Sunset on the Day of Pentecost

In the last few days I've gotten a head and chest cold. It has kept my body in pain and my head hurting. In addition, some other things I'm dealing with meant I didn't have a lot of energy or motivation today.

But God's nature "paintings" always have a way of exciting me. I had gone down the street to purchase some produce and other goodies for a late dinner. When I returned to my suite, this is the scene that awaited me from my patio window.

How spectacular!

I haven't yet learned how to take night shots or even properly use my camera. Thankfully, I found my instruction booklet and managed to find the night setting and the largest pixel setting with which to capture this night.

I absolutely love the way the sky looks.

And I am so glad I could "snap that".

I hope you had a good day today, the Day of Pentecost, when we remember the beginnings of the Christian Church.

"The day of Pentecost was the birth of Christianity. It was on this memorable day that repentance and baptism in Jesus' name for the remission of sins was first taught and experienced (Acts 2: 38). The height of Joel's prophesy had been "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered" (Joel 2: 32). When those whose hearts had been pricked asked what must they do, were told, and did it, they were calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 2: 37-42). People today are thus saved in the same way by calling on Jesus' name (Rom. 10: 13)."

May God bless you and your family throughout the coming year and may you find deeper meaning in Him.

Sunday Hymn

With the sun peeking through just to the upper right of the cross on the church exterior, it reminded me of this powerful hymn.

AT THE CROSS

At the cross,

At the cross,

Where I first saw the light

And the burdens of my heart rolled away.

It was there by faith,

I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day.

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24

Oldies but Goodies, Newbies & the Not So Uglies

I thought it might be interesting to capture the variety of buildings we have here in our part of the world for visitors from elsewhere to enjoy. Whenever I have travelled to other lands, I've observed that Vancouver has a greater variety of building styles throughout the city and there is very little of same style development in any given neighborhood. Part of this is due to the fact that Canadian cities are generally not that old and so the buildings we have do not have the same history as in many parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Nonetheless, I really enjoy the variety of building styles here. Combined with the natural beauty of the ocean, mountains and rain forest, the variety of buildings, is one thing I take joy in as I walk about in the different neighbourhoods. Recently, I took a lot of snaps of buildings right in the heart of the city. I would like to share a few of them with you.

Oldies but Goodies

(Above) Saint Paul's (Catholic) Hospital
(Below) St. Andrew's Wesley United Church

Newbies

(Above & Below ) Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel

Not so Uglies

(Above) Vancouver Provincial Courthouse
(Below) Former BC Hydro Headquarters, now private condos

Buildings are important to God and are referenced many times in His Word, both in the spiritual sense and in the literal sense.

Corinthians 3:9 says "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the "chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21) and Peter quotes Isaiah saying "Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." (2 Peter 2:6)

Right now, Jesus is preparing a literal place for us. In John 14: 2-3 He says:

In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

I don't know about you but I would rather have my mansion and be spiritually connected to Jesus for all of eternity, than to have all the silver or gold on earth for a season.

Thoughts to Ponder

Photo credit: http://community.webshots.com/user/sharonmyphotos/profile

To realize
The value of a sister/brother:
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to a premature baby

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.

The origin of this letter is unknown.

Hold on tight to the ones you love!



[Received from my relative, Darlene with thanks and a few modifications.]

Today I am Thankful For....

... a number of answered prayers.

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

1 Chronicles 16:8

News that my friend Pastor Jonah has obtained a visa for his first trip to South Africa to participate in a conference for emerging leaders in Africa. Pastor Jonah is a very humble servant of the Lord and he has a great heart for evangelizing the youth. I feel that God wants to bless him with this opportunity to go to South Africa. I've been praying for this trip. So today you can imagine how excited I was when I learned that he has just obtained a visa. This means that the trip is closer to a reality.

A nice chat with Enock, a Kenyan student friend of mine who I haven't heard from in some time. He is back in college after a school break. That in itself is good news, but even better was the news that he received a generous financial gift from one of his papa's friends to help him enroll in college this term. God is so awesome!

My own mama has been needing a new apartment for the physically disabled. She has finally gotten a call to go and see one today. Praise God!

Listening to Reverend Faisal Malick's sermon on-line. If you've never heard him you will be blessed. He is a converted Muslim who is now being used to reach Muslims and others for the Lord. He and his wife, Sabina make a dynamic duo for the Lord.


Watching Pastor Len Paxton's tangle video "The Cross & The Holy Spirit". It is a message full of truth, dynamism and helps. Pastor Len heads the Acts 26:18 Ministry.

If you are into praying, I have a number of requests to share:

I pray that Pastor Jonah will have all the funds he needs and more, to make the trip to South Africa less stressful. It is always hard to plan to go far away when you have little in the way of means to meet your needs. Please pray along with me as Lord willing, the trip will happen in early June 2009.

Please pray for Enock's funds to complete his education on time. Brother Enock daily faces challenges that many college students in the developed world will never have to face or even imagine. This is true of many students in Africa, including Kenya. He is studying business administration at a Bible college and when he is finished, his dream is to go onto higher learning in North America.

Pray for my mama. Pray that God would clearly let her know if the home she saw today is the home that God wants for her, or that we will soon know to which home she will be able to move. Also, that she will have more than enough help for the move. There are particular challenges she faces in finding just the "right" home and in the timing of the move. God knows and cares about each one of these challenges.

Protection and anointing for Reverend Faisal and his wife, Sabina, and for Reverend Len and his wife, Angie as they carry out the work of God for the Kingdom. These two couples are dynamic duos spreading the truth of the gospel to the nations.

Photo credit: http://community.webshots.com/user/sczez/profile

If you have a prayer need, let me know and I will pray for you too. God bless!