Your a Blockhead.....

OK you know by the header what this is about. Yes sir , good old Charlie Brown. That , you can't keep me down loser . I say loser but I have never views that way. When I was first introduced to this round headed kid and the peanuts gang , well it hooked me. From Linus,Lucy,Pig Pen ,Snoopy and the rest of the gang . I even have some collectibles . I recall getting a t-shirt from my aunt Betty ,who lived in New York ,  when she came to visit us during summer. It was so cool . We had nothing with Peanuts on it . Still hard to find.

The Christmas special was my first taste . If I recall I would have been 4 the first time I watched it . On a 20 inch black and white T.V .  It became a tradition . Especially knowing that you could only see it when it aired ,we had no VCR's ,no DVD's . So you made sure you knew when it was on our local CBC affiliate. One of our 2 channels and on a good day we might get 3 . So it was very special . My mom would always make sure she would know when it was on so I would not miss it .

Since that time I probably have watched it over 200 times with the advent of VCR's and now DVD's. Yes I own it.Watch it sometime even in summer . I know I'm sick .

That special is very dear to my heart. It has always moved me but one time back when I was between 18-19 it moved me to tears. I had to compose myself . When Charlie Brown calls out ,"Is There Anybody who can tell me what Chroistmas is all about?", and Linus gets up tells him he can tell him and directly quotes the passage from Luke . It shook me . Here I was a tough guy , don't laugh . I listened to hard rock , loved the big bad Bruins etc... I had to go to the bathroom and compose myself . Why did it begin to effect me that way. Looking back on my path to Jesus , God used good old ,rounded head Charlie Brown and Linus the preacher to begin my steps to belief.

But that is the power of the word of God. It is living and active because it is God breathed . Hebrews 4 : [12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart".  The Holy Spirit took that word and began a work .

That is why I'm so thankful in this day and age when children who have no exposer to the truth of Jesus have a mini sermon preached by a blanket carrying kid.  Hopefully one day I will sit with my grand kids and watch it and I will tell them my little story , pray with them and tuck them into bed . God is great is He not .

Circle of Life,Karma ....Yeah Right !

In the Lion king you heard this foolishness. How all things die and its natural and we have to let it go , realizing  its the circle of life .It has it roots in pantheism , all is one , all is "god" .

Let me say this as frank as possible . Take this horrible teaching and cast it in the fires of hell were it has been spawned from. Death is anything but natural . It is like an invader , a thief  , a violent raper of your soul . It takes , it devours and leaves you who are left living in pain .

Having read an blog entry from Denise Spenser , the wife of popular Christian blogger , Michael (also known as the Internet Monk) , I was moved by her candidness. No, he died well , going to be in the arms of Jesus , trite and clichéd stuff. She talked real. It was hard for her to watch her husband fight and waste away , dying just a few months after he was diagnosed with cancer.                              
He was a Christian , a pastor , a husband and father . So why did it have to be so hard , so full of pain? Real questions and honest ones.

I asked those same question when I watched my Mother perish thanks to cancer. Her last months were hard . They were not good and she fought so hard . It was through the cancer she came to trust in Christ as her Saviour but at the time that was of little help near the end. Looking back it is the world of difference but watching the horrors of cancer take its toll , your mind is clouded at the time.

When you watch someone you love dearly ,waste away fighting to live , how does the mantra or karma foolishness work for you ? Well don't be sad its just the grand circle of a cold, indifferent universe . She was nothing more than dust anyway , so be it . Or the more insidious teaching , its all karma . Really? So her suffering is the result of her living wrong and is purging her now , till she will come back as , a bug ,beetle or maybe a human to continue the quest for perfection? This hell spawned teaching will leave you deluded and if your honest , in despair.

Death is not normal. It is not the way its meant to be . We all have a feeling that broken fellowship is wrong.  A person taken away from the role of father,mother,son ,daughter ,husband,wife...etc  Death is an enemy .

Even though God and I had many debates,lets call them that , at the same time over time I began to hear His word . He told me , that the wages of sin is death(Romans 6:23). In Adam we all died , we all sin , no one is perfect . Mom was under that curse as well . He told me even though she came to Christ , Christians  are not immune from pain , from suffering. Read the Bible , who didn't go through some deep waters. Then Jesus words started to sing in my head .
    [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26 ESV)

Then hope began to replace the doubt,anger and frustration. Perhaps for the first time in my life as a believer , I understood what Paul said with more clarity and it drove home to me what Jesus has done.

