Sins of Omission

Sins of Omission

What is a sin of omission?  Simply, its not not doing something we know (or believe) we should have done.  James 4:17 says: "Remember, too, that knowing what is right to do and then not doing it is sin."  Jesus calls us to a higher way of living.  I was reminded of this today by the 'Our Daily Bread' devotion I'll talk about more below....

Courageous in Love 

The Feb 22/2026 devotion in Our Daily Bread talks about a racial bullying situation at a school in North Carolina, and how one fellow felt he should support a new student to the school, but he did nothing.  This bothered him for decades and he eventually reached out to that student, 49 years later, to ask for forgiveness.  This fellow realized in the end, showing love and support for another human being isn't just about being brave;  its about making a choice to live like Jesus.

Reading about this immediately brought to my mind a similar situation I saw growing up.  I was between 8-9 years old, and our family had just moved to a new subdivision in town.  We caught the bus to school every day, and within the first week it was painfully obvious there was a brother and sister at our bus stop who were mercilessly bullied by kids there who were older and larger than all of us.

Photo by Austin Pacheco on Unsplash

I distinctly remember the bus dropping us off after school one day, and watching the two of them run home crying and in fear because these heartless big bullies were again being mean, yelling, and throwing rocks at them.  

I didn't know what to do in that situation at that time.  I certainly could have stuck up for them, or told these bullies to stop.  It seemed better, however, to keep my head low and not 'rock the boat' as it were.  Self-preservation at the expense of my conscience.  I know now because I'm still bothered by that memory today.

SM + SM - if you are out there reading this today:  I'm so sorry and I apologize for not sticking up for you.  Will you please forgive me?  God, I pray that you would forgive me as well, and help me to be more courageous in love for others.

Persistent in Prayer

Another potential sin of omission I've been thinking about lately comes from the story of the prophet Samuel.  At the end of his life, he gives a farewell address to the people of Israel who he's been called to serve.  He says something quite interesting at the end of this address:  

As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.

1 Samuel 12:23

This raises the question: "Who am I spiritually responsible to pray for?"  Samuel, in the context above, felt responsible for the people of Israel before God, and correspondingly felt it his duty to pray for them.

As a Dad, I feel spiritually responsible to pray for my family.  I try to do this consistently, and include the people in my circle of influence, but I am not as faithful in this as I'd like to be.  

Father God, I pray for you forgiveness in area this as well.

Interestingly, Paul takes this idea a bit further, exhorting believers to 'pray at all times, with all kinds of prayer for all the saints.'  Ephesians 6:18.  Personally, I view this (at this point in my life) as an encouragement, rather than a command.  I find it very difficult given the different responsibilities I have during my workday to see how I can possibly accomplish praying 'at all times, with all kinds of prayer for all the saints' as a command.  

Daniel is the example I try to follow here.  He similarly had an 'outside' job that required him to think and attend to things besides prayer during his workday.  But he set aside time for prayer as well.

The Lord's Prayer - On earth as it is in heaven

Intro...

For the last year or two, I've been trying to pattern my morning prayers after the Lord's Prayer.  I find that the structure allows me to be more consistent (if sometimes somewhat repetitive at times) in the discipline of prayer.  I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being consistent and somewhat repetitive.  Jesus related in his parable about the persistent widow who kept asking for the same thing over and over until she got it.  Here's a link to previous posts about this: 

Part 1 - Our Father...  
Part 2 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done... 
Part 3 - On earth as it is in heaven.... is below
Part 4 - Give us this day...
Part 5 - Forgive us our sins...  
Part 6 - Lead us not... But deliver us...

I had been stalled for some time writing this post (like almost a year).  Originally I was going to write a bit about what happened in the books of Job and Daniel.  In the book of Job, we see a discussion in heaven having a pretty significant influence in the life of Job on the earth.  Job is unaware of what happened in heaven to precipitate his situation on earth.  Daniel does a lot of praying throughout the course of the book that bears his name.  He gets insight into why some of his prayers aren't answered immediately, which is eye opening (in a sense, pun not originally intended) as that insight wouldn't 'normally' be seen.

Seeing what isn't seen, hearing what isn't spoken

A couple of questions come to my mind when I think about '...on earth as it is in heaven':

• How do I know what is going on in heaven?  
• Do I need to know what is going on in heaven?

Thinking about all of this (for some time), two verses came to mind:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Cor 4:18 (frankly that whole chapter)

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9 (and that whole chapter too)

Considering these scriptures, I ask myself how I can be involved in God's kingdom coming and His will being done in this here and now.  It seems to me I need to try and remember to ask God to help me see what isn't seen, and hear was isn't spoken.  To see and hear 'beyond', if that makes sense.

Mary

As I'm writing this today its Dec 26, just after Christmas, so the Christmas story/history is still on my mind.  One person that get's 'passed over' in considering their influence on the whole 'on earth as it is in heaven' equation is Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Without her, Jesus doesn't get born, and God's kingdom doesn't come here on the earth.  There is not a lot said about her in the Bible.  However, her attitude and response to the angel when she's told the news of how she's going to become Jesus' Mom is telling...

Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared.  Luke 1:38

Having a baby without yet being married was going to put her in a very awkward situation - with her family, and with her future husband.  She does not mention any of these concerns to the angel.  As a young female in that culture, she wouldn't have had easy access to scripture or biblical/theological training.  Yet somehow, she managed to cultivate an attitude that God found very favourable.  That attitude of humility, meekness, and submission to God and his plan is clearly evident in her response above.

Image by Catherine Stockinger from Pixabay 
A lamb - meek and humble

Submit Yourselves to God....

