"Believe" is a Powerful Word

I love these kinds of stones with beautiful words written on them.


Scripture says to:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 16:31

What is it that you and your house believe on?

Have a wonderful week as you ponder over the question. God bless you.

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.]