Don’t Feed the Beggars!!!

Oh boy…the bleeding-hearts are going to get me now…


I see it every Friday night, when I go street preaching. Someone will hear me preaching the Gospel, feel some measure of conviction and will desperately look around for a way out. The way out usually comes in the form of a filthy, alcohol smelling, frost bitten man sitting on the sidewalk begging for money. The “someone” then makes his way to the panhandler, gives him some change, and then feels much better about himself. He thinks:

-I’m not a bad person! Look at how compassionate and caring I am! If there is a God to answer to, this will score me some points.

The beggar gladly accepts the money and will sometimes feed the “someone’s” false sense of justification by giving a heartfelt:

-God bless you man!

Fast forward a few hours, and who do I see walking down the street, drunk (or doped) out of his mind on cheap wine (or bad drugs)? You got it! The beggar.

It is time that North Americans realize that we are not a poor country, and the people who call themselves poor here, are incredibly rich compared to their counterparts in the rest of the world. The sad fact of the matter is, most beggars in our streets (I say most, there are rare exceptions) are there because of addiction and wickedness, not because of some bad luck or some other sob story.

Another thing we need to realize is that despite their addictions and wickedness, THEY ARE LOOKED AFTER! I’ve dealt with a lot of homeless/street folks in my ministry, and let me affirm, I have yet to have met one who weighed less than myself. How can this be? Because the “Mission” down the street feeds, clothes, and provides shelter for them.

Don’t be a fool. Don’t supply funds for these people self-destruction. It would be sin to do so.

It's a boy!!!!

This is our new, beautiful little boy!!! He was born on December 27, at 4:34 am. He weighs 8 pounds and 12 oz. and has a good amount of dark brown hair. Twinklemoose and our little prince are doing fine! My sweet half will most likely give you all the details in a future post, so stay tuned!

Medical and Psychological Risks???

Man! pregnancies sure aren't what they use to be!!!

You won't see me blog about abortion often. Why? Because the whole thing drives me crazy. For example, you remember that guy who went around shooting abortion doctors a few years ago? Well, though I knew that such a response was wrong (vengeance is the Lord's, not man's), I could so understand his reasoning and felt a large sense of sympathy for him. Some of you may think this to be "extreme" but consider this: if you saw a man chopping up a living, breathing, 5-day-old baby with medical tools, would you not be horrified? Would you not feel justified to take the monster out?

In my country, we can hack and infant out of his/her mother's womb at any point during her pregnancy.

Anyway, I read this article, that appeared on the CBC news. Here are some excerpts of the abomination that just took place in one of my country's provinces:


"Manitoba violated the rights of two women who paid for private abortions, a court in the province has ruled, opening up the possibility that others who paid for private medical procedures could sue for compensation."

"A Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled on Thursday that the province's funding system violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms because the women felt they had to pay for a medically necessary procedure."

"The women had each tried to get an abortion in a publicly funded facility, but faced significant delays that they felt would pose medical and psychological risks. Instead, they paid fees to have the procedures at a private clinic."


None of this really surprises me. My country has gone so far down the tubes in a spiritual sense, that it takes a whole lot to get me truly surprised at its wickedness. But one thing did catch my eye in this article; it's in the third paragraph. Did you spot it?

The women "felt" that not having a quick abortion would "pose medical and psychological risks". I would find this phrase quite hilarious, if we weren't talking about something so macabre. My first gripe is, how did these ladies "self-diagnose" themselves as being proned to "medical risks". You did catch that right? No doctor told them they were under "medical risk", "they felt" they were.

My second gripe is this "psychological risk" thing. We all know what we are talking about here; these ladies weren't afraid of becoming schizophrenic, or suffering some other kind of mental illness. They were afraid of guilt. That's right guilt. If too much time went by, maybe someone would have noticed a belly appearing, or worse still, maybe the ladies themselves would have felt the little one moving inside her; then, there would be no denying the wicked murder they were planning to commit.

