A Time for War - Bruce Atchison

 
Certain people believe that there is no acceptable reason for waging war. I agree that war for conquest's sake is an evil that humanity has suffered from since the beginning. In an attempt to answer Edwin Starr's histrionic question regarding what war is good for, it's for God's appointed governments to administer justice.

Let's look at what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans, chapter thirteen. From The Bible in Basic English, verse one says, "Let everyone put himself under the authority of the higher powers, because there is no power which is not of God, and all powers are ordered by God." This verse, and the next one, shows us that governmental authority has been given by God. There job, as verses three and four explain, is to reward good and punish evil. Part of that good is the protection of the people from foreign as well as domestic enemies.

As Christians, we are commanded to love God and our neighbour as ourselves. Vengeance is the Lord's and he will repay. Part of this repayment comes through the military and the justice system. Furthermore, God is the one who places kings on thrones and takes them out. We who live in democratic countries have the privilege of voting but it's the Lord who decides the fate of nations.

The Bible has many examples of when God commanded kings and leaders to wage war. Though Christ is the Prince of Peace, he will come in flaming fire and take vengeance on this rebellious world. As the author of Eccliasties wrote in chapter three, there is a time for war and a time for peace. The punishment of wrong-doing nations, such as Hitler's Germany, is a necessary part of God's justice.

America was attacked by foreign Islamic militants ten years ago. Was it wrong that this wicked act was partially punished by the execution of Osama Bin Laden? Should the Lord's justice be denied because some well-meaning, but naive, people want peace at any price?

Dazzle Like Dew! - Denise M. Ford

When we visit my hometown in the summer, my husband and I rise early each morning to begin our days with a walk through the small community. We plotted a route that takes us up by the school, over the soccer field, behind the cemetery, across Main Street, and down the alley from Maple Street where I played when I visited my grandparents. We detour around the historical institute (which used to be my childhood school) making our way from Buttonwood Street to Sycamore Street. There we follow the walking trail across Mountain Road into a shady grove of trees carefully labeled for identification by the local Boy Scout troop. As a young girl I respectfully avoided entering the grove because without a cleared path I would have wandered into poison ivy, poison oak, and possibly poison snakes.

Nowadays it’s our favourite part of our morning walk since it leads into a small, forested area with a creek paralleling the way. After we wander over the wooden bridge the foliage closes in on both sides with the sunshine streaking through selected openings where tree branches bisect and create triangular prisms. Sometimes we hurry to reach this place before the sun’s rays lose their effect on the lingering dew. We slow our pace, remove our sunglasses and search for the shining masterpiece we know sways slowly between the leaves. We’re not following any GPS coordinates for a carefully hidden cache, we’re watching for the glint of light that will alert us to the exact spot. Patience, patience, patience as my mother always said, finally reveals the sought after treasure. There, glittering like a delicate decoration swings a silky spider web. Gleaming drops sparkle and reflect the sunlight; we’ve discovered diamonds in the rough.

I recalled the fragile dewy diamonds while thinking of the upcoming Inscribe conference theme, “Words descending like dew.” I pray that I will continually seek to be patient as I discover the words that will “fall forth and condense” from my thoughts.

When I select my words to share with others whether I write them in sentences, or speak them in spontaneous conversations, may I think of them as dew drops distilled in the rising sun’s reflections. May they light up another’s mood, encourage someone’s spirit, and like dawn diamonds on a spider’s web dazzle like dew!

To read Denise's personal blog and writing website go to: www.walkingwithDustyandDee.com

Real Food Matters - Karen Toews

Real food matters is my brand new baby whose birth has been a long time coming.

Back to the beginning.

I grew up in a family where our eating norm was the goodness of home-prepared food from home grown products off our family farm. The gift of healthy eating, an active lifestyle (my parents didn't buy in to the line "everyone else has a TV!") and a spiritual foundation of knowing and loving God, was the blend of what I believe to be a rich heritage. Life wasn't (and still isn't) perfect but is one that feels rooted and real. That's the nutshell edition; the longer version elaborates.

Life scrolled by.

The chapters of my food story included the daily-ness of feeding me and my family, with the addition of a couple foodie business ventures, and the pleasure of cooking for guests around my table. A passion developed while experimenting and enjoying many of the raw products available through the hand of our creative God. As I searched out recipes and researched nutrition, I was fascinated to learn how food may help towards healing our bodies and protecting us from disease.

And so began my study in natural nutrition, via a distance learning nutrition program, one with a holistic approach towards healthy living. Originally, for reasons probably related to my traditional Christian upbringing, I had vague reservations about using the term holistic. Maybe it was a feeling that had to do with attaining holiness on one's own - I don't really know. But in reality, this approach addresses the whole person, which really does bode well with my core values and faith. A belief that we are a living soul: created body, mind and spirit - each part needing to be be nourished and cherished.

The present.

Making healthy food choices, being physically active, using godly principles how to feed your mind and spirit - these are all things I want to apply personally and to share with others. A large proportion of our population - the people in the communities where we live - suffer from obesity, disease, or just a nagging condition of feeling unwell. This fuels my passion to help by being a coach for better health. We will not attain perfect health this side of eternity but there are ways we can make positive healthy changes - intentional actions that reflect responsibility, respect and thanksgiving for the body God has given us.

As realfoodmatters "grows up" I trust people will be encouraged and challenged.

Do stop by and visit.

The Real "Real" Thing - Lynda Schultz

The recent news that it really isn’t necessary to good health to drink eight to ten glasses of water every day brought joy to my heart. It’s tough to swallow that much water (and not spend your life in the bathroom). Even better: Coffee was off the hit list of things that didn’t qualify as liquid. As long as it’s wet it makes the list of acceptable fluids. The rule now, apparently, is to drink when you’re thirsty and to replace liquids that you lose through whatever might cause dehydration. Ah, blessed relief!

Has the red flag gone up in your mind yet?

No matter what the new “evidence” may declare, there is still no substitute for pure and unadulterated water–and plenty of it.

The same is true in the spiritual realm. The popular trend has been to dig other “cisterns” in an effort to satisfy our spiritual thirst. We take courses, attend seminars and read books by the most popular authors. We seek the spiritual sages of our modern world and listen intently to their stings of stories lightly brushed with a verse or two of Scripture. Odd that the more we “fill up” the thirstier we seem to be. Perhaps the psalmist felt the same way when he wrote:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1, 2, NIV).

As good as all the substitutes might be, there is nothing that can compare with the pure and unadulterated spiritual water that comes from seeking, finding, and communing with God through His Word and in prayer.

God doesn’t hide Himself from those who look for Him. The psalmist would not have been thirsty for long. Like the Samaritan woman in John 4, he would have soon discovered: “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become to him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (4:14, NIV).

Thirst-quenching, life-changing, and no plastic bottles left behind.