Whatever He Says

By Belinda It was one of those holy moments. We were praying as a work group at the start of our team meeting. One of our managers prayed for God's help with the many duties we juggle and she used the words, "the balls we need to keep in the air." And I saw  this picture: A figure stood facing me but I could not see who from the neck up. Around the person, on the ground, were scattered balls.  Jesus was there too, facing the person. He bent down, and picked up a ball, a blue one. He gently placed it in the person's hands, in a most loving and intimate way. This was the ball the person was to carry and focus on in that moment. And he was the one who knew which one it should be. It was simple, profound, and filled my heart with peace and my eyes with tears as I shared it moments later with the team. Matthew 11:28-30 The Message (MSG) 28-30  “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I...

By Belinda I stepped out onto our north facing deck early one recent morning having passed by my laptop with a cup of fragrant black coffee in hand.  In the dappled light I sat, with the cooing of doves and the chatter of birds filling the air, along with the whoosh of cars from the nearby highway. The magnolia tree rustled her petticoats in the morning breeze, and as I reached for my journal and pen I heard an inner voice affirming that I had got something right. What I got right was making a choice to hear from heaven before the world of other voices. Why is that even a question each day? And yet it is and daily I struggle to keep things in my life in right order. When I succeed in getting it right, it shows. In all I say and do and even think; it shows. After writing these lines in my journal, I opened my  Jesus Calling  devotional. It was July the 6th, and part of that days short reading says this: Listen to me above the clamor of voices trying t...

By Belinda I got up this morning and came downstairs with such a sense of anticipation. With hair still wet from the shower, and a steaming cup of black coffee in hand, I sank into our soft golden leather couch and pulled out books from my lime green needle-cord book bag. Among other things that I read, I chose to read my favourite psalm: number 84! I read it slowly, enjoying the beauty of the very familiar words.  I noticed verse 5, which says: Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways of Zion. And I wondered what it means--to have a heart in which "are the  highways to Zion." All too soon I had to finish getting ready for church and put aside my pondering for the moment.  In church I thought about today being Pentecost Sunday, and about the wind and fire that came on the first Pentecost after Christ's death. Less welcome thoughts lurked like intruders at the edges of my consciousness, threatening distraction. The thoughts ...

By Belinda We've been trying to get together since late August--Luisa and I; two busy friends, juggling appointments and schedules. We hadn't seen one another for some time and there was so much catching up to be done! After a false start or two, I planted a figurative flag on September 27. Nothing, I promised, would encroach on this day; it was sacred to this particular friendship! We arranged to meet  at 9.30 for breakfast at the  Cora’s  at Dufferin and Steeles and I began to look forward to it more and more as the day approached. I had not been to that particular Cora's before and so I printed off the directions. The travel time was supposed to be 40 minutes, so I planned to leave at 8.30, leaving time for a leisurely drive to the restaurant. I had the day off from work and felt so peaceful driving down towards the city with no agenda but God's for our time together. I didn't even turn on my car radio as I drove, or listen to my latest aud...

By Belinda Down the centre of the long, oval pine table stood a line of scented candles, warming the room with their soft flickering glow. The coffee pot gurgled and snorted like a disgruntled steam engine as it produced a fragrant brew. And refreshments lay out on the table: Christmas cake, boterkoek and truffles. The house and I were ready...just waiting for the sound of stamping feet and opening door. In the to and fro of recent conversations about God, we four had been grappling with concepts, seeking to understand some things better and learning how to apply truths grasped. When I listened to a CD in a set I'd bought Pete for Christmas, it so resonated with what we'd been talking about that a week or so ago, I invited them all over to listen to it with me on the first day after the Christmas weekend that we were free. The CD set I gave Pete was Great Books Everyone Should Know: A Practical Guide to 12 Timeless Classics  by Dr. Ken Boa. He is such a good teacher and so ...

From the Archives (originally posted March 22nd 2007) By Claire Alexander Isaiah 55:8-11 (New International Version) 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” A friend attending a seminary class was able to drive me from our rural town to the subway, after I learned that this year’s final Bible study for retired alumni was being held in Toronto. The unusual topic, from 1 Kings 22, dealt with Micaiah, the true prophet of the Lord, and 400 false prophets of Asherah (1 Kings 18:19). Photo shots of archaeology showed recent findings of Ahab’s palace, verifying 2800 years later the syncretism of his version of the Hebrew faith, and the ivory of his house (22:39). At the end, as I waited in the entrance of a college closer to the subway, I was musing on my own need for “pure religion,” when a small, unshaven man dif...