This train of thought reminds me of a significant omission I had been making recently in remembering a scripture.  I ask God to help me be conscious of His presence throughout my day, and I had included the verse from James, 'Resist the devil and he will flee.  Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.'  After several months of this, I got a reminder (indirectly from a friend's post on instagram - thanks @paulmoores) that the full verse is 'Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.'  James 4:7-8.  The Message put it another way:

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.

Dear God, please help me to humbly make myself available to do Your will.

The Lord's Prayer - Forgive us Our Sins...

Intro...

For the last year or two, I've been trying to pattern my morning prayers after the Lord's Prayer.  I find that the structure allows me to be more consistent (if sometimes somewhat repetitive at times) in the discipline of prayer.  I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being consistent and somewhat repetitive.  Jesus related in his parable about the persistent widow who kept asking for the same thing over and over until she got it.  Here's a link to previous posts about this: 

Part 1 - Our Father...  

Part 2 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done... 

Part 3 - On earth as it is in heaven. 

Part 4 - Give us this day...

Part 5 - Forgive us our sins...  is below

Part 6 - Lead us not... But deliver us...

Forgive Us Our Sins....

I'm always directed (in my heart and mind) back to Psalm 51 when I think about this phrase.  King David's plea to God for forgiveness after committing adultery with Bathsheba is remarkable in its depth of humility and contrition.  Some excerpts here from 'The Message' version (Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson) give an interesting, different perspective...

 God, make a fresh start in me,

    shape a Genesis creation week from the chaos of my life.

Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!

....

Going through the motions doesn’t please you,

    a flawless performance is nothing to you.

I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.

Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

Psalm 51:10-12, 16-17

As We Forgive Those...

In thinking about what to write for this blog post for the past few weeks, I've realized that I struggle with walking in forgiveness towards leaders in leadership at work, in government, or in church that do not appear to understand the burdens they place on me.  This leads to me becoming angry and frustrated, and I can end up stewing in this for far too long.  Some results of this are an inability to communicate effectively with them when I have an opportunity to get my point across, and a lack of empathy and compassion for what they themselves are dealing with.

Recognizing that this behaviour of mine needs to change, I wondered where it started in my life.  While I was brushing my teeth one evening, God began to align thoughts and recollections in my head...

In grades 3 and 4,  I was very keen and motivated to learn - I loved learning and school, and my parents encouraged me to do my best.  I had an intense, deep sense that it was my responsibility to learn, and I didn't want to let anyone down.  I'm not sure where those feelings came from or why I had them, but that was just me, then.  *shrug and smile*

Enter my teacher for those two years, Mr. H.  He was great in a lot of ways, and introduced us to many things that have formed and shaped me to this day.  Some examples:  He read two of the Chronicles of Narnia books to us; he played his oboe to us in class; and he had a passion for first nations history and art that I definitely assimilated.  However, he also had a method of keeping the class obedient and submissive that, given my intense desire to learn, broke my heart. 

Looking from the vantage point of 4 more decades of experience, his leadership behaviour was not all that abusive.  He did yell quite loud at times when he was frustrated.  But what really got me was this:  Whenever we started a new subject in class, he'd ask us to take those books out of desks to get prepared.  If we did this too loud, he'd tell us to put our books back in our desks and have us wait.  Each time this happened during a day, the wait would be longer... first 5 minutes.  Then 10 or so, but randomly longer.  There were some days where we did nothing - no school work at all - because we'd been talking too much in our transition between subjects.  I felt all this doing nothing was letting my family and myself down, because it was my responsibility to learn.  I had no control over how loud my classmates were.  I didn't feel I could talk to anyone about it.  I felt terrible, and quietly wept in class at my desk many times as we waited, adding embarrassment to my frustration.   I believe I've had trust issues with certain leadership/authority figures every since then, perhaps due to a lack of forgiveness and a 'bitter seed' of sorts that was planted in my heart at that time.

Considering forgiveness
Image by Pexels from Pixabay

A Prayer...

Oh God, help me to forgive my teacher and the students, and the leaders that I've had since then with whom I've felt awkward and suspicious.  They had no way to know what kind of impact these things would have on me.  Help me to learn to love them again, and view them with empathy and compassion for the situations they were/are dealing with.  Forgive me for harbouring bitter thoughts and blame against them.  Help me to trust you, and leave these situations, concerns, frustrations, and fallout in your capable hands.  Thank you, that you are more than able to restore and heal everyone concerned, and help us to receive your healing.

The Lord's Prayer - Lead Us Not.. Deliver Us from Evil

Intro..

For the last year or two, I've been trying to pattern my morning prayers after the Lord's Prayer.  I find that the structure allows me to be more consistent (if sometimes somewhat repetitive at times) in the discipline of prayer.  I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being consistent and somewhat repetitive.  Jesus related in his parable about the persistent widow who kept asking for the same thing over and over until she got it.  Here's a link to previous posts about this: 

Part 1 - Our Father...  

Part 2 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done... 

Part 3 - On earth as it is in heaven. 

Part 4 - Give us this day...

Part 5 - Forgive us our sins...

Part 6 - Lead us not... But deliver us...   Deliver Us from Evil is below.  I realize I'm skipping some sections making this one Part 3, but as you'll see below, my recent experience seemed to justify this.

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

So where does God leads us then?  Would God lead us into temptation?  

I like to think of Psalm 23 to answer both of these questions.  It says as our shepherd, God leads us by still waters, and guides us in paths of righteousness, for His namesake (click on the links to read some posts I've done about those specific pieces of that Psalm).  

