Bitter Cold

Scripture of the day
Galatians 5:24 - Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

I would be lying if I said I was a perfect Christian. In fact, I struggle daily with impure thoughts, blurting out something inappropriate or just being plain selfish or greedy.

I wish I could say that at the moment I became a Christian, I simply asked for forgiveness, nailed my passions and desires on the cross, and never had to deal with sin again.

Perhaps that's what some Christians have experienced, but that's not me. For me, it's a daily grind, a battle that tires me out at times but one I know I can be victorious.

I've been to many churches and sin still follows. I've cried out to God at various times which He has comforted me as the devil was close by watching me struggle. I even went to Bible school but that didn't solve all my problems, but left there with more questions than answers.

Life will never be perfect until we are with Jesus. Temptation and trials will all be a part of life until death. There will be times we succeed in overcoming a sin where we truly nail it to the cross and crucify it. Sometimes it's easy to turn away. Other sins take longer, some years of struggle.

I truly believe in this verse, For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13

We must turn away from our sins. And through Jesus Christ, who gives us strength, we can be victorious over any sin.

The greatest obstacle I've encountered when trying to stop sinning, is letting go of this world. You will never have self-control when you have one foot in this world and one with Jesus. Divided we fall, united we stand.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending us your son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins and that he rose victoriously after three days. Give me the strength to let go of my life, so that I may be victorious over my sins. May I nail those sins to the cross and crucify them there. I pray this in the name of Jesus. 

Amen.

Ice Fishing on Dried Meat Lake

Scripture of the day
Matthew 7:24 - Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.

I've never seen the Netflix Original, House of Cards, but I've built plenty of house of cards with a deck of cards. The process was fun and often tried to make a bigger house than my siblings.

As a young boy, I remember grabbing the deck of cards off of my grandma's table and then heading to the living room floor to attempt to build a skyscraper. In reality, I ended up with a house of only three or four stories high.

The problem: I was on carpet. The floor was soft and any pressure nearby would result in my cards crumbling to the floor. As well, any gentle wind from someone walking by would also destroy my masterpiece resulting in much grief and frustration as the process had to be started from scratch.

The solution: Build on the table. It was only when I found a firm, stable surface that I was able to build higher. Not only that, but was often protected from breezes as well. I also found the more time I took, the more stable my house of cards were.

As all wisdom comes from God, Jesus reminds us we are to listen and follow Him to live a strong Christian life.

Our solid foundation should come from a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. It should be built on prayer and regular reading of God's word. And we need to live out the truths God has revealed to us.

If Jesus is our rock and foundation, we will not waiver when violent storms in our lives approach us. We will not crumble with the weight of the world but stand strong. And we won't make hasty mistakes in the heat of the moment.

The world will offer many solutions which are not good for us. They promise quick fixes, get rich quick schemes or instant relief. But nothing compares to a strong, Christ filled life built on the wisdom of God.

Building a strong foundation takes time. At times it can be hard work. It can take years of one's life to realize and understand that the best way is often the longer and more difficult road to take. But in the end we are stronger and better prepared for whatever comes our way.

Let us build our lives on Jesus Christ, the one and only true and solid foundation.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your wisdom that only comes from you. Give us the strength to listen and follow you so that we may build strong foundations in our life. Thank you for your Word that we can trust as truth and live our lives by. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Frosty Ski Trail

Scripture of the day
James 1:17 - Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

When I look up at the stars and see the Milky Way, I'm amazed at how many stars are up there. And because we live inside this galaxy, we only see a small part of it.

Our galaxy consists of roughly 100-400 billion stars. No one knows for sure exactly how many stars (suns) there are but we know that its huge!

Just consider our sun for a moment. This star is about 150 million kilometers away from Earth. That's far! But God put it exactly that far away from Earth to give us just the right amount of light and heat. It is perfect for life.

The nearest star to us is about 4.5 lightyears away. Meaning, if we wanted to visit that nearest star in the Milky Way we would have to travel at the speed of light for 4.5 years.

