.

Hope's Reason: A Journal of Apologetics

I am involved in an exciting new project.  It is an online and (eventually) print apologetics journal called Hope's Reason (inspired by 1 Peter 3:15).  It has been amazing how everything has fell into place.  We have a name, a web-site and a great group of peer reviewers.  Now all we need are some good scholarly articles and book reviews in the area of apologetics and related fields.  Make sure to check it out at our web-site www.apologeticsjournal.com.  Please pray for this project and send in any scholarly articles that might be of use in apologetics ministry.

Despicable Me

Last night Logan and I went to the movies and saw Despicable Me.  I was not sure what to think.  Other than Pixar, I have been generally disappointed with computer animated kids movies.  Most of them are just about how silly they can get or at best trying to impress with their animation.  Despicable Me was a pleasant surprise.  The story is about a super villain named Gru who adopts three orphans because of his own devious plans rather than out of charity or concern.  Gru, needlessly to say, lacks parental skills.  But thrown into life with these three girls begins to change Gru.  This movie has everything: laughs, action, story, character development and a number of touching moments.  I highly recommend Despicable Me.

Ray Bradbury on God

CNN has an interesting article on science fiction writer Ray Bradbury and his views on God.  You can find the article here.  Bradbury does not consider himself a Christian but his thoughts should be of some interest to Christians.  He is typical (despite his age) of many today who attempt to blend various religions.  While I disagree with many of his religious views, I appreciate the fact that he gives the credit for his writings to God.

Autism Camp

Autism has become a huge issue in society today.  I do not think that it is just because I have two children with autism that I notice it more.  Often when I go to the CNN web-site I will see multiple stories on autism.  It is something that people are interested in and more and more parents are having to deal with.  The one thing I have not seen is much response from the Christian community.  That is why I was very happy to see Tyndale University College being active in the area of autism research.  I have been doing some teaching at Tyndale and became aware through Dr. Daniel Wong that they were offering an autism camp.  This morning Logan and I arrived at Tyndale and Logan is starting a week of camp.  He seemed to enjoy himself when I dropped him off and I am sure he will have a great time.  I will be spending the day with him in Toronto, hopefully seeing a movie together tonight, and someone will take over for me tomorrow.  It will be nice to spend some time with Logan like this.  And I am thankful that Tyndale is providing this opportunity.  To see what they are up to, you can go here.