Whatever He Says

Hebrews 13:12-13 (Amplified Bible) Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation 12Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the [city's] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God]. 13 Let us then go forth [from all that would prevent us] to Him outside the camp [at Calvary], bearing the contempt and abuse and shame with Him. Here is a little song that I wrote thirty years ago, based on these verses. I pray that it blesses someone today and encourages them not to be ashamed of bearing the name of Christ. I ask for courage Lord, That I might dare to go Outside the city walls with thee, And despised for thy sake be. My weakness well you know, I fear what men might say, Please teach me how to bear your shame, And be worthy of your Name. Dear Lord you went for me, Outside those walls so long ago, My shame you suffered there for love,...

The good hand of God is on each of us. He has wonderful plans for us. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2: 10 NASV I pray that I, that each of us, would be so committed to His work that we would persevere under trial, buckle down when we're questioned and stay the course when attacked or discouraged. May we be like Nehemiah. He was a Jew and a cup bearer to the King. Nehemiah wasn't born into greatness, yet he became great. Nehemiah didn't pray for God to remove his difficult circumstances. Instead, Nehemiah looked for opportunity within his circumstances. He was burdened for the things of God. Nehemiah learned the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates were burned with fire. He says, "Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." Nehemiah 1: 4 ...

Dear Friends, Lana-Joy sent an email to some friends and family and when it was passed on to me, I wrote and asked her if I could publish it because there is so much in what she says, that would help others. She said that if so, I could gladly publish it. So here it is: I decided to send out one last email to everyone to share how and what Jonathan and I are doing and let you know where we are going from here. From here on in I will no longer be sending out group emails to everyone unless something unusual happens. Since Jeff passed away Jonathan and my lives have changed forever. It is hard to wrap my head around what has happened and equally hard to absorb it all. When asked, "How are you?" it is not easy to quickly respond. Some images come to mind in attempting to answer this question. The first image is that of a big heavy bucket of sadness. I received this bucket when Jeff died and many of you have received a bucket of sadness too. The only way to lighten the weight of ...

Psalm 61:2-3 (New International Version) 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I had spotted them from the back window, drawn by the sound of their voices and laughter; two girls with skipping ropes that had been gifts at the birthday party they'd just been to. On the long spring green lawn they swung their ropes and skipped, hair streaming in the breeze; carefree as only children can be. Oh, how I love them, I thought. Moments later they came in from their Sunday afternoon play and asked if they could have a story from Parables on the Pond. They know with complete confidence that whatever I might be doing I would drop it to share a precious few moments with them, and they know that I love this children's book of devotional stories. And so they snuggled, one on each side of me on the couch, as we turned to the next story in the book, Jo...

Many years ago a friend asked me to go sailing with her. She was a member of the Toronto Sailing Club which would mean we would sail on Lake Ontario out of Queen's Quay. It was a wonderful opportunity because it was Canada Day and we would watch the fireworks from the water. I didn't know Jill really well. I was a Program Manager for a few programs at Christian Horizons and she was a nutritionist at, what is now, South Lake Regional Centre. We had got to know each other through work and developed a friendship from there. She had learned to sail a few years before our adventure and wasn't very experienced. I had sailed occasionally throughout my growing up years and wasn't experienced either. I had always sailed on calmer waters - on land-locked lakes or sheltered areas of Georgian Bay. I never had sailed recreationally on any of the great lakes, and had a smattering of knowledge on the basics. We met a group down there and they started divvying up persons to boats. The...

Hebrews 12:1-2 (New International Version) ... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... It was one of those conversations that God was all over, a conversation that plumbed some deep places as she worked on my hair. As I went from chair to hairdryer, to sink, to chair again; in between consulting on colour or hi lights (just colour this time) , conditioning treatment (please), trim (yes, the ends need it), we went deeper, from light hearted banter to "God talking." I saw it in her eyes, her spirit responding; not to me but to him, and I felt it in my own heart as she shared a story prompted by our conversation. She told me about two elderly customers, a mother and daughter; the mother in her nineties, both of them now living together; how they were both crusty characters but the mother was so bright, intelligent and feisty that she had asked her, "You've lived such a long life; do...