An Open Door

Julie and found Jesse in the most hilarious position tonight. She said he looks like a piece of meat roasting on a stake. We both had a good laugh. I think my impulsive urge to ask Julie to look at every funny thing that the cats find themselves in (or I think is funny) is rubbing off on her. She was the one who discovered Jesse on the arm of the couch, his arms and legs (or fours) wrapped around the sides like an octopus or something. I think with all the babies visiting us lately Jesse hasn't been getting enough attention, so he has decided to stoop this low and make himself look like a fool to catch our eyes... haha. Jesse, we love you!!! (Charlie too!) Julie and I are starting to act like each other. I find that more and more I am able to be my crazy self around her. I've never been able to show my silly self around many people - just my immediate family (really nuts-o self!) and 1 or 2 close girlfriends. It's amazing that I am able to be myself around Julie after only knowing her for so little time. We must be a roomie-match made in heaven! Don't worry Andy I won't steal her, yet. I would also like to show, with the picture below, what a silly spoiled cat Jesse is. He has made the blanket folded on the other side of my bed his bed. And did I mention he sleeps like a person?

Glen Davis preached at the 12:30 service today. Actually he preached at all 3 services today starting with the 10 o'clock, then us, then the 2 o'clock. What a long day. Thank God for his willingness to be accommodating! He preached on a text from Revelations. To be honest I don't know much about this book, only that it contains some crazy stuff and talks about the end of the world? So I was interested to see what he had to say. The text was a letter that a man name John, who had been put in exile on a secluded for his faith in Christ, wrote to a church in a city called Philadelphia (not the one in the U.S. but located somewhere in the current Turkey). John had been writing a series of letters to different churches and each church had strayed from the path of the Lord one way or another. This church however, had been faithful. They hadn't done anything wrong, but just quietly about their ways of worship. Like a lot of churches today, it is a place for Sunday worship. It's a place where people gather. They greet each other, talk about their week, sing some hymns, feel good about their spiritual lives. However the text challenges us to reach out, to walk through the open door that Christ has opened for us. Glen spoke that over the last decade people of the world have been rediscovering their thirst for spirituality. They are asking the big questions. What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? A recent pole says that 25% of Canadians go to church at least once a year. As for the regular goers, the number is even less. Us as Christians could see this in two ways. We could say 'Oh things are completely hopeless, what's the point of trying when so many people in this secular world don't want to hear what God's gotta say?' Or we could say 'Wow, 75% of the people around us have never heard of the good news of Christ, or know of the love of God and what he's done for us.' There is an opportunity here... We will never accomplish anything if we don't take risks, and walk through the doors of opportunities that Jesus opens for each of us everyday. If the early followers of the Christ had simply retreated in their fear of persecution by the 99.9% of the others who didn't believe, would Christianity have touched millions of lives as it has?

The message really touched me because I have really been thinking about my responsibility as a Christian to spread the good news. I've been praying to God to grant me the wisdom and the power to be his witness to others. I've never been a good speaker or someone who is very convincing. But there is a desire in my heart to want to tell everybody about how good God is and how much he's done for me. As for everything else that I need to do in my life, I put my trust in God and ask him to empower me with what I need to do his will. I want to live my life as a humble servant of God. His will is always the best way, the only way. I have been find myself talking about the big guy a lot lately, to Julie, to Musquito, to Jookz, and also my non-Christian friends. I poke them with a bit of God here and there, and sometimes I even feel bold enough to invite them to church. I might be on my way to becoming one of those 'annoying, , bible thumping, Jesus loving freak'. But hey, so be it! The road of following Christ is not always easy. But why do I care if a few think I'm annoying, I only really care about what God thinks of me, or at least that's the mentality I strive to have.

O help us, Lord, to heed Your Word,
Its precepts to obey;
And give us strength to quench the urge
To do things our own way. - Sper

As a control freak, these above lines will help me to trust God and teach me to be patient. After all, for everything there is a season. Jackie's off to Australia again today. Good luck and God Bless!