Guilt is not a psychological problem; it is a natural reaction to wickedness and iniquity. The fact that our wicked courts has vindicated these women's "rights" to murder their infants, and the fact that they got their quick abortions to side-step the guilt of their sin, in the end, really doesn't change much though. The blood of their innocent children cries out to God, and, save the grace of God alone, they will have their day in the hands of a very angry God.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6: 7)

"For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10: 30-31)

This Week's Bible Readings

Onward and forward...

Here are the daily Bible passages to be read as we continue to "Read Through the Bible in One Year":


Monday: Leviticus 9-12; Hebrews 4

Tuesday: Leviticus 13-14; Hebrews 5

Wednesday: Leviticus 15-16; Hebrews 6

Thursday: Leviticus 17-18; Hebrews 7

Friday: Leviticus 19-20; Hebrews 8

Saturday: Leviticus 21-22; Hebrews 9

Sunday: Leviticus 23-24; Hebrews 10


(Again, if anyone else wants to join our reading club, you are more than welcome. If you have any comments on the weeks readings, leave it in the comment box related to this post.)


Good reading, have a good week in the Lord, and Happy New Year!

Well...We're On Stand-by Over Here.

the wait is killing me...

We're down to the last week. In 7 days, we will arrive at my wife's due date.

We had an appointment with our midwife yesterday and we were told that it could be any day now. She offered to speed things along, but both my wife and I would like to have a bit of space between our daughter's birthday (Christmas Eve) and the birth of #3.

I must say, now that we are so close, I'm really looking forward to meeting the little boy/girl. We've got some names picked, we're pretty sure about the "girl"name; but the boy name, well, let's just say we're still in negotiation.

I'll keep you all posted...


Take care and God bless,

So...what kind of Christmas are you having?

Actions speak louder than words...

Well, Christmas is closing in fast, and again, this year, I'm weighing it's spiritual profit. For close to a decade now, I've been doing this. And every year, I pretty much come to the same conclusion: quite unprofitable.

Every Christmas, we are inundated with gifts we do not need; we are made chief gluttons with expensive food and drink; we become pros at idle talk (with unbelieving family members and friends); we participate in fables (Santa Clause for example) and other pagan rituals that neither glorifies God, nor profits our souls. And not only does it not profit our souls, it doesn't profit our children.

You think about this now. What is foremost on the minds of your children of Christmas? Christ, or Santa? What do they run to? The Bible or the Christmas tree and other decorations? What do they most want? To enjoy fellowship with their family, or to get the goodies (gifts, candy...etc).

Now contrary to what you might think, I am not saying we should take a rigid stand against Christmas. Why? Two reasons. The first: Christmas can be profitable, if done properly. If the focus of Christmas is actually on Christ, if the fellowship with the family is actually to be a witness to them (and to know when to leave), if the focus is actually on giving (and what I mean here is not giving to someone who already has everything he/she needs, but actually giving where it counts), then Christmas can indeed be quite profitable. Second reason: to try and isolate yourself from Christmas, in North American culture at least, is like trying to keep the tide from coming in. You can try, but you're going to fail; and the trouble you will generate amongst your friends and family just isn't worth it in my opinion.

So my point: most Christians mix the "pagan Christmas" with the "Christian Christmas" and the end result is usually far more pagan than Christian.

Here are a few suggestion I've been thinking about to help make my Christmas a truly Christian one:

1)- Have a family devotion around the subject of the Incarnation. You could study the 2 first chapters of Luke.

2)- Give more to those who are in need than to those who have no need. There are brothers and sisters in the Lord out there who could do with things like rice, clothing, housing...etc. No one NEEDS an X-Box game.

3)- Lose the pagan rituals. Kiss the tree goodbye. Say "adios" to the mistletoe! Get rid of Santa. These things takes up space in your children minds, space that should rather be filled with the things of God. The one who knows if children "have been naughty or nice" is the Lord Jesus Christ, not Santa.