Interestingly though, the following phrase in Psalm 23 talks about 'walking through the valley of the shadow of death.'  If we're being guided on His paths, how do we end up in the valley of the shadow of death?  It seems His paths of righteousness sometimes head that direction...

Las Vegas - Google Next 2025

Last week (early April 2025) I was on a business trip to the Google Next 2025 conference which happened to be held in Las Vegas.  As I was praying in my mornings and evenings in the hotel there, this passage '...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...' seemed very apropros.  Las Vegas - otherwise known as 'Sin City' is the place one supposedly goes to forget the responsibilities, disciplines, and proper conduct of true life.  Every hotel/resort (including the one we were put up in) close to the main drag had casinos, slot machines, entertainment, pools, and food establishments design for escape.  

Looking at a map of 'the strip', I was struck with its similarity to a spiritual 'valley of death.'  Everything is there on that valley of a road through the middle of Las Vegas, with 'hills' of hotels and casinos on each side, that will tempt you to some kind of literal or spiritual death.  

Deliver Us from Evil

Thankfully, our Good Shepherd doesn't leave us lost and alone in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.  The psalmist says that God is with us, there. 

- And because He is with us, we don't have to fear! 
    '...I will not fear for You are with me.  Your rod and staff comfort me.'  

- And He feeds and sustains us there!  

    'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.'  

Jesus prayed for his followers in the Garden of Gethsemane in his last hours before his death.  This is one of the most detailed accounts of a prayer of Jesus.  Its interesting to see that one of the pivotal points of his prayer is John 17:15 'My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.'  Its a prayer I try and remember to pray for the people on my prayer list, and again, seemed very applicable for my stay in Las Vegas that week.

The Lord's Prayer - Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done

Intro..

For the last year or two, I've been trying to pattern my morning prayers after the Lord's Prayer.  I find that the structure allows me to be more consistent (if sometimes somewhat repetitive at times) in the discipline of prayer.  I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being consistent and somewhat repetitive.  Jesus related in his parable about the persistent widow who kept asking for the same thing over and over until she got it.  Here's a link to other posts about this: 

Part 1 - Our Father...  

Part 2 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done... 

Part 3 - On earth as it is in heaven. 

Part 4 - Give us this day...

Part 5 - Forgive us our sins...

Part 6 - Lead us not... But deliver us...

Your Kingdom Come..

There's a lot of meaning in the prayer 'Your kingdom come...'  If I'm praying that and sincere, I'm asking God to come and rule and 'reign' in my life.  Taking a step back and thinking about this, one uses reigns to control and steer a horse.  Similarly, I'm surrendering control to my King in asking Him to come guide, steer, and direct my life.

What does God's kingdom look like in my life?  There's a fun reggae song based on a verse in Romans 14:17 that I often remember in thinking about this.  It goes:  "Righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost.  Righteousness, Peace, Joy in the Holy Ghost, that's the Kingdom of God!"    I sometimes reflect and consider: Is my life reflecting those attributes during my day?  If not, it might be time for me to give those reigns back to God.

Finally, consider the potential of the Kingdom of God in our lives.  Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God being like a mustard seed, which even though its very small, when planted it can grow into a large tree that birds can hang out in.  When I was reflecting on this word picture in my mind, another one popped up.  The influence of a small domino knocking over progressively larger dominos.  Apparently, you can increase the size of the next domino successfully 1.7 times with every new domino.  If you start with one 10 millimetres high, and increase 1.7 times with each domino, 244 dominos later the last one is the size of the Empire State Building.  That's the potential influence of the Kingdom of God, and I find it encouraging. 

Your Will Be Done....

This might sound a bit silly, but I struggled and was in a way frustrated for years to know and understand what the 'will of God' was for my life.  It made praying this prayer challenging.  I was stuck in a rut of defining 'God's will for my life' as a big plan, and I could never seem to hear or grasp.  Consequently, I'd often add a phrase of my own while praying this...  'Your will be done, God, if I can figure out what that is.'

Suddenly one day (in church, perhaps?) someone read 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and I was a bit shocked.  God's will didn't need to be a big, architected plan for my life.  It could be a simple everyday choice in small things.  That verse goes like this:  "Be thankful in all things, for this is God's will in Christ Jesus for you."

At first glance, the thought is 'oh, actually doing God's will isn't that hard.'  Its easy to skim over the phrase '...in all things...'  That clarifier is a challenge to live up to!  I've realized its not nearly as easy as I thought to be thankful in all things in any reasonable fashion or consistency without God's help.

As I let those truths marinate in my live for a good bit of time (several years - not days or months), I realized that there were some other similar verses similar to this that I had not considered.  Micah 6:8 is one:  "He has shown you, oh man, what is good and what God requires of you.  But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Luke 4:18,19 was the most recent one that stuck out to me in this context.  Its also the most challenging as it talks about specific actions and results...

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

    and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

The Lord's Prayer - Our Father...

The Pre-Amble

For the last year or two, I've been trying to pattern my morning prayers after the Lord's Prayer.  I find that the structure allows me to be more consistent (if sometimes somewhat repetitive at times) in the discipline of prayer.  I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being consistent and somewhat repetitive.  Jesus related in his parable about the persistent widow who kept asking for the same thing over and over until she got it.  So here's the beginning of what I hope will be a series of blog posts about my meditations based on the Lord's Prayer.  Here's links to the other posts: 

Part 1 - Our Father...  

Part 2 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done... 

Part 3 - On earth as it is in heaven. 

Part 4 - Give us this day...

Part 5 - Forgive us our sins...

Part 6 - Lead us not... But deliver us...

Our Father who Art in Heaven...

