A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Imagine finding your million-dollar lottery ticket on August 7th and then realizing that it had expired on August 6th.  Could happen.  Atlantic Lottery spokeswoman, Sarah MacBeath, was commenting on a Lotto Max ticket that has been unclaimed since last August and said, “We are really hoping that someone can come forward. Sometimes people put tickets away in their winter coats, or at the bottom of a purse or a junk drawer.”

The ticket was sold in Dartmouth last August and the Lottery has put out a press release letting people know that they only have a few weeks left if they want to claim the prize. They refer to it as a “winning ticket”, but unless someone claims the prize it’s just another piece of scrap paper, it only becomes a winner when someone makes the effort to claim it.

The grace of God is the same way.  As wonderful and incredible of a gift that God’s grace is, unless it is claimed and accepted it is worthless.  The lottery ticket in Dartmouth may never be found but the Grace of God can be found by whosoever will. The only question is:  Will that whosoever be you? 

Oh, and if the ticket is yours, the tithe is $100,000.00.   Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

A Royal Meeting

Will and Kate are wrapping up their visit and by all accounts they took Canada and the States by storm.  Unless you have been living under a rock then you know that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been on a belated, extended honeymoon.  Their journey has taken them from PEI to Nunavut to Hollywood.   If you asked them, I’m sure the highlight of the trip was meeting Steve and Jen Akins and the kids in Charlottetown and their biggest disappointment would have been missing Dean at the Stampede...... just saying.  

They seem like very nice people, but you understand, they are just people.  In theory, they put their pants on one leg at a time and they struggle with many of the same issues that we do. 

I am amazed at how people will drive hundreds of kilometres and stand around for hours to get a glimpse at  a couple who someday may be King and Queen of England but show no interest in meeting and developing a relationship with the King and Master of the universe.  

Meeting and greeting Will and Kate might provide a memory that will last a lifetime but meeting the King of the Universe can provide us with the grace that will last an eternity.

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

A Sale on Sin

On my way to Beulah I saw an interesting store in Salisbury NB, it was a New Brunswick Liquor Clearance Centre? A clearance centre for booze!  Interesting. And it got me thinking.  I was wondering; will the savings carry over to the cost that alcohol has on society and families. I mean if someone saves 25% at the liquor store and then they are in an alcohol related accident will 25% fewer people die?  And if the driver is arrested and charged will they only have to serve 75% of their sentence?  If someone developed a drinking problem and became an alcoholic drinking spirits that were purchased on sale would they only have to attend a 9 step program? Would an abusive drinker be 25% more abusive or 25% less abusive because of the sale?

If someone shot and killed numerous people with a pistol, they had bought on sale there would be a great hue and cry concerning the person who sold the pistol.  So how come NB Liquor won’t have to be accountable for the cost and tragedy that comes from the misuse of their product? And I wonder how many more lives are lost because of alcohol as compared to guns but we haven’t tried to register drinkers.  Just wondering.

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

Beware the Crowd

Do you ever watch things that make you scratch your head?  A couple of weeks ago I saw some of the footage from the riots that ripped through Vancouver after the Stanley Cup. Bizarre, what were they thinking?  Apparently they weren't.  I mean really, what would cause rational human beings to react that way?  And then I watched the W-5 episode on the police response to the protesters in Toronto last June during the G8. Bizarre, what were they thinking?  Apparently they weren't.  I mean really, what would cause rational human beings to react that way?  In both instances you had people as a group doing things that they would never do as individuals. Stand any one of those Vancouver rioters next to a Starbucks by themselves and they would never consider throwing a rock through the window. 
Stand a Toronto Policeman next to a protester, and they wouldn't knock them to the ground and hit them with a stick.  It's called mob mentality when you let the group take responsibility for your actions.
I guess Mom was right when she asked, "And if all of your friends were jumping off a bridge....?" 
And that's why our relationship with God needs to be ours and not just the group's.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Time Flies

In the past two weeks Angela and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary, my 51st birthday and our granddaughter's 1st birthday and in two weeks I will celebrate the 25th anniversary of my ordination, the day I got all Rev'd up.

So in thinking of that, two things crossed my mind. The first was, "where did all the time go?", and the second was, "what am I going to do with the second half of my life?" Not bad so far though. I have pastored three growing churches, have a beautiful grand-daughter, 2 great kids and am still married to the girl I fell in love with 30 years ago. It's hard to beat that.

Jesus' brother James compared our lives to a morning mist, here for a bit and then gone, but each one of us will choose what we will or won't do with the time we have here, however fleeting or lingering that time might be.

Our high school graduates are about to begin a brand new chapter in their lives and we encourage them to be sure to make good choices.

But why limit it to them? Maybe the rest of us need a reminder as well that it's never too late to make good choices.

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

Happy Father’s Day

So, what did you get your dad for Father's Day?  An ugly tie, soap on a rope or a pair of socks.  Luckily it was always your dad who said, "It's not the gift, it's the thought that counts."  I trust that you've taken the time out to thank your father for everything he's done for you.  Or maybe there's nothing to say thank you for.

 

One of the problems for some people in accepting God as their Father, is the memories they have of the way their father treated them.  It's unfortunate but true that sometimes the greatest hurts are caused by the ones who are supposed to love us the most.  The mere biological act of siring a child does not make a man a father, but listen to how God's word defines our relationship with Him: John 1:12-13 "Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him.  So he gave them the right to be the children of God.  They were not God's children by nature or because of any human desires. God himself was the one who made them his children."  Neat huh?    
  

You see the truth is this: God isn't necessarily like the father you had, but He is the father you need.

 

So Dads I hope you all have a great Father's Day, and I hope everyone takes the time to thank their heavenly Father for all He is and for all He's done for you.

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

Whiter than White

I had forgotten how white, white was supposed to be, until I saw how white, white was again.  Say that sentence real fast a few times!  We had our house washed the other day and while I knew that it was a little grimy, it wasn't until the first section was finished and we could see the difference, that we realized just how dirty it had gotten through the years.  And it wasn't like we had a forest fire or a volcano that covered the house in soot, it was just life. The daily accumulation of life.  But we couldn't simply wish it clean; it cost us something and it took  some time and a concentrated effort before our house was white again. 
And that made me realize how careful we have to be with our souls, and it's not necessarily the grime of some catastrophic sin but just the daily exposure to life that sullies our souls .  That's why David begged God in the Psalms to wash him and make him whiter than snow.   But it doesn't just happen, you can't simply wish your soul clean. It will take a little time and a concentrated effort if you are going to be as white as white can be.     Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.