That is how vast space is. But let me add one more thing to the mix.

The Milky Way is only one galaxy of up to an estimated 2 trillion galaxies in our universe. Each with their own plethora of suns, planets and moons. And far beyond the reach of anyone on Earth.

It makes us feel pretty small and insignificant until you realize one thing. There is no other life anywhere in the universe except on planet Earth. None.

That makes us special. Special in the fact that God created us in His image, He loves us and provides us with all of our needs.

When we see how good and perfect our planet really is in its place in space, we can know this is from God. He put all the lights in the heavens and how marvelous they are.

God does not change. Only out perceptions of Him do. He is the same loving God in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament. Sure we make see different characteristics of God as He interacted with different people throughout history, but God does not change.

God has an agenda and it's laid out in the Bible. He wants all of His creation to turn away from their sin and love and worship Him. He also wants us to love one another with the same love that we experience from God.

It is a perfect plan and those that follow it will be blessed abundantly and have a place in heaven with God. Jesus is the only truth, way and life.

Thank you Father for all of the perfect and good things you have poured out to us on Earth. I thank you in the name of your son, our saviour, Jesus Christ.

Morning Fog Over The Valley

Scripture of the day
Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

When Jesus was sentenced to death, the process was not a fast one but rather a long torturous one. He was first whipped and beaten and was made to carry, pull and drag the very thing that would kill him - the cross.

The verse today can be divided into three parts: give up your own way, take up our cross and to follow Jesus.

What does it mean to give up our own way? Some other versions say to deny yourself, but really what needs to be done is a self evaluation. We need to ask ourselves what things in our life prevent us from a relationship with God. It's ultimately sin. 

But sin can take many forms: lust, greed, pride, murder or even not doing what we think we should be doing is a sin (James 4:17).

So we need to change our ways. We need to deny ourselves of sin, temptation and distractions of God. We need to live a life that is not worldly but different then everyone else. We all struggle with something but we all need to address our own struggles (not always everyone else's). 

We need to repent (actually turn away) from our own sin no matter what the cost. It is only then we can move forward.

Secondly we need to take up our cross. Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross by dying for our sins. We need to carry out daily, put to rest any sinful thoughts that creep up. But as well, we need to live sacrificially. We need to help others at the expense of our own desires. It's very tough to do and I fail often at this.

Lastly we need to follow Jesus. We ultimately have to come to realize our life is not our own, but belongs to Jesus. He gives us everything we need. He will not forsake us. And as he gave His life for us, we must also give our life for Him (completely).

Living as a follower isn't an easy life but a life worth living. And filled with joy, blessings and peace even in the most difficult times.

Railway To The Unknown

Scripture of the day
Matthew 11:15 - Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

When I first worked for a large department store chain, I had the opportunity to travel to a few other stores and help them out which in turn helped me gain some valuable experience.

One of the first stores I was able to visit was in Yellowknife, N.W.T. and I was thrilled. I had never been that far up north and was excited about what I would see.

That morning, I woke up and checked my ticket for departure time. I decided to go to the mall before the flight and get a haircut.  After my haircut, I went to eat at the food court.

It was fun to be at the mall and soon after lunch I thought, hmmm...why don't I do a bit of shopping. So in and out of department stores I go, buying shoes, pants and shirts. Life was good.

I then sat down for a rest. Then in a split second my heart sank. I totally forgot about the flight. I was engrossed by shopping at the mall, that I lost track of time.

I quickly grabbed my ticket out of my jacket and then looked at my watch and realized I was too late. I missed my flight. My heart sank even further and I started to panic.

What was I going to do? How could I tell my boss I didn't make the flight after the company paid for my ticket? I basically felt my whole life start to crumble in an instant.

And the whole reason was because I wasn't paying attention to what I needed to do. I was totally preoccupied with my wants, that I totally neglected to focus on my need to be ready to go.