4)- Carefully pray to God about family functions (as in parties and reunions). If the gathering is evil, don't go. If it is proper, go and be a witness in word and action to your family and friends. And if things go from proper to wicked while you are there, TAKE A STAND and GET OUT!!! Don't go along with it.

5)- Fast. You heard me, take a stand against gluttony and fast! Now, I'm not saying fast all of Christmas, but fast from morning to dinner time. Have a good dinner, and leave it at that. None of this eating from 8am to 10pm. Discipline!

These are but a few things I've been considering in the past few weeks. I already practice some of them, but I'm going to try to get serious about some of the others.

And with that, brothers and sisters, have a blessed Christian Christmas,


Your friend,

Rand

This Week's Bible Readings

finishing up 2 more books of the Bible this week!

Here are the daily Bible passages to be read as we continue to "Read Through the Bible in One Year":

Monday: Exodus 33-36; Romans13

Tuesday: Exodus 37-38; Romans 14

Wednesday: Exodus 39-40; Romans 15

Thursday: Leviticus 1-2; Romans 16

Friday: Leviticus 3-4; Hebrews 1

Saturday: Leviticus 5-6; Hebrews 2

Sunday: Leviticus 7-8; Hebrews 3


(Again, if anyone else wants to join our reading club, you are more than welcome. If you have any comments on the weeks readings, leave it in the comment box related to this post.)

Good reading, have a good week in the Lord, and Merry Christmas!

Friday Night Notes

It's Christmas time...even in the heathen world...

Well, it was bitterly cold and my partner had to leave early, but I managed to preach for a couple of hours regardless. Thank you Lord! It was a pretty quiet night: a few mockers, a few hard hearts, and thankfully, a few souls who showed interest in the gospel message.

My chief observation last night: the terrible wickedness of not being thankful to God. There I was preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (with an emphasis on the Incarnation, since Christmas is so close), people walking by me with bags full of food, gifts, expensive drinks (wine and strong drink), and for the most part, they showed faces of disgust to gospel. God gave them so much prosperity, so many riches, and the response is a deep loathing for His Person. This verse came immediately to mind:

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1:21)

So anyways, after returning home, I was feeling a little down over all this, and then in my Scripture readings yesterday, I read this:

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:13-17)

After reading those words, my spirits were raised and I and my "beautiful feet" went up to bed for a well deserved rest.

Hee hee!

A Plea for Fundamentalism

how serious are you about The Faith?

Fundamentalism: A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

This definition, taken from the "American Heritage Dictionary", draws a pretty clear picture; and for most, the picture isn't too attractive. The first thing people today think about when they hear "fundamentalism" is usually "Islamic fundamentalism" and the terrorism associated with it; which explains the stigma associated with fundamentalism. Unfortunately, in this particular case, the problem isn't with fundamentalism, but rather with Islam. You see the thing about fundamentalism is that the fundamentalist is either "fundamentally right", or "fundamentally wrong". If a person errs in the fundamentals (like in the case of Islam), everything that is based on that foundation will be wrong.

Now as born-again Christians, we have THE TRUTH, the Word of the Living God: the Bible. That is our foundation, our "fundamentals". The Lord Jesus Christ even made it unbelievably easy for us by summarizing the fundamentals of the Christian faith in two simple commandments:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22: 37-39)

No room for "jihad", suicide bombings, or plane hijackings here. These are the fundamentals of the Christian fundamentalist; he loves God with everything he's got, and he loves and cares for his neighbour as himself.

Now the question is: are you a Christian fundamentalist? Is it the God of the Bible + nothing for you? Do you make it a point, in your life, to glorify God in all you do and all you say? Do you love your neighbour as yourself? Do you love him enough to be a witness to him? To be there when he needs a helping hand?

