Not if You Die. . .

-->

It’s interesting what we worry about in life.  Most of us, at one time or another, have probably worried about how our lives will end and wondered what we might do to extend the time we spend on this earth.  If you watch the news, you may have come to the conclusion that this is a fairly violent world we live in and a disproportionate number of people die as the result of criminal acts and armed conflicts.

But according to a World Health Organization study, done a few years back, fewer than 3% of people died as the result of an intentional act.  Seriously, of the 57,029,000 people who died that year (give or take a few), 1.5 % were suicides, 1% died as a result of criminal violence and only .3% were killed in armed conflict; that would be war.  So, statistically speaking, out of every 100 deaths recorded, fewer than 3 were intentional, 30 were related to cardiovascular disease, 12 were the result of cancer and 6 were accidental. 

But the reality is this, it doesn’t matter how you die, because you will die, what matters is that you are ready to die.  Are you?  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Christian Assist

-->

Last month I drove to New Brunswick twice for funerals that affected our Atlantic District Ministerial family.  And on one of those trips my rental had “Driver Assist” as an option.  That was kind of cool.  It’s not quite a self-driving car, but it was close.

With the Lane Departure Warning system in place, if (or in my case when) you drifted outside your lane, it would nudge you back in, not just beep and warn you, but actually nudge you back to where you were safe.  And if that happened enough, the car would suggest you stop for a coffee.

If you set the adaptive cruise control, it would slow you down if you approached a car driving slower than you and then increase your speed again when you pulled out to pass.  And because I’m a preacher and think in metaphors, I thought how much driver assist was like allowing the Holy Spirit to have control in your life.  A nudge here and there to slow you down or keep you on track. 

But the reality is that I could turn off the driver assist or choose to ignore it.  In the same way a Christian can choose to ignore the promptings  of the Holy Spirit and there are consequences in both cases.

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

Stop it.

-->

I mentioned the tragedy of the weekend shooting to a friend the other day and they asked “Which one?”  I was referring to the massacre in Orlando but my friend had a point. Hardly a day goes by without the report of another fatal shooting south of the boarder.

The outrage over the Orlando shooting seems to be compounded by the fact that those who were shot were identified with the LGBTQ community.  But the reality is that whenever there is a mass shooting in the States the victims are a part of a group. 

In 2007, the thirty-two victims were identified with Virginia Tech.  In 2012, twenty children were killed simply because they attended Sandy Hook Elementary School and the list unfortunately goes on.   The shooter in Orlando was identified as (I won’t use his name) and he was linked to ISIS and in 2015 the same group beheaded 30 Ethiopian Christians, just because they were Christians.

The Bible is clear, to murder someone is wrong for everyone.  For the Christ Follower, Jesus makes it even stronger when he commands us to not even hate, and in the book of 1 John we are told that if we hate someone we are guilty of murder.  And hate, like tolerance, is a two way street.

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

Playing God

-->

“Death with dignity” or “Physician assisted suicide”, you can call it what you will but it is now a reality in Canada.  While our elected representatives have struggled to put together a law that would benefit the most and harm the least, the deadline imposed by the Supreme Court has come and gone.  The result?  Doctors will now be put in the ethical and moral quandary of when and if they will assist a patient in ending their own life.

I read an article recently by Dr. Jeff Sutherland, a physician in Ontario who is a victim of ALS.  Dr. Sutherland speaks of the times that he wanted his life to end, but now is glad that he is still alive and yet he still supports Bill C-14 and feels that it will be too restrictive.

My concern over the legislation is that like capital punishment and abortion, there are no second chances.  Once it’s done you can’t change your mind or ask for a mulligan.

And so now as a society we have claimed the right to determine when a life should end, at any point from natural conception to natural death. It seems that’s society still believes the age old lie of the Devil: You can be like God.

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

Good Bye Mrs. T

The other day I attended the funeral of a lady I had known for over forty years.  During my teen years, Mary Thomas was the mother of my best friend and my second mom.  I am sure that there were times that I was at the Thomas house more than I was at the Guptill house.  And for those of the right age, Mary Thomas was my Mrs. Cunningham.  I thought of myself as the Fonz but in reality I was probably closer to Potsie. But I digress.

And so last week I travelled to Fredericton to support my best friend Reg, and to say goodbye to a gracious lady who had a profound impact on me when I was as a teen.

As I listened to her sons and grandson speak, I realized how little I knew about Mrs. Thomas and my respect and admiration for her grew. 

It was a reminder, yet again, of how little we know of each other’s stories, what formed and shaped those around us and what they were able to overcome to become all that God wanted them to be.

And I remembered smiles, words of encouragement and plates of homemade chocolate chip cookies. And I was thankful that Mary Thomas had always found a place for me.   Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.