A New Thing by Susan Barclay

New life, from the ashes

This is certainly a very different spring than any we have experienced in our lifetimes. Don't you agree? Has there ever been a more apt moment to recall the words of Charles Dickens as he writes the opening to A Tale of Two Cities?:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Coronavirus, Covid-19, pandemic, plague. Call it what you want, it has certainly brought us to the threshold of a brand new world. I hesitate to call it brave, though there are certainly shining examples of bravery from our front-line workers, those who seek to bring health and wholeness to the sick, weak and vulnerable, those who are doing their part to maintain essential services, and those who are being called upon to lead and govern at such a time. 

There are among us those who declare we are at the beginning of the end, that these are the last days, that it won't be long now before we have a cashless society, a one-world government. While we don't know the day or the hour - and can't - God tells us in His Word to look at what is going on and recognize the seasons (see Luke 21:5-36). Even though we're not to set dates (we only look, and are, foolish when we try), we're not to be ignorant or stick our heads in the sand. We're to be ready when Jesus comes for His bride, at all times watching, waiting, and eager (see Luke 12).

I'll be honest. I don't know if we're on the cusp of the seven-year Tribulation or not. Psalm 90:4 and Peter 3:8 both say that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. From personal experience and Bible stories we know that our God is patient and long-suffering. We also know that at some point the end of the world will come. God is faithful to His Word and He has said that things will not go on as they have forever. His plans will be accomplished; He will bring His original creation to a conclusion and make a new heaven and a new earth. All will be righteously judged.

Regardless of whether or not this world will continue for a short time or a long time, I believe there is little doubt among believers that God is doing a new thing. Some would say He is shaking the earth, trying to get people's attention. I wouldn't disagree with this assessment though there are people in my own household who still resist the good news and persist in rebellion. Thank God for those  whose eyes and hearts are turning toward Jesus. And may God continue the hidden work He is doing in my children, the evidence of which I cannot yet see... 

It's also possible that God is demonstrating His patience with us, that He is using this crisis not just to get our attention but to bring renewal to our planet. I have read, for example, that pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have decreased as a direct result of efforts to control the spread of the virus, and I imagine that wildlife populations are having a chance to return from the brink of extinction or endangerment, and that habitats are being restored. Perhaps God isn't bringing the world to an end just yet, but revitalizing it so there is more time for prodigals and unbelievers to be saved. After all, He doesn't desire that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He made us in His image; He loves and cares for us.

Father, thank You for keeping us safe under Your wings. Thank You for Your love for us. You never leave us nor forsake us. Since You are for us, who, or what, can be against us? Thank You for the new thing You are doing in the world even through this pandemic. We all want it to end and many of us are praying for that, but I can't help feeling that if it ends too soon, we may all just go back to our old untenable and unsustainable habits. So Your timing, Lord. Your perfect timing. Help us to change in the ways that we need to. Help us to follow Your ways.

We ask also, God, that You would be with those who are particularly vulnerable, those who have immune deficiencies, diabetes, asthma. Give them special protection. Be with those who are in quarantine or in places like nursing homes where they can't receive precious visits from family. Comfort them with Your presence and reassure them of Your love. Be with those on the front lines, those working to bring health and wholeness to the sick, those racing to find an antidote or a vaccine. Strengthen them, give them wisdom and insight, keep them in health and peace. Be with those who know You and soften the hearts of those who don't.

May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Lord. Thank You that You are doing a new thing, whatever it is. Thank You that You are God and we are not. You are sovereign over all things, and all-wise. Thank You that we can trust You. Amen.
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You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

A Christmas Classic Conveys Moral Lessons by Nina Faye Morey

Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol, is a beloved and enduring holiday classic. My Christmas just wouldn’t feel complete without it. Every year, I watch as many movie versions as I can. I always wanted to take in a theatre production, as well, but somehow never got around to it.

Last year, my birthday being just before Christmas, I decided to visit my daughter and her family for a triple celebration: my landmark birthday, my grandchildren’s baptisms, and the Christmas holidays. My daughter and son-in-law planned a very special treat for my birthday. They took me to Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre for dinner and to see their production of A Christmas Carol. It’s the best birthday present they could have given me!

Why do I love this imaginative and delightful Christmas tale so much? Well, besides being entertaining and enchanting, it also teaches several moral lessons that exemplify the true meaning of Christmas.

Our Conduct Determines Our Destiny. The Ghost of Jacob Marley urges Scrooge to learn from his mistakes to avoid facing a similar destiny. He arranges for three Spirits to visit Scrooge to give him a chance to redeem himself. These Spirits of the Past, Present, and Future force Scrooge to confront his many moral failings. The Spirit of the Future shows him his fate if he doesn’t change. Despairing of this desperate end, Scrooge pleads with the Spirit, “Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”

It’s Never Too Late to Change. The three Spirits offer Scrooge insights into the consequences of his ways and a chance to turn his life around. When the Spirit of the Future shows him what his miserable, miserly life has brought him—a lonely death with no one to mourn his passing and a forlorn grave in a desolate churchyard—he vows to make a fresh start. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

It’s Better to Give than to Receive. Scrooge is a miserable old miser who counts every penny and despises charity. When two gentlemen ask him to give a Christmas donation for the poor, Scrooge responds, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” When they explain that many of the poor would rather die than go to such places, he responds coldly, “Then they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” By the end of the story, Scrooge repents of his miserliness and opens up his heart and his wallet to give them a generous donation.