To make a long story shorter, I was able to get the next flight out and make it to Yellowknife. All ended up ok.

But there is one trip coming up for everyone and no one knows the exact day or hour it will happen.

Every day that passes is one day closer to when Jesus will gather His flock and take them back home. The trip will happen in a twinkling of an eye and you won't want to miss this one!

So how do we prepare to be with Jesus when we don't know when He's coming? Simple...we don't prepare for when He comes, we prepare for WHENEVER He comes.

This means our minds and our hearts must be ready at all times. We do need to listen AND understand. Many will listen to the Good News and turn away and do their own thing. They heard what God requires from us but truly don't understand or want to understand.

The consequences of not listening and understanding may not have sunken in. Hell is real but I've heard far too often from people saying, "God loves everyone so much that He wouldn't put anyone in such a place. I'll just continue on living as a good person and I'll get to heaven".

Those half truths are a destiny to eternal suffering in Hell. Yes, God loves everyone but he requires us to live for Him, not ourselves. In this time when many have an abundance, we don't want to share our lives with God.

We don't want to give up anything. Our unhealthy relationships. Our material possessions. Our money. Out sin. Or most importantly our own will. If we give, we expect something in return; a tax receipt, recognition or payment back. 

We don't forgive as we should. We don't extend grace to others as God has extended to us and our broken lives. We are afraid to tell others about Jesus in fear of what will happen to us.

Those who have heard and rejected Jesus are eternally lost unless they come back. Those who do know Jesus and are ashamed to share Him to others, may not really understand what is required of them and may share the same fate as unbelievers.

It's simply not enough to know Jesus. We must worship Him as Lord, lift Him up to everyone as Lord and give Him all honour and praise as the King of Kings.

If we want a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, and if we have ears to listen, then let us hear AND understand the true Good News of Jesus Christ.

By-the-Lake Park

Scripture of the day
Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23 - The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

If I have a choice between hymns and contemporary Christian music, I'll always take hymns. I'm not sure if it's because I grew up singing those in church or because of the humble beginnings that most often these hymns were written in.

One of my favourite hymns is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". Knowing each day is a new day and that God's faithful love and mercy reach out to me gives me peace to start the day.

I know the stresses in life can sometimes overtake us. We can feel overwhelmed and at times helpless. There are obstacles that we feel we simply cannot budge or mountains too high to climb.

But God is with us every step we take. He will carry us when we are too weak and He will lift us if we can't reach the next rung on the ladder of life. 

God is faithful. His love endures forever and His mercies begin afresh each morning. That is God's promise I will keep close to my heart each day.

Old Homestead

Scripture of the day
Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

When I was a kid in school there was a lot of gossip running around. You would often hear people start a conversation with the words, ''Did you hear..." or "Can you believe..." and then end with something about someone.

And then that kid would tell someone else and so on. The story would usually get embellished or twisted every time it was spoken. I hate to admit it, but I also participated in gossip when I was in school. 

As one matures, you tend to have very little faith in gossip. It's probably because most gossip or rumours contain half truths and are not good news.

But there is one truth that builds faith and can be accurately shared and quoted time and time again, that is, hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ that we find in the Bible.

When we hear this Good News from a sermon or a conversation from another believer, it builds our faith. It's vital to hear the Good News regularly.

You may have heard the phrases, "exercise your faith" or "stretch your faith" or "grow your faith". We can think of our faith like a muscle.

When we exercise our muscles they become stronger. Like our muscles, our faith will become stronger the more we exercise our faith.

So how does one exercise their faith? Simply by hearing, reading and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. As we exercise our faith, it grows and stretches and the need to share it with others becomes greater and greater.

May we seek the Good News daily so that we may grow in God's Kingdom and share His love with others.

Scenic View of Dried Meat Lake

Scripture of the day
Psalm 130:5 - I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Isn't wonderful to sit in anticipation for a sunrise? That's what I did in the photo above. I drove to this lookout point and eagerly awaited the sun coming up. 

