Thursday, November 27, 2014

Big Brother. . .



I received a letter in the mail the other day from the KIA dealer inviting me to trade my 2011 Rav4 in on a new KIA.  So how did the KIA dealer know that I own a 2011 Rav4?  When I open my browser I’m undulated with ads about things I have shown an interest in.  My iPhone calls me by name.  And I have to wonder: Is Big Brother watching? 
And while it appears that I am known about, KIA, Google and Siri don’t really know me. They may know what I drive and what I look for online, but they don’t know why I drive what I drive and what causes me to look for what I’m looking for.
In our world many people know about us, but how many actually know us? Even those we profess to be close to?  How many know why we do what we do? What keeps us awake at night?  And what stirs our soul?
The Bible tells us that the One who created the universe not only knows about us, He knows us, and cares about all those things, and He invites us to know Him. 
And the answer to the letter I received is: No I don’t want to trade my Toyota for a KIA.
 
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

They will know you by. . .



If it was attention that he wanted he certainly got it.  If you’ve been following the news lately, you have probably heard the name Franck Gervais.  He was the man who showed up at the Remembrance Day service in Ottawa in full military regalia claiming to be a retired member of an elite unit in the Canadian Forces. 

And everything would have probably been fine if he hadn’t allowed himself to be interviewed by a television news crew.  That’s when the wheels came off the wagon, so to speak.  It wasn’t long after the interview that people started challenging the veracity of Gervais’ claims.  He was wearing his medals wrong, he was wearing the wrong beret, and his beard wasn’t regulation.  Then the Department of National Defence went on record as saying there was no record of a Canadian Soldier named Franck Gervais.  Oops. 

We will never know what motivated this man as there was no financial gain, he didn’t seek out the interview, perhaps in his mind he was exactly who he claimed to be.

Jesus said that there would be those who would claim to follow him who would be imposters, and it wouldn’t be what the imposters wore that gave them away, instead it would be how they lived and how they loved.
 
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Lest We Forget. . .




So what did you do on Tuesday?  It was a beautiful day and for most of us a holiday, and I would suspect that a lot of yard work got done.  But the reason we were given a day off was not to rake leaves as appealing as that may seem. 
Tuesday of course was Remembrance Day and for many it was an opportunity to collect at a cenotaph and to give an hour of our day to demonstrate our thanks and remembrance to those whose sacrifice made Canada what Canada is. 
And I know that we don’t have to gather together to remember and be thankful, that we can remember as we rake leaves, or go for a drive or sleep in, but do we? And is an hour a lot to ask?  The old men and women who were once young gave up so much more than one hour on one day for the freedom we take for granted. 
For most of us being born a Canadian was simply an accident of birth.  But the country we were born into wasn’t an accident.  It is what it is today because of sacrifices made years ago.  To quote Churchill “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” 

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.