I believe I'm a something of a softy at heart.  I enjoy watching YouTube videos of people with cochlear implants getting them turned on for the first time, children with really bad vision getting corrective glasses for the first time, soldiers surprising their families after being away deployed for a long time, AND most importantly with point I'm trying to make here, foster children getting adopted by their foster families.  A number of people in very close relationship to me had messed up families growing up (including my Dad who was a ward of the government for most of his childhood years).  The joy these children have when they realized they've been adopted is quite an experience and hits me deep.

John says in 1John 3:1 "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we might be called children of God."  God is always growing His family, and He's inviting everyone to join!  God wants to be in a father/child relationship with each of us.  And He is a perfect father who gives good gifts to His children.  Listen to Jesus here in Matthew 7:11...  "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

...Hallowed be Your Name

The Bible actually focuses a lot on God's names.  Often there are phrases like 'bless the name of the Lord', 'for your namesake' and, like above 'hallowed be Your Name.'  Names carry an enormous significance in the Bible.  Many of the different names of God in the Bible came from different people's experiences with God and actual 'revelations' they had of who God is.  Essentially they're saying 'I experienced the living God in this way...'  

As I consider the kaleidoscope of all the different names of God from the Bible, I find God is ready and more than able to meet my needs for living, anywhere, anytime.  God the Seer, God of ages, God the healer, God my peace, God with me, God of all comfort, God the provider, God my hope and protector, etc.

So what are some of the names of God that I remember and I'm specifically thankful for?

• El Roi
• Jehovah Shalom
• Elohim Shomri
• Jehovah Jireh
• Emmanuel 
• Jehovah Rapha

Prayer and Love - Even Better? Journal Entry July 2024

 I'm travelling for work this week to Vilnius, Lithuania.  On the flight from Amsterdam to Vilnius yesterday, a mother and her son (who was about 6-7 years old) were sitting next to me.  Apparently, she had bought him a little Pokemon Go ball about the size of a quarter.  That was his 'go to' toy for the trip.  He fell asleep on her lying on her lap not too long into the 2 hour flight and slept most of the way.  He dropped that ball once and his mom picked it up and he wanted it back in his hand before he fell back to sleep again.  She held his hand, and stroked his fingers and fixed his hair while he slept.  When he woke up after we landed, he was proudly showing everyone his ball as we waited to disembark from the plane...

Later this morning, trying to sleep around my jet lag, I was thinking/praying about the verse '...the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases...' (see why I do that here) and was reminded of this picture of that mother and her son on the plane.  This other verse from the book Matthew (Jesus talking about prayer) came to mind:

"If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust?  If he asks for a fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate?  As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing.  You're at least decent to your own children.  So don't you think God who conceived you in love will be even better?"

I found a lot of comfort, encouragement, and love in this message, along with that picture of a mother's love for her son and his ball on the plane.

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash

Healing Love and Coffee - A Parable of Marriage

Start with Beans - A Cord of Three Strands

The Bible says in Galatians: 'A man reaps what he sows'.   Making good coffee is no different.  A man needs to start with good beans and a good roast.  Similar with marriage.  Begin rooted in God, and always turn to Him for help.

When Ewa and I got married, we chose a popular 'marriage verse' from proverbs as our promise from God, that He would help us in our union:  "A cord of three strands is not easily broken." Eccl. 12:3.  The meaning we took from this verse was Ewa and I each were a strand, God being the third strand.  As long as we remained close to God, He would help us stay together.

Photo by The Ian on Unsplash

The Grind - Life isn't Easy

You've got to grind those beans so the flavour comes out.  That's not really a peaceful, relaxing process.

The first five years of marriage for me were no cake-walk.  Ewa and I got married when I was 23 and she was 29 - so there was an age difference to content with.  Additionally, we grew up in different countries on different continents and had different mother tongues.  Ensuring our communication is effective and we genuinely understand each other in conversations was and continues to be an ongoing challenge.  Vocal inflections, the use of imperative verbs, and how we tell stories can stimulate static in our relationship.

And then of course, life happens.  We lived in Poland together for a year after we got married, and then felt God telling us to move to Alberta (more details about that here).  We were geographically separated for 9 months while I worked in Canada and sponsored Ewa's immigration.  Our 'honeymoon vacation' didn't happen until she became a landed immigrant in Canada, nearly 2 years after we got married.  Soon afterwards we had to navigate employment issues and a career change, all the while trying to walk with God and believing he was with us.  I'd say the career change definitely 'nicked' that cord of three stands, even though we believed God was leading us that direction.

The Brew - Learn How to Truly Love

The 'love' that is espoused by this generation's media is like a coffee beverage made fast with syrup (I'm thinking of a Tim Horton's iced capp for you Canadians).  A good coffee brew however, takes time and hot water.  I think true love in a marriage grows over time and with trials, persistence, and patience.  

Around 2016-2018 I think both Ewa and myself found ourselves letting the busyness, worries, comparisons, anxieties, and frustrations of this life cause us to 'fall out of love' with each other.  While its easy to 'look for options', or escapes, or even use threatening ultimatums in those trying times, those aren't healthy paths to consider.

Getting to the 'end of my rope' (sorry, I know I'm mixing metaphors in the post - I hope you can follow along), I asked God for help with our marriage.  I needed:

1. A new perspective of who Ewa was - God's perspective.  
2. To learn how to truly love her again.

God answered the my first request by helping me see Ewa as a little girl - something I had never seen or experienced, because I met Ewa when she was 29.  But she was still His little girl, so He knew how to make that happen. How did God help me see/experience that?