    [20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-23 ESV)

Jesus took the sin that brings death , both physical and spiritual, on the cross ,so that all who repent and turn to Him will not perish but have eternal life. Death is an enemy and one that will be  destroyed . Although it still claims us , it has lost its sting and the grave has lost its victory. Jesus is risen .

When Jesus stood outside the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus , he wept . from the wording its clear it was not just a tear but deep grief and anguish in His soul . So when we are in storms of life , its alright to lament ,cry out in doubt,fear,frustration . Just read the Psalms.

So even though Jesus wept , He then cried out with aloud voice , Lazarus come out and what happened.He rose . That is our hope that even in death , we will rise. Jesus has paved the way. Our God is not some impersonal force or a aloft"god'. He took on flesh ,he hungered,he cried,he loved his friends and he suffered and died to break the curse of sin . He has risen , He has risen . May we cling to that hope and even though sometimes it feels like a spider thin web , in reality its the strong arms of God in Christ carrying us .

Sometimes People say the Dumbest Things !! For Those smart People!

OK I admit right up front , I should have stayed in school and became a teacher or something along those lines. I didn't and that is what it is . But have you ever heard from someone , well I worked hard in school finished my degree and therefore too bad , you make what you make . Oh really?

Well let me say straight up , good for you . Education is great but I have met just as many people without a degree who have as much smarts as some with a PhD. My grandfather was a very smart man . Could build anything . My Dad is one of the most generous men and forgiving men I have ever known  but only grade 8. I could name many more . My Mom was smart , funny and counseled  more people than any shrink .

My point is what if everyone got that degree. Say hypothetically every person right now wants to be only a engineer. That is everyone . No doctors,teachers,Computer Techs and also no one to pour your coffee , no clerks at your local store , no factory workers , no janitors etc.... what would happen ? The country would cme to a stand still . 

Obtaining an education is a good thing.But it is not a reason  for anyone to become smug about their accomplishments. Plus I have also encountered those who think that those who haven't obtained their level of education deserve whatever they get. I may be partial but my wife is a hair stylist and she worked hard to get her degree. She works hard and loves what she does , but many out there think she is over priced so they go the cheap and these people make a crap load of money. To them I say go stuff it. You like your wages , oh but I deserve it you say . Really , so the rest of us don't deserve to make enough to live .

Yes a Doctor should be paid well but why does a janitor toil hard at making his office clean and fit for you to visit not make a decent wage. I will tell you why? We are a greedy , money grabbing, selfish , self absorbed society . Sinful to the core. Oh we give to causes because its cool but if its the family down the street who are struggling to make ends meet , thats their problem. Pull up the bootstraps or well they didn't get an education , as you drive by in your new car on the way to your cottage. 

Do I sound angry . Yep! Am I frustrated because I cannot get a sniff, even at jobs I know I could do and learn because I don't have a paper . Plus  I simply cannot afford to go back to school right now .

Within the Church this type of thing does not have any place(read James 2). When we come together as one body in Christ there is no room for favorites or bragging. All we have we owe to God. Those God raises up He does so for His glory . We should be known for our generosity, one to another , and to our neighbor . If we have little may we be also content , realizing we are rich in Christ.  

Sometimes ....

I really don't put too much stock in dreams. By that in general I think dreams are just that ,dreams. I usually don't recall most of my dreams,which is probably a good thing.  However the one theme that I recall occurring the most is the end of the world . Even when I was a kid , especially as I hit my teen years , I would sometimes wonder about the world ending. I would think about a asteroid hitting the earth , nuclear war, biological . You name it , I covered them all .

Even the first book I read in my Gideons grade 5 New Testament was Revelation. Long before I believed in the truth of the gospel . So it is no surprise that even as an adult they still haunt my dreams.

The biggest difference as a Christian is you know there will be an ending . It will happen , it will occur . Even  those who doubt God's existence , live  in a delusion and suppress the reality that the world will have an ending even in their  belief system . The sun will basically go dead and all life on earth with it. All of mans accomplishments ultimately will mean nothing.