The fact of the matter is most Christians today (and this is a personal observation), aren't fundamentalists. They're not even close.

Oh! they love God enough to go to the Lord's Day morning service, but you'll never see them darken the door posts of the church for the evening service or the mid-week prayer meeting/bible study. They love God enough to stay away from pornography and drugs, but they see no problem with watching R-rated movies (for violence, nudity, coarse language...etc), and giving up the "pubs" with the buddies is completely out of the question (even if one doesn't drink to the point of drunkenness, "bars" and "pubs" are no place for God's children).

And as far as "loving their neighbours" is concerned, they'll be there for them in times of trouble, to give a helping hand, but for the most part, it's the "don't bug me, I won't bug you" attitude. Many Christians don't even bother sharing the gospel with their neighbours for fear of ridicule or persecution (this is probably the biggest lack of caring and love...Withholding the gospel that could save them).

Most Christians know for a fact that the church was in much better shape 50-60 years ago, and that is why so many want the old days again. The problem is, they want the "old days", but they don't want the "old ways". Wasn't so long ago that a Christian didn't watch Hollywood's filth at the cinemas; wasn't too long ago, the Christian influence in the US was so strong, they actually outlawed alcohol and the bars/pubs that supplied the drunkards; wasn't too long ago that Christians didn't shop or do business on the Lord's Day, they'd rather keep the day holy unto the Lord. These are but a few examples of the differences in attitude between the Christian in the days when the church was strong, and the "modern" day Christian.

So, I ask again: are you a fundamentalist?

Labels: Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, Holiness

This Week's Bible Readings

What a fun time I'm having with this...

Here are the daily Bible passages to be read as we continue to "Read Through the Bible in One Year":

Monday: Exodus 16-20

Tuesday: Exodus 21-22; Romans 7

Wednesday: Exodus 23-24; Romans 8

Thursday: Exodus 25-26; Romans 9

Friday: Exodus 27-28; Romans 10

Saturday: Exodus 29-30; Romans 11

Sunday: Exodus 31-32; Romans 12


(Again, if anyone else wants to join our reading club, you are more than welcome. If you have any comments on the weeks readings, leave it in the comment box related to this post.)


Take care, and good reading, and have a good week in the Lord!

Friday Night Notes

like preaching in a ghost town...

Well tonight's street preaching was a first! We actually went out preaching in the middle of a blizzard!!!

The weather kept alot of people away from the downtown area so things were pretty quiet tonight. We passed out a little literature, carried the gospel signs around a bit, and preached from our usual corner...God was glorified. One funny moment: a man came out of a bar to smoke a cigarette and caught a glimpse of my gospel sign.

"What does your sign say?", he inquired.

So I let him read Romans 6:23. He replied:

"Well, I'm an atheist, so there!"

And with lightning speed, I replied:

"Well sir, you just keep drinking the way you do, and smoking those cigarettes, and soon enough, you'll no longer be an atheist!"

The man just snickered and I was on my way.

On my way back home, I took a few minutes to just observe the snowfall. It was quite a sight. God does all things well, and beautiful.

Later,

Woe Canada!

Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah...

Well, pretty much everyone in this country saw this coming. Canada is now poised to become only the third country in the world to allow "homosexual marriage". Just another step down in the short history of Canada.

Now I'm not going to whine about the need for a referendum on the issue. I'm not going to pretend that this is all due to the lobbying of a minority. The fact of the matter is this: Canada will now be redefining marriage because the majority of Canadians do not care about the God of the Bible, and care much less about His commandments.

The Bible is clear on the issue of homosexuality. In Genesis 19 , the Lord incinerated 2 cities because of, among other things, the rampant homosexuality in both cities. In the civil Law of Israel, which God handed down to Moses, God's hatred of homosexuality was made clear in that the Lord calls homosexuals an ABOMINATION (Leviticus 18:22) and gays were to be cut off (killed) from the families of Israel (Leviticus 20:13).

