Whatever He Says

The news lately is full of reports of racial violence, terrorist attacks and political turmoil all over the world. As footage of snipers shooting police officers played, with furrowed brow, our granddaughter Tippy asked us, "Do you think that now they'll look at changing the gun laws?" A rhetorical question. I explained what I believe--that there is more going on than laws that need to be changed. Something is seriously broken in humanity, and there are spiritual forces at work all over our world. An apostle named Paul wrote about it in a letter to the people in a church in Ephesus, 2000 years ago ( Ephesians 6:12.) These forces can't be battled with guns or argument, but with prayers behind which is God's power to demolish strongholds. ( 2 Corinthians 10.4) Coincidentally, yesterday, Tippy, another young friend, and I, watched, The Twin Towers --the second in a movie series based on the trilogy, Lord of the Rings , by J.R.R. Tolkien. When the wise wizard...

By Tracy Huurman The battle rages on. Light against darkness, clashing like warriors in the fields. The darkness is heavy, oppressive. It smothers the light, tries to choke the life from it. The light dims, flickers...has darkness won? Has the light been snuffed? Has the very breath of life been stolen from the light, never to shine again? The darkness lies heavy, still and unmoving. It's weight is powerful, painful, crushing. Occasionally the darkness pulsates, but it is not a heartbeat, no. For the darkness does not have a heart. Tendrils develop and become entwined and entangled, pulling, tearing, pinching, scratching. The darkness is ever-moving, ever changing, ever torturing. But wait, what is that? A flicker of light? Was it not extinguished? Did the darkness not triumph? No, the light was merely weak, immobilized. The light is slowly gaining strength, burning brighter and stronger every moment.The tendrils of darkness begin to lose their grip. They become disentangled. As th...

I was at Becca's soccer game the other night. It was a little oasis for me, Daddy home with the boys and me on the bench alone, watching...and to my surprise listening. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You"(Is 26:3 NKJV). Is that You Lord? The voice was quiet, but a firm prompt to listen. Then the prompt took shape as I watched the game. The children were running hither and yon, kicking the ball like mad, dashing to the next position and then the ball came at them again. The field seemed full of shots, in every direction, as two games were played at separate ends. It could be overwhelming to the onlooker, or the player, if you weren't prepared. It felt like my life...tested, tempted, attacked from every angle, like the enemy was using me for target practice. Yet in this quiet place on the bench, I heard His voice again, "Do you trust Me?" Yes Jesus. "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from...

She was beautiful, this young friend I hadn't seen for a while. It took me a moment or two to realize what it was--ah, yes, the tan. In the middle of a Canadian winter, she glowed. Her blue eyes popped against her golden complexion, emphasized by the turquoise and silver jewelry she wore. She wore her blond hi-lighted curls in a short bob that framed her lovely features. She had arrived back home from a tropical island vacation just that morning and she bubbled over with descriptions of the resort, the wonderful time of reconnecting with children --rebuilding intimacy and relationships that can falter and crack in the pressure and rush of our north American lifestyle. The food, the horseback riding, the other recreational activities all sounded wonderful. She spoke of the staff at the resort, the men showering flirtatious attention and compliments on the female guests, including herself and her daughters. Not wanting to miss a minute of this time away, she was up every morning earl...

2 Chronicles 6:18 (New International Version) 18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men?... Exodus 25:8 (New International Version) 8 " Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. I read the verses above in this morning's Daily Light and they caused me wonderment as they always do; these verses that speak of God wishing to camp out with us. But yes, that is exactly what they say--that he isn't far away and distant; he really wants to be with us. Sanctuary; a sacred place; I thought about the need to make that place for God in my life daily. We have to create space for him, a place set aside and then guard it, for it will be assailed by all the forces of hell. They know well that when we linger with God, in intimate communion, we are transformed and strongholds are broken through prayer rising to heaven. Making room for him; how that reminds me of Bethelehem. We ought to be throwing open the doors, inviting him in and anointing his head...

The gentle beeping of my alarm clock wakes me. It's 6.30 a.m., the time when part of me planned to be up. But another part--"the flesh"--I believe it's called, prefers to linger beneath the warm duvet, listening to the sounds of the waking day. I hear the twittering of birds outside the window, and upstairs, above my mother's flat, I hear her energetic neighbour, Chris, already up and about. My thoughts drift back to the docu-drama I watched last night before going to bed. It was called The Relief of Belsen, and used "scripted events, testimony and news footage to depict the struggle of the British led medical team to rescue the starving inmates of camp Bergen Belsen. In April 1945, a British ambulance unit was diverted from the frontline to handle a crisis in enemy territory--an outbreak of typhus in a prison camp. Amid the continuing war a team of volunteers worked to save the starving and dying of Belsen." I thought of the connection with the book I...

I was talking with a friend today, who shares a love of reading. We tend to like the same kinds of books--books that challenge us and make us think about things in new ways--so I'm always interested in what he's reading and often go out and buy that book because I know I'll love it. So what he's reading now is, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us by Larry Osborne. The conversation got around to books because we were talking about sin and the fact that we are all capable of self deception and sin. The writer of this book, he said, talked about how sin grows in secret places, like fungus in the dark and damp. He continued to share how the author spoke of the inadequacy of accountability groups because you can lie to them. He said he tries instead, to live as much of his life as possible, out in open places where he can be seen, because for him, that is safety. I thing there's much wisdom in those words. In some ways I've done t...

Isaiah 6:1-8 (The Message) by Eugene H. Peterson Holy, Holy, Holy! 1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other, Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies. His bright glory fills the whole earth.The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said, "Doom! It's Doomsday! I'm as good as dead!Every word I've ever spoken is tainted— blasphemous even! And the people I live with talk the same way, using words that corrupt and desecrate. And here I've looked God in the face! The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies! "Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mout...