• He told me to watch her when she slept/napped.  People let down their guard - all pretences fall away - when they sleep!  Its actually not hard to 'rewind time' and visualize a younger person when they are asleep.
• He suggested I listen closer to her stories when she was a child and then helped me draw parallels to some of her current behaviours.  That helped my understand why she was afraid of some things, why her shopping habits were totally different than mine, and even why her personal communication and story-telling followed different patterns than I would expect (BTW, I still struggle with waiting for her to 'get to the point')

With the second request, I felt God was prompting me to 'do' something, to somehow show Ewa that I loved her in a meaningful and persistent way.  This came with two ideas:

• Making her coffee every morning.  I don't drink coffee myself, but I am up earlier than Ewa for work every day.  So I learned how she makes her coffee and I made that my morning 'labour of love'. 
  The results of this actually surprised me.  I don't know what I was expecting, but clearly Ewa appreciates her morning coffee being brewed for her a lot more than I realized.  It went miles further than I expected it would in helping her feel loved and cared for.  I still make her morning coffee to this day.
• Calling her by her Polish diminutive name and other loving nicknames instead of her 'plain, legal' name.  She much prefers I call her 'Ewunia' or 'Baby-doll' or some other fun nick-names.  I honestly don't know how I missed this in our first 15-20 years of marriage, because it also made a huge difference for us.

This is THE coffee machine mentioned above.

Savour the Flavour

For all these steps and suggestions above to work, I had to persist in them, and I had to be patient to wait for the result.  I'd also say that I'm definitely not perfect, and there are times where Ewa has extended grace, mercy, and forgiveness to me when I was not so lovable.  It takes three cords to make that strong rope, and this post mostly focuses on two of those cords.  I'm sure Ewa has her own perspective on this marriage journey of ours and her own bean 'blend' and 'flavour' she savours.

I'm thankful to say that now the majority of our time together we can be silly, have fun with each other, and enjoy each other's company.  My wife and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this year!  

Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

A Benediction

When I started writing this post, I made some notes on generic things that I thought helped put our relationship back together.  Those quick notes looked like this below:

• Persist in:
• an intentional relationship with God
• being real and honest with God
• loving mercy and walking in forgiveness
• hope and faith in God - that He is a good Father and your safety is found in Him

What I thought was cool later when I reviewed them is they actually align with parts of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (the love chapter):

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

A Prayer - For Friends and Family Who Don't Know God

 Dear God,

Thank You, that its Your kindness that leads us to repentance. 
Thank You, that You are the Good Shepherd who leaves the flock to save the one missing sheep.
Thank You, that You are willing that none should perish, but all should come to eternal life with You.

A Prayer for Family and Friends who don't Know God

God, I pray for my close family who don't know You,
For my extended family that doesn't know You,
For the people that I work with that don't know You,
And for the people I happen to bump into today that don't know You...

Help them all to:

• Have open eyes to look and see Your kindness in their lives, past and present.  To see Your grace and love are greater than any bad thing that they have done, or will do.  
• Have open ears to listen and hear Your works of kindness encouraging, calling, beckoning, and guiding them.
• Have open hearts and understanding to grasp and embrace Your kindness, Your heart for them, how big You are, and everything You've done for them, past and present.  May they acknowledge in their life here that every good thing they've received and have is from You and Your kindness.  

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

God, please bring people across their path who know You, who are filled with Your grace and love.  May those people point my family and friends to You and Your kindness in their lives.  Help me to also be someone like that.

The Names of God - Emmanuel

God with Us

Why am I writing about the names of God? 
Another important name of God in the Bible that was given to Jesus (prophesied by Isaiah, attributed to Jesus by Matthew) is Emmanuel - God with Us.  

While I don't have a specific experience that stands out where I could say that makes this name of God significant to me, I take a lot of comfort from all the verses in the Bible that tell me God is with me.  I need this comfort and encouragement because believing that He is with me is a faith journey a lot of the time.  I will admit, I'm sometimes a bit jealous that the people of Jesus' time actually got to see him, hear him, touch him.

Bible verses that I often remember in my prayers when I thank God for his presence with me are:

• He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother - Proverbs 18:24
• He is an ever-present help in time of need - Psalm 46:1
• Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me - Psalm 23:4
• He will be with me always, even unto the end of the age - Matthew 28:20
• They will call his name Emmanuel, God with us - Matthew 1:23

The best story I can think of that exemplifies this in the Bible is in Daniel chapter 3, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were condemned to die in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace of fire.  They stood resolute against his threats, refusing to bow down and worship his golden statue.  In response, King Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated 7 times hotter, and threw them in it.  Then this happened in Daniel 3:24-25:

Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?”

“That’s right, O king,” they said.

“But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!” 

This sounds a lot like Isaiah 43:2 where Isaiah says:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

God with Me

When I was growing up, I made more than one announcement to my parents that I wanted to be a hermit, live in the woods along, and work my own trap line.  After I left home, the idea of being a hermit didn't last long.  While I do enjoy my solitude, I also enjoy companionship.  Walks with my wife lately are a cherished activity.  

One of the first things God said in Genesis after he created Adam was 'It is not good for man to be alone.'  While I do enjoy my wife's companionship and she is a fantastic helpmate in many problems, sometimes even my wife can't understand the things I struggle with - a work issue, or something else - and I can feel very 'alone' in a problem.  The comfort of knowing that God is 'an ever-present help in time of need' is paramount.  He promised to be with me, listen to me, and walk through this with me.  The catch? I have to believe these promises.

Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash

Other Names of God Significant to me..