Going against the notion that God was different in the Old Testament, the New Testament echoes God's judgement against homosexuality. Romans 1: 26-27 condemns both male and female homosexuality; 1 Corinthians 6:9 makes it clear that NOT ONE homosexual will inherit the kingdom of God; and finally 1 Timothy 1:9-10 make it clear that the Law of God will, one day, condemn homosexuals.

And let us be CLEAR: MARRIAGE is an institution created by GOD, and it is the UNION OF ONE MAN WITH ONE WOMAN (Genesis 2:24).


The Bible says:

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)

"The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. (Proverbs 3:33)


Canada has forgotten the Lord it's God, that's why most Canadians are on their way to Hell. Canada is a house filled with the wicked and godless, and that is why we are cursed. Canada has sown evil, and is therefore reaping evil (Galatians 6:7).

Am I throwing in the towel? Am I giving up on my country and my kinsmen? Perish the thought! Acknowledging the sin of my land is not equal to "giving up". In Ezra 9, Ezra saw the sin of his people and "rent his clothes, plucked out his hair, weeped, and offered confession and supplication unto the Lord for his people. Ezra acknowledge the fact that the judgement of the Lord would come against Israel's sin, and it was upon that basis that he ministered.

We Canadians need to take a page out of Ezra's book. We like to think pretty highly of ourselves up here, but the fact is we are spiritually naked and bankrupt, and it's time we recognized it.

May the Lord show His people in Canada, to acknowledge the sin of the nation, and may we, on our knees, supplicate our God for His forgiveness, mercy and grace.


"Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity." (Psalm 118:25)

Character Development

Parenting has been really helpful to my character development. Marriage has been helpful too, but in a different way. Marriage brought to light many, many flaws I didn't know I had, whereas parenting has helped me to deal with flaws, wanting to set a good example for my children.

I don't tolerate pouting or whiny attitudes in my children, particularly the older one (4 years old). I expect him to tell me exactly what is bothering him in a normal, calm voice so we can discuss it and decide what, if anything, to do about it. If he can't find the words to express what is bothering him, I expect him to ACT cheerful or go to his room until he is ready to talk about it with me. In these cases, going to his room is not a punishment, but just a place where I can send him to do his pouting in private. I want him to understand this is not acceptable public behaviour. Once in his room, he occasionally will start to throw things or yell to show his frustration, at which point he gets spanked. Then we pray together, and I try again to get him to open up. Eventually, he always manages to say something that enables me to discern what is on his mind and by discussing it, the pouting is defused. Sometimes, I feel the primary cause of his whining is fatigue, and I still don't tolerate it. I expect him to go to BED, and rejoin the family when he is rested and happy.

Now, do I ever whine or pout at my husband and children? Yes! I am sooooooooo guilty. I have a terrible time finding the words to express my concerns with my husband and will carry around a grudge, expecting him to approach me about it, and when he does finally ask what is wrong, I will usually start by saying "Nothing..." With my kids, I get awfully crusty when I'm overtired. I'm realizing that I need to hold myself up to the same standard that I have for them. So, Rand, you'll be pleased to know I am going to be making an effort in this area. It seems to me that if I have a concern I'm not ready to talk about, I should make no hint of it in my behaviour. I need to figure out exactly what the problem is, and what I'd like to see change, and calmly talk about it, or let it go completely.

Among the Christians I know, I often notice a skepticism about people's - even Christians' - ability to change. Yet regarding myself, I know I have absolutely changed for the better since becoming a Christian, and I continue to change. I know my character is improving, although, probably not as quickly as it should. I have also seen character development in my husband during the time I've known him. So I am thinking that the skepticism out there might be misplaced. Can anyone shed some light on this? Of course we will all be agreed that when a person is truly regenerated, the Holy Spirit enters into them and there is a fundamental change of attitude. But what happens after that? Are we attacking our own flaws and getting victory or are we too busy seeing everyone else's flaws?