By Belinda This little song that God gave me a while ago, and the scriptures and verse from the hymn, I the Lord of Sea and Sky (one of Mum's favourite hymns,) are precious to me and I pray that they will speak to you as they do to me today: Leviticus 27:21 (New International Version) 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD ;... I long to be to you, my King A field devoted to the Lord For you my soul and spirit sing For you my heart beats and I cling To you alone I long to have my heart ploughed deep A field devoted to the Lord The hardened clods of clay that sleep Awoken, broken, in his keep For him alone Belinda, Feb. 2008 2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version) 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 16:9 (New International Version) 9 F...

By Belinda Sometimes God speaks on many levels, driving home a message loud and clear. Sunday morning was one of those times. Before I left for church I read a blog post written by my friend Dave Hingsburger, in which he wrote in frustration about the deification of a soccer player: What makes him a God? According to the women interviewed: he's hot. According to the men interviewed: he's rich. Yeah, that's what I want in my God. I have need of a cute guy who can kick balls with incredible accuracy when I'm in the depths of despair. Yeah, I really want a God, who looks good in ripped jeans when I'm struggling to make it through my day. How shallow have we become? His question, "How shallow have we become?" challenged me. I get so caught up in trivia and forget the truly important. I was singing on the worship team that morning and got to church early for our practice. Frances, my friend who is also on the team, said she'd been thinking about the Marvin...

Saturday morning and it is raining hard, tapping on skylights and cascading from gutters. The hills are shrouded in a curtain of mist. It is the perfect morning to cocoon. I enjoy the quiet of the house; a stillness unbroken from the inside by even the hum of dryer or distant chatter of a program on T.V.. Yesterday children and grandchildren filled the house. Shreds of wrapping paper and empty boxes surrounded the Christmas tree. Carols played on the stereo in the background, mixing with the sound of children's voices, laughter and play, and the murmur of conversation. It was a wonderful day. But I cherish the post-celebration hush that descends. It is a time to reflect; to ponder the old and listen for the new. As I washed Brussels sprouts and rolled out pastry while preparing for our family Christmas dinner, I listened to an audio book by author and speaker Matthew Kelly. I heard him speak at the Lead Like Jesus conference I attended in October and found him a dynamic speaker so ...

Dear Friends, This morning I dipped into the archives to share some words of wisdom that blessed me. I hope that they are a blessing to you today! 1 John 4:10 (New International Version) 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I love my job--and one of the things I love most is meeting so many interesting people and hearing their stories. Occasionally someone tosses out more words of wisdom in half an hour than their share and I am left trying hard to write fast. Yesterday I met a man who touched me with his obvious love of God. You could tell he knew him well and walked closely with him. He said: God can use anyone--you don't have to be a genius to be used by God. On stress: In life you add and you delete. If you have a lawn mower that's not working, you get rid of it. Not people--you don't get rid of people--but there's answers for stress. On finding God: Once I heard the gospel--the good news ...

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 ...

By Joyful Fox I lay awake in the inky black thinking of today. Husband breathing softly, I reach under my pillow to turn off alarm...close to 5:00...I sigh softly...aware of the warmth of blankets and silent home. Wouldn't it be nice to burrow here awhile...a long while. These days have been hard. I'd rather not begin today. I smile to myself and choose to slide out of bed. I take captive, erring thoughts...and remember muted yellows and blues of my journal...the crisp white page awaiting first thoughts of the new morn...afghan of burgundies, rust, and evergreen... beckons from soft leather sofa. The Father's love stirs a longing in my soul. I need this...the first meeting of the day. Ready now, I scramble into clothes. Fingers fumble as I find the tag, slipping into athletic pants, silently snatching sweatshirt, ever mindful of all who slumber on...cautious now, I creep down the stairs. This time for seeking, listening, meditating, and exploring...far too precious to tarry...

Matthew 27:54 (New International Version) 54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" The day had been drenched in death--but this was something the centurion, a man of noble birth and high social standing, was accustomed to. He had attained his position by demonstrating skill and courage as he led his soldiers by example in battle, from the front. He had seen more carnage than he wished to dwell upon. The death of the man on the cross he was guarding was different. The centurion was a man of honour and he had no stomach for the work of this day--the obviously political disposal of a troublesome but innocent man. Keeping a death watch is an intimate duty and whether he wanted it or not he was bound together with this man in a deeply personal way as the hours ticked by and he witnessed his dying agony. But there was something more that drew the ...