The ending for those who believe is the epic of all epics .

1 Thessalonians 4:16

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

The trumpet blast was often used to announce the coming of the king . So when God's trumpet sounds that signals the end and then begins with the return of the King of kings.Those who have trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sin will be gathered up , the dead will be raised and those who are still alive will be changed as well . Our bodies will be uncorrupted , we will be like Jesus . 

However the other news is not so good . Those who have rejected Christ and have lived open rebellion will be condemned to hell . Sobering thought. 

[14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

(Revelation 20:14-15 ESV)

Who can read these words and not be moved . The end of all history will happen . The question is for each of us , how do we then live and on what basis do we think we will be in a "better place"? 

Jesus in the Alpha and Omega , are we ready for that day ? Sometimes my dreams tell me I'm not . But I know my standing before a holy God is not based on my good works (which are scarred with sin) or the fact I'm  "good" person(sinner through and through) but on the perfect righteousness of Christ who died and rose again that I might be declared righteous .  That gives me peace .

So even though I still have those dreams , they have a different twist. So I say with John ,

[20] He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 

[21] The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. 

(Revelation 22:20-21 ESV)

No Better .....

I love watching movies . Good movies . Movies are a form of story telling , a visual form . From time began man has told stories . Every culture has stories . The fact we do is because  God has created man in His image and you cannot get a better story teller than God. Imagination is an extension of  the image bearer we are.

In the grand story we see 4 basic themes . Creation , fall , redemption and consummation. What is interesting that even within secular stories these type of themes often play out. We long for the good guys to win , to see evil pay and see a happy ending. Some of the biggest movies in cinematic history have a type of this narrative. Granted they are not explicitly Christian , but often this them is there. Often you have type of Christ figure . One who lays down his life that others might live.

I would argue only the Christian narrative lends itself these type of stories. Those are the types of movies that draw me to them . Nothing can replace the true story of God sending the Son to redeem us , fallen sinners but sometimes a great story can cause you to pause and think .

So without further ado these are some of my favorite moves.
Lord of the Rings - All 3 movies as one. No better. Its moving and is just film making at its finest.
Braveheart - Great epic story of one mans fight against tyranny . Freedom !!!
Tombstone- Amazing western with its gritty style . Tale of loyalty , friendship and redemption
Glory - Excellent tale of the first black battalion in the civil war. Make a grown man cry.
E.T -  Wonderful story of friendship and love. OK I cried ....give me a break . Tissue please.
True Grit- John Wayne is the Duke . Nuff said.
Ben-Hur - Heston in a Bibical epic. Whats not to like.
Jaws- Scared the pants off me. Hey I was only 12.
Planet of the Apes- The ending freaked me out .
Star Wars - Use the Force Luke.
Frankenstein - Boris Karloff is the man.
Chronicle of Narnia(The Lion,The Witch and The Wardrobe) - Great adaptation.
The Omen(1976)- One of the scariest movies I have ever seen  .
The Road - A story of love and sacrifice of a father and son. Dare you not to tear up.
Christmas Carol - Alistair Sims performance is amazing. You will laugh and cry.
Jeremiah Johnson- Rugged wilderness , beautiful scenery and great story.

I could list more but that is a sampling . Movies can be great . They can inspire ,make us laugh,cry ,cheer and scare us. But ultimately I love to hear that true story of Jesus and what He did for me . What a great story and what a marvelous ending it will be for all who repent and trust in Him , the grand storyteller.

Can You Hear It , See It

Today it was a beautiful day . So my oldest son , who is becoming a fine young man , took a drive. We went up and over the our so called mountain , more like a large hill . Then we headed for one of my favorite spots, Scotts Bay . Unlike its local cousin , Halls Harbor , it is not a tourist trap and therefore is much quieter.Although it is a provincial park , its doesn't get the attention or traffic . Halls Harbor has a wonderful restaurant , great lobster but I think over priced Fish and Chips (they are good) but it is often too busy during the summer. Living on the main street in New Minas , the busiest street in our area, I like to find places that are quiet.