Bible Reading Continues!

John is done...and Genesis is almost finished...

Here are the daily Bible passages to be read as we continue to "Read Through the Bible in One Year":

Monday: Genesis 49-50; Exodus 1-3

Tuesday: Exodus 4-5; Romans 1

Wednesday: Exodus 6-7; Romans 2

Thursday: Exodus 8-9; Romans 3

Friday: Exodus 10-11; Romans 4

Saturday: Exodus 12-13; Romans 5

Sunday: Exodus 14-15; Romans 6


(Again, if anyone else wants to join our reading club, you are more than welcome. If you have any comments on the weeks readings, leave it in the comment box related to this post.)

Take care, and good reading!

Tapestries

don't laugh Sue...

I'm finally getting back to health, so time for to put out that post I've had on my mind since the end of last month.

November has always been a month of reflection for me, well, at least, since my University days. If you read part 2 of my testimony, you will find that I did not have a very pleasant softmore year at University; and all those problems peaked on a November. I have used every subsequent November to ponder on what exactly happened to me on that terrible year, and, to evaluate how well I have been doing since.

Well, this November has been an interesting one for me. Firstly, the "terrible University year" hardly made it to my thinking this year. I mean some of the events of that year use to awaken in me some pretty intense emotions (even years later), but this year, I had to make an effort to remember the things that went on. I'm even finding it hard to remember how some of my old "friends" looked like. That year filled me with so much anger, I'm kind of relieved that roughly 10 years later, it's all fading away.

Secondly, I met an ex-girlfriend a couple of weeks ago. I went out with this young lady for a very short period of time just prior to going out with Twinklemoose. I met her at a shopping mall and we had a nice conversation. She hadn't changed much and there is no doubt in my mind that after our conversation, she, like me, breathed the sigh of relief that we didn't waste our time with a long romantic relationship.

Thirdly, I was invited to the 50th Birthday celebration of my former employer. This man had hired me right out of school and had showed me much favour, so it was a real pleasure for me to attend this birthday party. I got to see some former colleagues and we all enjoyed reminiscing on our time together.

These 3 events made me realize something: so far, I've had quite a fun ride through life!!! Oh the lows were LOW, but the highs were amazing! And all the people from my past, those who have brought me pain as well as those who have brought me happiness, were all like actors in my life movie.

To this day, I have had a great life, so let me take a little bit more space to thank some of the actors who have enriched my life, and who have contributed to the tapestry of my life:


Childhood: Martin-Mark-Stephane-Gaby (will you even know how powerful of an influence you had on my childhood?)-Andrea-Chantale.

Adolescence: Patrick-Steven-Daniel-Nicholas (thanks for all the good times my friend...for a time, we really were brothers)-Paul (thanks for taking a chance on me)-Annie-Eric H.

Adulthood: Ginny (it was all my mistake, and I am sorry)-Mike-Sebastien-Steve-Eric B.-Shane, Rob, Hugh, Kevin (the Lord used you guys mightily in my life, thank you)-Matthew-Twinklemoose (my leading lady, the movie would be a pretty poor without you)-Tim-Peter.

Getting better

but still fighting the stupid bug...

No, I'm not neglecting my blog out of choice. This cold I got just doesn't want to let go, and that makes it quite difficult for me to put together a coherent, interesting post (if any of my posts are...LOL).

I went in to work today and could only put out a half-day. My co-workers were not impressed as it was quite obvious by my sneezing and coughing that I had brought into my workplace a contagious agent. Sorry guys, promise I'll stay home tomorrow if I'm not A-1.

Oh yeah...the unevitable happened, my little girl woke up this morning coughing and vomiting. Don't you just love how in a family, everything is shared!

Anyway, please pray for my recovery as well as my daughters, and that the Lord would be merciful to my 9-month-pregnant wife and my son by protecting them from this vile virus.

Later,