Treat Others as You’d Have Them Treat You (The Golden Rule). Scrooge’s behaviour displays disrespect and lack of concern for others. Scrooge mistreats and takes advantage of everyone, especially his faithful clerk, Bob Cratchit. He won’t allow him to burn enough coal to keep the office warm. He even begrudges him time off with his family at Christmas. After witnessing his certain doom, Scrooge is forced to re-examine his selfish ways. He undergoes a change of heart, providing a huge turkey for the Cratchits’ Christmas dinner, giving Bob a raise and promotion, and becoming like a second father to their invalid son, Tiny Tim.

Scrooge learns the moral lessons the Spirits teach and transforms his life. “He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city knew. . . .” He was even better than his word, doing everything he promised and more. And it was said that thereafter Scrooge knew how to keep Christmas well.

Photo: Pixabay

The Joy Of Writing -- Jack Popjes

 I’ve written a weekly blog since 1995, many years before the term “blog” was invented. I sent them out as emails to a list of friends. When I publicly committed myself to write weekly I had no idea of the benefits I would reap. I learned some self- discipline. I enjoyed turning the steady flow of ideas into columns that provoked positive responses from readers. And I wrote well over half a million words, a third of which are now enjoyed by a much wider readership through my three books of collected columns.

I’m one of those writers who blogged his way into print, like Charles Dickens, the patron saint of committed bloggers. 

Dickens’ weekly output was prodigious! He wrote sections of five novels as serials for weekly magazines and ten novels in monthly magazines. He often worked on two monthly serial novels at once. Pickwick Papers overlapped Oliver Twist, which overlapped Nicholas Nickleby which overlapped the weekly serial The Old Curiosity Shop! In his spare time, he also wrote five short novels and fifty plays, poems and short stories.

Few of us reader/writers can match that kind of production! I certainly can’t. But when we commit to writing much more both we and our readers benefit.

Here’s how I start myself thinking about things worth writing about. I ask myself, “Jack, you are sitting at your computer knowing you have only 15 minutes left to live. What important things in your life do you feel deeply about? Write about these for your family and friends to read.”

Try it. You’ll be amazed at how the ideas and words flow when you begin to write. Then commit to write again next week, and the next.

If Francis Bacon were here today, I would expect to read this on his blog, “Read books, periodicals, and blogs to feed your mind. Blog your thoughts and ideas and discuss them with your readers to refine your thinking. Write your memoirs to preserve the details.”

(originally posted on February 15, 2012 at Jack's INsights & OUTbursts)

The Shocking Truth About Jack Popjes: How To Read 52 Books A Year

We are pleased to have Jack Popjes join us on Guest Post Day.

I admit it. I’m a book junkie. Without a reading fix each day, I exhibit withdrawal symptoms.

Our two-bedroom apartment bears witness to my addiction with 25 metres (80 feet) of packed bookshelves. (The rest of the books are stacked on the floor.)

Marcus Cicero said it for people like me, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

The shirt I’m wearing in the photo has a picture of Charles Dickens and the words, “Read as if your mind depended on it.”

When people discover my book habit they have questions that I try to answer as succinctly and helpfully as I can.

 
Q: How much do you read?

A: An average of about one book and periodical a week. A little less when I travel on speaking tours.

Q: How do you find time to read?

A: I don’t just read when I find time. I make time. I deliberately sit down to do nothing but read. I read with my first cup of coffee in the morning. I read humorous material to Jo in bed every night. Sometimes I read to her while she is making supper. I always have three or more books on the go at any one time and I keep at least one within reach just in case I find some time. Jo and I like to watch some TV together but we are mindful of Groucho Marx’s opinion, “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”

Q: What do you read?

A: A variety of books and periodicals. A balanced literary diet. That’s the succinct part. Here is the more detailed and helpful part:

Spiritual Development: I have read through the Bible annually for many years. I read it early in the morning, with my first cup of coffee. My wife and I also read through the Psalms together once a month. I also keep a small book of short, daily meditations handy to dip into during the day. And I usually have books on spiritual development, Christian issues, or theology going throughout the year.

Personal Development: Books that help me be a better father, husband, grandpa. Some that help me get organized, do financial planning, and in general those that help me focus on how to live.

Professional Development: Books on cross-cultural missions, writing, speaking, publishing, marketing, blogging, language, leadership, organization, technology.

Biography: Reading memoirs and life stories sometimes inspires me, sometimes it fills me with longing, but I always learn something—either great examples to follow or horrible ones to avoid.

Information: Material on history, current issues, science philosophy, and psychology.

Entertainment: Novels of all sorts, science fiction, mystery, classics, and for bedtime reading some humor. Reading poetry tends to give me unique insight into common situations. By the way, a book is often informative and entertaining at the same time.

Q: What do you plan to read?

A: More! I plan to read more, way more! To help me do this, I’m buying an ebook reader and plan to read a dozen books at once, all there in the same pocket. I occasionally pick a book to read that I know I won’t agree with, just to keep my mind sharp and thinking on all sides of the issue.


One question no one has ever asked me but which I’ll answer anyway is:

Q: What books do you not read?

A: Anything that would arouse my desires in humanity’s basic problem areas: Money, Sex, and Power. I don’t read material that inflames my desire to get rich. I don’t read pornographic stories, and I don’t read about gaining power over other people, and I especially avoid reading about practicing the occult that promises demonic powers.


I’m not only a book addict, I’m a book pusher. My goal is to get you addicted too.




Originally posted at Jack's INsights & OUTbursts