In todays age of I-Pods , I-Phones,Cellular , text messaging etc... quiet is lost , noise is the norm. In our homes the TV is on , the kids have their MP3's , constant commotion. We have lost of art of being quiet , of being still .I can still recall walking back through trails and hearing birds sing, the wind play with the trees . The brook would move to a running sound like a symphony of strings instruments .You could hear the sounds around you .Not only the sounds but displays of colors . Wild flowers painting a picture , the sun dancing on water.

Often we are busy for no real reason , other than to be busy. It serves no point. In fact it can cloud our abilities to think about deeper things. Life,death,why are we here and what is the point of it all. When the mind is busy with the trivial , it cannot think.                                                                                                                        


Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God....  Today when I was at Scotts Bay , I paused and listened to the wind , heard the waves touch the shore , heard a sea gull and looked to see clouds paint the sky , the sun dance on the water and this passage of scripture came to mind. For a moment in the quiet I realized the majesty of God , His might and His love for his creation and mankind.  The world around us leaves no stone unturned to the reality of God who created all things .


Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.


God has not left us in the dark . He has placed a symphony of sights and sounds , we only cannot see our creator because we have committed cosmic treason . We love the sounds and sights of sin that darkens and blackens our minds . But God sent the Son . The light of the world.
John 12:46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 


May we stop and listen , look and realize God has come to save and in Christ we can see the world in a whole new way if we will once and a while be still . 

15 Minutes of Shame

It has been said that everyone wants to be noticed . The whole infamous 15 minutes of fame idea. Granted humans being human , we all want to be acknowledged in some fashion . A child looks for approval when he/she does something right. As adults its really no different . At work we like to hear well done over , what have you done. Its a fact.

However it seems human decency has long gone out the window or perhaps its never has been there in the first place. Talk shows are full of people willing to bare all , tell all and leave no stone unturned to get that 15 minutes of prime time. Tabloids at your local grocer are full of this stuff . People lap it up .But I would like to touch on just 2 recent absurd and disturbing events that have been reported.

The first is the tragic death of actor Gary Coleman. He came to fame during his time playing Arnold Jackson on Different Strokes. Gary suffered from a kidney disorder which stunted his growth . Which made him perfect for his role as Arnold. It was a funny show and it did deal with some pretty heavy issues for its day. It ran for 8 seasons. After the show Gary was unable to find consistent work and it has become clear his adoptive parents used his money and left him pretty much poor when he should have been well off . Now with his tragic death ,not only have they come out of the woodwork but his wife or not wife, depending on reports, are all fighting for attention . With his apparent wife allowing pictures to be taken of him hours before his death , when he was still on life support . For what , their 15 seconds of fame and trying to cash in on this tragedy.

The second is the tale of a woman willing eating over 12000 calories a day to become heavier in hopes of getting into the Guinness record books. Even though she has 2 small children ,suffers from type 2 diabetes and other help issues , she is willingly risking her health to try and achieve this record  for what purpose other than her 15 seconds of fame. When millions of children go to bed at night with bloated stomachs from nothing to eat , this is sickening. It is gluttony , plain and simple.

Why are they doing this ? I think it boils down to the very heart of the sin nature in all of us. We want it all,we want it now , we like the attention and the money that may come with it.Then as a society we have become a voyeuristic bunch of peeping toms , peering into the absurd and misery of others. We love ourselves , we want to be first in line .

What Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:2-4 ..."For people will be  lovers of self,  lovers of money, proud,  arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3  heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,  not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless,  swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,.... Does this not describe the society we live in and in reality has always. God's word spoke this truth almost 2000 years ago . The fact today it seems more rampant is because of the access to information thanks to the TV and now the Internet.

May we as Christians remind ourselves that we are called to be servants who regard others above ourselves. That we are to show mercy,love and grace . Taking no delight in anothers misfortune or pursuit of sin.We serve a Lord who lowered Himself so that we might be redeemed . Our character should be marked with all the opposites that Paul listed and if they are not may we ask the Lord examine or hearts and uproot these sins.

For Gary I hope he had trusted in Jesus as his only hope so he may have peace now and for the woman in full blown pursuit of glory of self , I hope the Holy Spirit will convict of her sin and lead her to Christ the fountain of true contentment ,joy and peace.