• El Roi - God Sees Me
• Jehovah Shalom - God is my Peace
• Elohim Shomri - God is my Protector
• Jehovah Jireh - God my Provider
• Jehovah Rapha - God our Healer
• The God of all Comfort

The Names of God

The Names of God

I loosely try and use the Lord's prayer as a model in the morning for my own prayers - at least lately.  See this link for previous prayer patterns I've practiced (love that alliteration).  More specifically, I've been considering who God says He is - how He's revealed His greatness through His name to me personally - and thanking Him for that.  Hallowed (or great) be Your Name...  I've found this combination of thankfulness and remembering His greatness to me particularly potent in a positive way.

The Bible actually focuses a lot on God's names.  Often there are phrases like 'bless the name of the Lord', 'for your namesake' and, like above 'hallowed be Your Name.'  Names carry an enormous significance in the Bible.  Many of the different names of God in the Bible came from different people's experiences with God and actual 'revelations' they had of who God is.  Essentially they're saying 'I experienced the living God in this way...'  

As I consider the kaleidoscope of all the different names of God from the Bible, I find God is ready and more than able to meet my needs for living, anywhere, anytime.  God the Seer, God of ages, God the healer, God my peace, God with me, God of all comfort, God the provider, God my hope and protector, etc.

So what are some of the names of God that I remember and I'm specifically thankful for?

• El Roi
• Jehovah Shalom
• Elohim Shomri
• Jehovah Jireh
• Emmanuel 
• Jehovah Rapha
• The God of all Comfort

Photo by Taylor Van Riper on Unsplash

Erik's Birth and Health Concerns

Let God have all your worries and cares,

for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. 

1 Peter 5:7

Our son Erik was an answer to prayer the day he was born.  He also had a couple health issues as an infant and a toddler that had us concerned for a while, but God was in control.  Here's my journal entries about these experiences:

Erik is Born!

May 11, 2002
We prayed that Ewa’s labour would be on a day that I was off work, so that we could easily get Kornelia over to our friend, Mandy, who would look after her.  We also asked God to arrange it so that it would be during the morning, quick, and natural (as Ewa had a c-section with Kornelia). God totally answered these prayers.  Ewa’s water broke at 10 am on Saturday April 27, and by 11am we were on the way to the hospital and Kornelia was at Mandy’s.  Erik was born at 2:20 that afternoon.  A natural childbirth with 3 and a half hours of labour, and relatively easy.  Ewa felt really good about it.  We took Erik home on Sunday.  God answers prayer!
Later that week he started having ‘episodes’ which turned out to be from low blood-sugar.  We took him to emergency at the children’s hospital on Thursday morning.  They just about let us go saying they couldn't find anything wrong and then Erik had another episode right in front of the doc.  They immediately rushed him into a special room and discovered his blood sugar was less than 1!  They admitted him and he stayed on an IV until Sunday morning. They released us on Monday evening.  Erik was much better and hasn’t had an ‘episode’ since.  Pretty scary though.

Three Years Later...

April 2005
Erik gave us another health scare at the beginning of April.  He had a low blood sugar level and spent some time in the hospital.  He was actually born with low blood sugar, but he hasn't had any problems

with it up to this point.  He spent the better part of a week in and out of the hospital at the beginning of this month.  Fortunately, Calgary has a great children's hospital, and a great staff.  Erik has fully recovered now, and we'll find out tomorrow what the specialists think is up with his blood sugar.  A number of tests were done while he was in the hospital.  We know he doesn't have diabetes, and the doctors were pretty sure there isn't a hormone imbalance.  God is in control.

The Prognosis

The doctors never did nail down exactly what the problem with Erik was.  They believed it was related to his body having troubles metabolizing ketones - basically we couldn't let him go without food too long, otherwise his blood sugar would drop dangerously low.  So we ensured he had snacks as soon as he got up, before he went to bed, and that he never got too hungry during the day.

The doctors felt he'd probably grow out of it, which is seems he did.  He's now a strapping 6'2'' lad, outweighing me by 20 pounds or so.  God is faithful and He hears our prayers.

Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

Car Fire!

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.  2 Corinthians 9:8

When we moved to Edmonton in 1997 we had a 1991 Olds Cutlass Sierra for driving around.  It had a lot of mileage on it and was beginning to require expensive maintenance.  We were concerned about this as it was our only form of transportation and I needed a means to get to work and back (a 25km drive, one way), so we asked God for help.

Sometimes God's help arrives in round-about, unexpected ways.  Here's an excerpt from journal entry from Jan. 9, 1998:

We have had quite the experience this past week.  Monday evening, our car burned in our garage.  Today we received news that the insurance company is going to write it off.  Looks like we’ll be getting a new car. 

Here's what happened...  Arriving home from work that day, I had parked the car in our townhouse's attached garage.  Sitting down to supper, I heard some weird noises from the garage, so I asked Ewa "What's that popping sound in the garage?"  I went to look and the garage was full of fire and smoke (mostly smoke).  I immediately shut the door and called the fire department.  They came and put the fire out.  

Fortunately, there was no major structural damage to the garage - mostly smoke damage.  However the car was totalled.  The fire investigator said they'd seen this before and the fire was caused from static-electric shot somewhere around the gas tank.  

We asked God for help in finding a newer used car for us - something that would last longer and be a bit more reliable.  God answered!  Here's another journal excerpt from Jan. 31 1997:

God has really been our provider in this whole car situation.  A week ago Thursday we were torn as to what to do with buying a car.  We didn’t feel totally at peace with the red Honda Accord here in Millwoods that we had looked at.  Then we went to look at a 91 Accord at a Ford dealership way up north Edmonton.  It turned out to be the one that God was providing for us.  It had only 127,000 km as opposed to the red Accord which had 195,000 km.  Not only that, but they offered us a great deal - no trade in - and we were able to buy a 40,000 km/2 year warranty along with it. 
THEN, we had agreed with our car insurance company that we would get $5900. for the Olds minus $500. deductible.  When we went to pick up the cheque yesterday, it was for $6313.  God’s provision!  It turned out that with a fire, we didn’t have to pay deductible, AND they added GST to the $5900.  We are truly blessed.

Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

God Winks in Slave Lake - Part 1

After Ewa and I got married, we lived in Warsaw, Poland.  After almost a year, we went to the Canadian embassy to ask them if, in the event we had children, they could obtain dual citizenship.  We got that answer, but at the same time the embassy told us that immigration law in Canada had changed and if we ever wanted to move back to Canada the ONLY way they would allow Ewa into the country was if she officially immigrated.  

We didn't want to be in a situation where Ewa was not free to travel to Canada, so we decided to change our plans.  We quit our work contract in Warsaw and I went to Canada alone so I could find a job and sponsor Ewa's immigration.  I left Poland in Sept. 1994 and God provided immediate employment for me in Slave Lake, Alberta.

Working at the OSB Plant

While in Slave Lake, I worked at an Oriented Strand-board Plant that made plywood from wood wafers.  I worked 4 12-hour days, had 3 and a half days off and then worked 4 12-hour nights followed by 4 days off.  Some of those shift transitions could be brutal - particularly the first night shift.  

Oriented Strand Board

My initial responsibility there was clean up.  Conveyers carrying bark and other wood waste to the burner never caught everything, or sometimes got plugged or overflowed.  I got to cleanup the messes.  It was heavy, hard work shovelling wet wood waste back into the convey which was sometimes higher than my head.  Late one dark, very cold evening I was taking a short break from this labour when I noticed some very large icicles hanging down the side of the structure.  Considering their size (over 3 feet long) I thought they could be a danger to someone, so I decided to knock them down.  In my tired state, I didn't properly factor how they might fall once I broke them with my shovel.  When they fell, a large piece hit my hardhat, knocked it off and then hit my face.  I needed stitches, but I was told that I was fortunate the injury wasn't worse given the size and weight of the icicle.  God's Protection!

Waferizer

After a couple months doing cleanup, I got informally moved up to the 'Green-End' crew. We were responsible for ensuring the mill had a consistent flow of wood wafers to make the boards.  This involved running machines that debarked the logs coming into the mill, trimming these logs into 2 foot lengths and ensuring those 2 foot lengths were oriented correctly as they were fed into 'waferizers' which turned the logs into wafers.  The debarking and log trimming was mostly an automated process, but making sure the log sections were oriented properly going into the waferizers was manually done, and these logs could be heavy.  We used tools called pickaroons to help move these logs into position.

Pickaroon

Food processors are loud.  Waferizers scream past them in decibels.  One could get very mentally and physically exhausted from the noise and the work in the wee hours of the morning.  I had to be very conscious of the moves, pulls, and yanks I made orienting the wood so I didn't hurt myself.  

One evening I pulled a muscle in my back, but convinced myself I could work through it.  By the time the shift was over, I was hurting in a big way.  This was concerning because the mill tried very hard to avoid lost time injuries and my back felt like it was going to require some time off to heal.  

After arriving home, I was getting ready for bed and found my back pain was so overwhelming that I was struggling to breathe!  I called my Mom for help.  She came and I told her my back was hurting and I couldn't breathe.  She prayed for me right there, and within 30 seconds the pain was entirely gone.  It was amazing!  God healed me!

"The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all"  Psalm 34:19
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."  Psalm 46:1

Read Part 2 of God Winks in Slave Lake here
Click here for more true stories of God working in my life

I Will Follow You - Trusting God

I've rediscovered a song recently that I hadn't heard in a couple of decades.  Its called 'I Will Follow You', by Maranatha Singers. (listen below)  When I first heard the song I was travelling in Poland in 1993, staying with my future wife and her family.  She had the album, and I had some down time. It was a time in my life where I was intensely searching, trying to determine and discover what God's will and direction for my life was.  Big decisions were in front of me: marriage, career, family, and where we'd live.  I was trying to listen for God's direction and guidance on these concerns every day. As a result, the lyrics song ended up feeling like an extension of my heart at that time.

Fast forward 25 years.

I don't recall what prompted me to look for the song recently, but something jogged my memory and I went looking for it and found it on Spotify.  Hearing the lyrics and the minimalistic (but so dramatic and melancholic) riffs and refrains took my mind right back to the searching questions I had so long ago.  What an amazing reference for me!

There's two passages from the Bible that have been 'highlighted' lately for me lately by God:

• Romans 12:1-2  '....in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.'
• James 4:6-8  'But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud
  but shows favour to the humble."  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.'

These past 25 years I've been on a journey of learning to trust God.  At times my expectations and

ambitions got in the way.  Life is messy.  I'm not perfect.  I've compared myself to others and fallen into a trap.  God wants me to look to Him, and trust Him - with the big decisions and the small things.  And when I do trust Him, there's rest, peace, hope.

Trusting for me lately means:

• Saying what I believe God wants me to say, ignoring how I think I sound, and trusting that God will let people to hear what He wants them to hear.
• Doing what I believe God wants me to do with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength - believing that in He will accomplish everything He wants to through me in His time.
• Living in the 'now.'  Stop being distracted with regrets, and 'my plan' for the future.  Being completely open and submitted to God today, in the next 5 minutes, etc.  
• Letting go of my reputation (what I think people are thinking about me).  Resting in my identity in God. I'm his valued child.

