Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Lord's Prayer - beautifully done by Vance Perry
The beginning's a bit weird, but the rest makes up for that.
I hope you enjoyed this. He has a number of other ones. I have been siting here for almost an hour listening to him and decided to share.
BANABU
Fran
Sunday, February 6, 2011
What is Love?
Despite preaching today on being the light and love of Jesus, I witnessed a scenario that demonstrated that the message had not gotten though to some people. I saw people hurt and attacked by words, by attitudes, by thoughtlessness, by rage, by indifference.
The results of today’s altercation is that one and possibly two people will not return to our church. The result is that those hearing the altercation were also hurt by the pain of those who were attacked.
What does it take to get the message of God to sink in to our hearts? This is not a new problem. It has been around for as long as people have been alive. Jesus’ gave a parable about the seeds sewn, some on rocky ground where they could not take hold, some on shallow ground where they quickly sprouted up and then died, and some on fertile ground where they thrived.
If we can’t make our churches fertile ground, we will lose more and more people. Jesus asked us to love one another. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and your neighbour as yourself.
We all hurt some days. We all fail some days. We all have sorrow and pain. But Jesus told us to gather together in our church families to be healed…..not to be hurt even more. Where is our faith, our love, our compassion, our caring? Where is our support, our willingness to reach out to others, to provide help and instruction? Where is our fellowship? It seems we have closed our doors to those who do not think the way we do, behave the way we do, those who are not like us.
This is not Jesus’ way. He said, Come unto me all those who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. He invited us then to come to him and we, who are his followers, should be inviting those around us to come to him through and with us. Why aren’t we?
Faith makes us whole. Not deeds. I John 4: 7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love”
I John 4: 10-11 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
Yours in love
Fran
P.S. There are five things that you cannot recover in life:
(1) The Stone...........after it's thrown,
(2) The Word................after it's said,
(3) The Occasion......after it's missed, and
(4) The Time.............after it's gone.
(5) A person...............after they die
The results of today’s altercation is that one and possibly two people will not return to our church. The result is that those hearing the altercation were also hurt by the pain of those who were attacked.
What does it take to get the message of God to sink in to our hearts? This is not a new problem. It has been around for as long as people have been alive. Jesus’ gave a parable about the seeds sewn, some on rocky ground where they could not take hold, some on shallow ground where they quickly sprouted up and then died, and some on fertile ground where they thrived.
If we can’t make our churches fertile ground, we will lose more and more people. Jesus asked us to love one another. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and your neighbour as yourself.
We all hurt some days. We all fail some days. We all have sorrow and pain. But Jesus told us to gather together in our church families to be healed…..not to be hurt even more. Where is our faith, our love, our compassion, our caring? Where is our support, our willingness to reach out to others, to provide help and instruction? Where is our fellowship? It seems we have closed our doors to those who do not think the way we do, behave the way we do, those who are not like us.
This is not Jesus’ way. He said, Come unto me all those who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. He invited us then to come to him and we, who are his followers, should be inviting those around us to come to him through and with us. Why aren’t we?
Faith makes us whole. Not deeds. I John 4: 7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love”
I John 4: 10-11 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
Yours in love
Fran
P.S. There are five things that you cannot recover in life:
(1) The Stone...........after it's thrown,
(2) The Word................after it's said,
(3) The Occasion......after it's missed, and
(4) The Time.............after it's gone.
(5) A person...............after they die
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Miracle
A Miracle
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick..and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
" I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago .
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.
"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. "
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child.
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.
Feel free to share this miracle.
May we begin to recognize the small miracles in our daily lives and to be thankful for them.
Have a blessed day
Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick..and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
" I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago .
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.
"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. "
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child.
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.
Feel free to share this miracle.
May we begin to recognize the small miracles in our daily lives and to be thankful for them.
Have a blessed day
Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca
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