Changing Afghanistan

Penn of Denn
90,000! That's the number of leaked American military documents that were recently made public by "Wikileaks", the online whistle blowing site. It will be interesting to see how the revelations from those documents impact the American and Canadian's public support for the war in Afghanistan.

I've been torn on the issue for a long tim. On one hand, I hear about the difference Canadian troops are making for common people in that country, about women being granted rights that we take for granted, about hospitals and schools being built and the seeds of democracy being planted. But, on the other hand what happens when we leave? And we will leave. Nobody has ever won in Afghanistan Not the British, not the Russians and I don't see that pattern changing. And it's not like the enemy can be driven back home. They are already home.

Military action my change a lot of things, but the one thing it can't change is human nature. The only thing that can change human nature is a new birth and the One who grants the new birth never indicated that it would be brought about through military might. And Jesus demonstrated that you can only change society by changing people. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Silly Talk

Have you ever noticed how many accident reports on the news end with the words "alcohol may have been a factor"? Especially in the summer time. The interesting thing is that it doesn't really seem to concern folks. If every weekend there was an accidental gun death there would be a national campaign to ban guns. If every weekend someone died as the result of a particular make of automobile we would demand that that automobile be taken off the road, not to mention the millions spent on an enquiry.

Last October everyone was in shock when a young folk singer was killed by coyotes. There was a demand that those coyotes be hunted down and destroyed and that the provincial bounty be reinstated on the animals, and that was the only recorded death by coyote in Canada, ever! And yet when we hear "alcohol may have been a factor" it doesn't seem to register at all. There is no call to track down those who provided the alcohol, or those who encouraged the person to drink.

No one seems to connect the dots. Maybe if alcohol is a factor then maybe alcohol is to blame. But that's just silly talk. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

The Blame Game

The Blame Game. We've all played it from one time or another, trying to pin the reasons for our bad behavior on somebody else. It's my parent's fault, my friend's fault, society's fault; it must be, because I'm not to blame for how I behave.

Gabrielle Nagy has taken it to the next level and has blamed Rogers Communication for the breakdown of her marriage and is suing the telecommunication company for $600,000.00

It seems that Nagy had a cell phone in her maiden name and the company inadvertently included the bill with the family's cable and internet bill and her husband noticed hours of phone calls to one number. Mrs. Nagy explains, "He called and found out about my infidelity from the horse's mouth."

So, she's suing. Makes sense. Obviously the failure of her marriage had nothing to do with the fact that she had been sleeping with another man for a year and everything to do with an administrative error on behalf of Rogers.

We might not take it to the same extreme but anytime we seek to blame others for our sin, we relinquish control not only of our past but also our future. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Off to see the Queen

Penn of Denn
Pastor G, Pastor G, where have you been? I've been to Halifax to visit the Queen. Pastor G, Pastor G, what did you there? . . . Well, I didn't chase a mouse right under her chair and I have no idea how the silly cat got past all the security in the first place.

In spite of my misgivings about the event, it was kind of cool; I wore a suit! And a tie!! And nobody was being married or buried. The things you do.

This past week, I was invited to a reception "in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen of England." It was a small intimate gathering. Not! A couple of thousand people showed up. In the midst of all the pomp, the one thing that surprised me was how little the Queen is; she's just a little bit of a thing.

Most of us will go through life without meeting earthly royalty, but every day, we are invited to stand in the presence of the King of the Universe. And we will accept the invitation or reject it, but when we see God, we marvel at how small we are. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.