Matthew 19:25-26 (New International Version) 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" 26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Who then can?...With man this is impossible...but with God... 2 Corinthians 13:11 (New International Version) 11... Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. I'm thankful that our God doesn't ask the impossible of us. When he tells us, as he does in Matthew 5:48 to "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect," it must be a foregone conclusion that he will be the perfecter. Amy Carmichael, in today's reading from her devotional book, Edges of His Ways, says that "the same fingers that made the blue of the kingfisher's wings, and every lovely thing on earth," are "putting finishing touches to yo...

Isaiah 1:18 (New International Version) 18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. In Genesis 3 it says that God walked in the garden in the cool of the day and although that might have been the morning, I wonder if it was the evening. It's a magical time in a garden, the evening--so peaceful. This evening the breeze whispers in the tree tops. "Sssssssssh," it says softly. Mourning doves coo in gentle tones while other birds twitter and chirp from their resting places. The heavily pregnant poppy heads nod wisely--green orbs soon to unfold into brilliant red--and the peonies bend over in glorious and luxuriant full bloom--creamy white, deep rose and palest delicate pink. On every hand are lovely hidden nooks and crannies. They whisper, "Come; pause--admire--Peace is here." I think that God walks in evening gardens ...

Deuteronomy 30:5-6 (New International Version) 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. Joshua 5:2 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." Joshua 5:9 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. Someone shared with me a few days ago, on the scriptures above. She explained that this was the second generation of the Israelites that had left Egypt and that God was taking away from them, the reproach of the previous generation. The act of circumcision, represented a taking away of the stuff clinging from Egypt--the hearts being peeled, w...

Here in Ontario, the transition from winter to what we call spring resembles a dance with a flirtatious girl who is cold one minute and steamy the next. People dare not put their winter clothes away until at least two consecutive weeks of sweltering weather have passed--for fear that there could yet be a snow storm. Just as the hot weather set in for good this year--the air-conditioning on my car broke down. I tried to do without it--but arriving at meetings feeling hot and crumpled--with a red and shiny face--drove me to the car dealership, especially after an ominous rattling sound set in under the hood. I was relieved to find out that the noise was related to the air-conditioning compressor, but since replacing it is expensive I decided to take a couple of days to consider my options before committing. There was a smell of burning plastic as I drove, but having had the car checked out gave me a sense of security. On Saturday I set out in the heat of the afternoon, for Newmarket, and...

I flopped onto the couch with my laptop, glad to be in the cool of the air-conditioned house. It had been such a hot day. I was checking emails when the doorbell chimed--soft, melodic, Big Ben tones. Opening the beveled glass front door to the heat outside, I found a young man, wearing a baseball cap, shorts and tee shirt--holding a heavy a rucksack. He explained that his job was giving away/installing energy saving equipment for the gas company. He showed me the large I.D. tag that hung from his neck and I was reassured to recognize a familiar business name. He handed me a shower head and tap attachments for bathroom and kitchen--as well as foam water pipe insulation. I thought that perhaps this was a summer job and that he was a university student. He handed me a form to sign for his records and to account for the free equipment handed out. No problem. But there was a second space to sign, confirming that he had installed the equipment. "I have a problem signing this," I sa...

Matthew 13:45-46 (New Living Translation) 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it. Victoria and Tiffany-Amber worked side by side with their grandfather in the garden as he toiled on hands and knees, in the hot sun. He was painstakingly weeding--and they worked away with garden rake and trowel, busy and serious about removing the vestiges of fall and winter. Bringing beauty to this acre of land on which our house has stood for almost nineteen years, is a labour of love for Paul. Every year he finds a reason to plant a few more trees, extend the flower beds, or create another space in which to sit and enjoy nature. As I pulled out of the driveway in my car to go shopping they hardly noticed me leaving, but I carried the picture of the threesome in the garden in my heart. Our home has been such a place of happiness over the years. It has sheltered three ge...

Revelation 13:8 (New International Version) 8 ... the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world As a child, the stories I loved best, often involved a child, or a group of children, finding a way to go back to the past. In one story, a child went to stay in an Elizabethan manor house that had been in her family for centuries. It had a beautiful and fragrant herb garden and a maze. Somehow, through magic that happened only to children, she traveled back in time and had adventures with past generations--from the Elizabethan era, then Cavaliers and Roundheads, and so on. It was fascinating to imagine that this might actually be possible. As an adult, I've pondered the fact that images of events on earth long past, might be traveling to in light to distant stars, or that the stars we see in the sky are actually no longer the way they appear to us, in images that are really of a universe long ago. Time--if it exists for God, doesn't seem to exist in the way we think of it. ...