God gives grace

A reminder that when we seem beset on all sides by trials, that God is with us and has allowed these things to happen in our lives for a purpose; and that He remains in complete and absolute control of all things.

God gives grace to those in need
to carry on in faith and deed,
cares for those whom he loves dear,
called to Himself and thus drawn near;
greatest conflict for us He's won,
and sanctification in us begun.

God gives grace to those He loves,
sometimes guides and sometimes shoves,
to work in us those things we need,
drive to His word with heart to heed
where we need to be He sends us go,
but halts our life that grace we'll know.

God gives grace to those in haste,
our lives are His, He shall not waste;
but accomplish in us every need,
and for His sake through us in every deed
for we are loved by His sovereign will,
He saved us and He guides us still.

God gives grace to those He tests;
strengthens and prepares for us a rest,
as impure Gold seeks to refine
by precious grace, O sweet divine!
By trials He strengthens, tries and thus
completes His work begun in us.

How to blog...

In a recent conversation with a friend of mine from school, one Peter No by name, we turned to the topic of blogging. He told me that while he freuented blogs, he did not yet have one of his own, due to the fact that he did not know what to use as a theme, and did not want to be so sporadic and random as to have no overarching theme to give it some unity. I pointed to my blog as an example of this; simply an extension of my need to rant from time to time, and to get things off my chest. Alternately I could view it as a way to express myself to the three people who actually read my blog from time to time, but let's face it, there are easier way to do that.

So why blog? What is the ultimate motivation to do this in the first place. If we were to face reality, we would have to admit that there is at least some degree of pride involved, insomuch as we who blog honestly think that we have something worthwhile to say, while my own experience is that about 90% of the time this is not true. So do we blog to express ourselves, or perhaps as Christian bloggers we do it for the edification of fellow believers and as a form of outreach for those who are not; or do we do it in the hopes that our creative and writing genius as expressed through solid and deep theoogical and philisophical themes set forth in a witty and entertaining, yet informative and helpful medium will get us discovered by someone and land us a three book deal with a major publisher. Reality, something we bloggers have no great taste for, tells me that I'm writing this blog today just because I can. I don't know that that measures up well for motivation, but it does set a good standard for honesty. I can guarantee that if you read this through to its entirety you won't really learn anything, but then again, what are our motivations for reading blogs? Deep as this is, even i don't have that much time to waste!

So how should we blog? Should we have an overarching theme to our blog pages, or should we just allow ourselves the freedom of expression that blogging grants to us, constrained only by Christian conscience and how long we actually feel like typing something that others are likely to only mock anyway? If you've read this far and yuo think I have an answer then you haven't been paying attention. Obviously I don't know. Seriously for a second though, I think that god has made us in such a way that we are not constrained to be of such continuously stoic nature that we never allow ourselves to have fun and let loose with some silliness once in a while. We have no end of publications that are devoted to serious material and to people ranting about all of the serious issues of life, and while I have no problem with that per se, or with people blogging about those things as well, I don't think that means that we have to hold opurselves to a set routine at all times and never deviate from a particular course of style or topic. If that is your goal then don't blog, at least not as a freelancer, maybe if you are one of those people who are "serious bloggers", but allow yourself to have some fun with it, or get a job working for one of those publications. If you think you have to take yuorself seriously at all times then follow the following steps (or even just run it through in your mind). Stand in front of a mirror. Now look at yourself carefully, taking in every serious and well trimmed prima nd proper feature of your face. Notice carefully you have groomed yourself to look as professional and serious as you can in preparation for the coming day. Now stick out your tongue. Notice now how ridiculous you look now. Now you are ready to not take yourself so seriously.

Go on and blog about it why don't you!

Pastoral Theology class on marriage

O Gertrude! Wherefore art thou O Gertrude? Laments my soul for the indescribable Gertrude!

Does this mean I'm cultured now?

It finally happened! One of those things that no one ever would have expected...that's right, I went to the opera!

Friday night, accompanied by a few close friends, I attended the Canadian Opera Company's rendition of Richard Wagner's Gotterdamerung at the Hummingbird Centre. It was interesting to notice, although pointed out to me beforehand by Clint Humphrey of Cowboyology, that there is present in so many classic mythologies and even in revisitations of such things as we see presnt in Wagner's work, that there are themes that run in such close parallels to scriptural themes, but in a fallen perspective. One can notice in a moment such themes as a fallen condition, the need for repentance and ultimately death, in virtually every mythology that the world has ever produced. In this I think that the Norse in particular are close in their thinking of some of their themes in comparing them to scriptural truths.

Now I do not want to be accused of stating that there is a direct gospel message from norse mythology, but there are some interesting points to notice such as the mortality of thje norse gods. Although in myths the norse gods are given to be beings of immense power and ability, especially where concerns their given sphere, they ultimately are not much more than mortals, having both a beginning and an end. This may not appear to be scriptuarl, but it proves that there is really only one true God who has been present since before the beginning of eternity. There are also stories of the births of the gods in most other mythologies as well, and as far as I have ever been able to tell, there is no other religion where deities are eternal in the way the God is.

Another thing to notice is the idea of a final redemption through death. Only barely touched upon in Gotterdamerung, there is a long drawn out theme of fallen creation and godhood in norse mythology that continually gets worse unbtil at last the final day comes with the destruction of everything, even the gods themselves. Ragnarok, the day of destruction is the end of all that is, but through it comes about the rebirth and renewal of the world. This however, does little to inspire hope as ultimamately there will come about still another fall and another end to things and another rebirth. Essentially, history of the world becomes cyclical, and there is no hope o be found at all.

What a wonderful truth we have in scripture, that although we are a fallen world and a fallen creation, and there does come to all things that are created a death and destruction, our rebirth only happens once. There will in fact come a time when God will remake everything new, but that remade creation will be perfect, and will not be given license to fall from grace. We will then dwell forever in the presence of our God and heavenly Father for all eternity. It is a wonderful thing that our God is a God who is not mortal, and that He is not created by us in our image, but we are made in His. Our hope is not found in our own feeble dreams and hopes, but in he word of God and His glory and sovereign will;

Amen.

Haven't blogged in a while...

When hearts are broken, and hope seems lost
and feebled hearts and minds are tossed
and all the world, cold, hard as ice,
and souls lay upon it, burdened thrice,
the foes and troubles all compressed
and pressing 'pon this now troubled breast
till all the life has ebbed away
and faith holds not for light of new day
but buried far 'neath cares so deep
the spirit, hopeless, longs for sleep.

What now upon this earth can save,
from out its sorrows and escape the grave?
There is no comfort hidden here,
but only fuel for pain and tear.
All that once didst bring me joy
has now my heart sought to destroy;
friends have left and love's forsaken;
all earthly comfort from me taken.
Trials trials seek me all around
as I lie there cold, within that ground.

Yet as cares and fears should darken,
a sweet voice I hear and to it hearken,
and to it come with all my soul,
and that once broken becomes whole;
and every shattered piece replaced,
not by my will but by His grace.
Now glorious end of pain in sight,
His face so radiant, shines so bright,
that greatest darkness, much less night,
can e'er presume to usurp His light;
but my spirit looking 'ponHim is lifted,
up to highest heaven and there is gifted
with blessed life for evermore,
with n more pain, famine or war.
Merely human in life I am flawed,
but Holy and mighty is my God.