I knew much of this stuff 'in my head' back in 1993.  I didn't have a lot of life experience.  Its interesting how time and experience come together to provide perspective.

Me and Prayer

For the last few years, I've been catching an express bus to work in downtown Calgary.  Its about a
30-40 minute commute depending on the weather and traffic.  My routine on this commute up until about 4 months ago was to write in my journal (on my phone), and then relax.

But with some encouragement from church, small group, and just life in general, I've taken to spending the rest of my commute praying after I've finished writing in my journal.  I honestly didn't think I could fill up the rest of that time praying, but as I continue to do it, the easier it is to pray the whole trip.

I wanted to document a general outline of what I pray for a couple of reasons:

1.  So I don't forget it.  I've seen a lot of positive things happen, and I don't want to 'drop the ball' so to speak.
2. To encourage others with a morning prayer routine, and give them ideas of what they can pray about if its a struggle to find things to pray about.

I try to insert as much scripture as I can remember when praying.  I also try and include my family and significant others in my prayers.  I make a point of thinking and even picturing everything and every person I pray about.  I don't want it to become mindless verbiage if I can help it.
First I try and remember to pray pertinent parts the Lord's Prayer (there's some alliteration for you) by asking God to:

• Let His kingdom come and His will be done in our lives on earth as it is in heaven, today
• Forgive us our trespasses today as we forgive those who trespass against us.
• Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 Then I ask God to fill us with His Spirit:

• Its not by might, not by power, by by His Spirit that we'll accomplish anything for His kingdom, so I pray that He'd live large inside of us for the day.
• That He's help us exude the fruits of the Spirit today in everything we do:  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I pray that God would open our eyes and open our ears to:

• See ourselves and the people around us from His perspective.  To see beyond the external. To see the path He's laid out of us today and that we be obedient to walk in it.
• Hear His words of encouragement and exhortation for the day.  Hear what people are really saying instead of what we think or assume they are saying.  Hear His direction and guidance for the day.

Then I ask God to put His Armour on us.  I ask Him to remind each one I'm praying for that:

• The battle is not ours, but it belongs to Him
•  The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds
• Our battle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against principalities, powers, rulers, and authorities of this earth, and against evil spirits in the heavenly realms.

Here's come individual pieces:

• The gospel of peace on our feet.   I pray that He would: 
• Make us salt and light in the world today.  
• Help us remember that we're His ambassadors - His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ears to people.  
• Remind us today that its His good news.  And its good news of Peace - not of fear, because He didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.  
• Help us remember there shouldn't be anything anxious about the gospel - that we'd be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, make our requests known to Him, because He's the God of peace that passes all understanding. 
• Guard our hearts and minds as we leave our cares in His hands.
• The helmet of salvation on our heads.  I ask God to:
• Remind us to take everything thought captive and make it obedient to, and line up with Him.
• Help us be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can test and prove what His good and perfect will is
• Let us remember to set out hearts and minds on the things above, and not on the things of this earth.  That we would think and dwell on what is good, pure, noble, of good report, praise-worthy, and honourable.
• Meditate on His work day and night, that we'd be like trees planted beside streams of living water, bearing fruit in and out of season, with leaves that don't wither and crops that don't fade.
• The belt of truth on our waists.  I pray that God would:
• Remind us that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and that no one comes to the Father, but through Him
• Help us understand a live like Jesus did, as John said that Jesus came to the world 'full of grace and truth'.  I ask that God would help us understand how to live that way - to be able to balance grace and truth in our lives and not compromise.
• Put a guard on our minds and our mouths, that we wouldn't think or speak slanderous, critical or over-exaggerated things.
• Give us wisdom and discernment to know when the enemy is trying to put lying thoughts into our minds - that we'd resist him.  That God would help us to submit ourselves to Him and draw near to him, at the same time resisting the enemy so that he (and his lying untruths would flee).
• The breastplate of righteousness on our torsos. I ask God to please:
• Give us soft, humble hearts for the day.  That we'd be ready to be corrected and encouraged, and not let pride get in the way of what He wants to do in our lives
• Make us be strong and courageous.  That we'd have a supernatural boldness to stand for Him and what we know is right
• Remind us that when we're forgiven and washed clean, we can come boldly before His throne of grace without wavering or faltering.
• Remind us that He has has began a good work in us, and that He is faithful to complete that work
• The sword of the Spirit (His word).  I pray for God to:
• Let His word not depart from our minds or our mouths
• Remind us to resist the enemy with His word, like Jesus did when He was tempted by the Devil.  That when we think, read, speak or hear His word, it would be sharper than a double-edged sword to the piercing asunder of soul and spirit, bone and marrow for us, and that it would judge the thoughts and intents of our hearts.
• Help us to get life and sustenance from His word for the day, because man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God
• Guide and direct us with His word, and make His word a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path today.
• Cleanse and wash us with the water of His word as we read, think, and hear it.
• The shield of faith. I petition (isn't that a good word - sounds spiritual) God to:
• Grow faith in us, because He is the author and finisher of our faith.
• Open our ears and give us a desire to read His word because faith come by hearing, and hearing by the word of God
• Remind us that without faith its impossible to please Him, and yet also help us to remember that all we need is faith as small as a mustard seed and we can do great things
• Help us to remember those people in Hebrews 11 and like them, learn to 'speak of things that are not as though they were'.  That we'd also be reminded that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Things I need to work on and I continue to work all of this out in my relationship with God:

• Not getting caught up in trying to remember all this stuff above and praying it 'right'.  I need to continually be conscious that prayer is a talk with God and part of my relationship with Him.  
• Cultivate more thankfulness
• Its not a shopping list.
• Praying for leaders
• Praying for the lost