As I waited the cool blue sky started  showing signs of orange, red and gold. And then in a moment, a fiery ball from the heavens started to rise over the horizon. In my mind, the experience was more precious than gold.

Our waiting expectantly on the Lord should also be met with as much eager anticipation and gratefulness. Another version of the Bible uses the words ''counting on" instead of "wait".

We CAN count on the Lord! Just as we wait for the sun to rise, we should have the faith to know we can wait and count on the Lord.

Until that moment God takes us into heaven, there is still work that He is doing in all of us. That means we can all count on Him to work for the good in our lives. 

There may be times we have to wait longer than others. But we can be rest assured, through the hope of His word, that he will look out for our best interests when the time is right.

Camrose Railway Museum

Scripture of the day
Jeremiah 17:7 - But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

When times in life get difficult, I have two options: I can either put my hope and confidence in God or I can choose my own path based on my own understanding.

The latter is often not comforting and can lead to more trouble and heartache. But when you set your eyes on Jesus, miraculous things will happen.

When we used to live by a lake, we would often take our daughter down so she could swim or splash around. The water was clear and the sand was fine. But there were spots in certain areas where the sand would build up just under the top of the water.

"Look dad," my daughter would exclaim, "I'm walking on water!" And sure enough it DID look like she was actually walking on water when in reality it was just on the sand beneath the water.

I remember in Matthew 14:22-33 when Jesus walked on water and the called out Peter to join him. As Peter climbed out of the boat and onto the wavy water he locked his eyes on Jesus. Peter was walking on water toward Jesus. It was only when he started to hear the wind and look at the waves he began to sink.

"Lord save me!" Peter cried out. Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed Peter and asked, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Let us be reminded of what happens when we lose focus and try to live life by ourselves. When our eyes are upon Jesus, when our hope and confidence is in the Lord and when we truly trust God we will be blessed.

Sunset Under Golden Jubilee Park

Scripture of the day
James 1:5 - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Sometimes we think we are smarter and wiser than God. We do our own thing without thinking about the consequences or how it affects others.

When I look back at my life I see all of the foolish things I did in my life. Mistakes that not only hurt me and others but also led me away from a more blessed life with God.

In order to avoid many of the pitfalls in life we need to recognize at few truths.

1) All wisdom comes from God (Proverbs 2:6) Mankind thinks they are wise but that wisdom comes from God.

2) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) Unless there is a healthy fear of God, you will not humble yourself to listen to Him. You will choose your own path that most often will lead to self-desruction.

3) If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. (James 1:5) All we need when we are in difficult situations is to humbly ask God for his wisdom. He will not turn us away but rather generously give us the right course of action.

God loves every one of us and wants the very best things for us. He doesn't want harm to come our way but rather for us to succeed in life. We just need to listen and act on God's wisdom. His plans for our life is based on His wisdom.

Let us look in Jeremiah 29:11 at God's promise for our lives when He says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Beautiful Sunrise

Scripture of the day
1 John 5:14 - And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

There are times when I pray that I feel like God's not listening. I'll pray for healing for someone or a job and hear nothing. Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months. Still nothing.

So I start to think, am I praying for the right thing? Do I have enough faith? Is God even hearing my prayers?

When I pray, I have to check my motives. I have to ask myself these questions: Am I praying for God's will or my selfish desires? Will this please God or are my prayers only to please me? Am I praying with all my heart or just muttering words under my breath? Am I thankful in life through the difficult times or bitter?

The Bible assures us that God indeed hears our prayers when what we ask pleases him. We are also to pray with thanksgiving in our hearts (Philippians 4:6), to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and to pray believing we have received what we prayed for (John 14:13).

We know God loves us. He is faithful and generous. He wants the very best for us and wants us to follow His will. May we humbly pray to our Father all of our requests in Jesus name and believe our prayers will be heard and answered in His time according to His will.