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Things that I learned this year.

If I had to pick one thing it would be very difficult, however there are some things or principles that I have applied to my life this year that I would say were absent in years before. One of the most important thing that I learned this year was that tithing to my local church, A decision I made a couple or so years ago is something that I want to keep doing despite people who say that tithing is something that they did in the old testament. I even made a video about this a couple of years ago on YouTube but I want to keep this blog sort of free from talking about money but I do want to mention it a little bit. What brought me to the path of being a faithful giver to my local church was a video I believe back in 2011 or so on Vimeo. Another thing that I learned this year was that music is a very important part of my life. I had the opportunity once again this year to sing in the Christmas choir at my church. This isn't something new music is always been a desire of mine but I'...

When remembering isn't enough.

Boy that girl has gone bad we don't know what she's up to lately maybe we should check in with her parents and find out.. well you've heard the story before. I used to stay up very late and watch those really funny infomercials I kind of miss that because my sleeping habits became somewhat regular as I grew older. I used to be a night person I remember one time when I was The skateboarder I stayed up really late one night and went it was probably about 12 or maybe even three in the morning maybe not that late, and went on a long skateboarding journey I believe down ninth line to steels sort of close to where we moved to somewhat recently and skateboarded at night where the when there was no cars on the road. It was almost like a religious experience I really felt the presence of God when I was doing this skateboarding late at night as a teenager. I had many more such religious experiences when I was growing up doing things that I wouldn't necessarily do unless I was for...

What does it mean to be saved by the blood?

You may have heard the terms blood bought sanctified by the blood forgiven by the blood cleansed by the blood what does this mean to a born again Christian? At the heart of all this talk about blood it is referring to the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross for the remission of our sins. Some people would say that you should never mentioned the blood when speaking about the gospel but my question would be why not? Wasn't it through the death of Jesus on the cross as he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins? It is not some mystical kind of way of saying that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you, The Bible actually says without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins I believe that is found in Hebrews. I think the concern comes from the fact that many people don't understand the doctrine that I'm talking about right now. In the Old Testament animals blood was shed in order to cover the sins of the people. Why wouldn't the new testament address...

The church of the 21st-century.

I am wondering right now if the church has lost its power. By that I mean it's testimony. Has slow erosion of the truth in our society affected well-meaning churches and Christians as a whole? I would have to say the answer to this question is yes. Christians aren't out denying the Lord through their actions, but inwardly because of well meaning people, The church in Canada is slowly losing its testimony. I am free to say this because as someone who believes that even a greater time of persecution is coming, maybe not to this country, but the slow erosion of freedom of speech in the public arena, has led to congregations filled with unbelievers. Can one single person's testimony make a lasting difference on the entire culture? The answer five years ago would have been yes and I still think that we still have the power, although it is limited, The persecution that one can experience as a result of speaking the truth now as compared to five years ago is almost at a tipping po...

Are your pipes clogged?

In the light of passing fantasies and frauds, one truth remains. How do I get myself out of a predicament that the mind has difficulty in solving? When turning to mind therapy exercises as I often do we shouldn't forget that one who is bogged down with chronic illness or chronic depression there seems to be a way out but in the end it can lead to further entanglement. The ruminating mind sits alone in a dark room pondering where and what and why they have done wrong. As it should not be the mind should be able to float freely thinking conscious thoughts as those thoughts come to them. Dwelling on a problem can only make it worse, for one the problem will not go away and ruminating on a solution to the problem can even make the initial problem even worse. Mindful or awareness of those wet weather patterns in the sky the ones that keep you secluded and isolated, make one feel that their chronic depression will never go away. I have come recently to learn that dwelling not on the pr...

Theodicy in God's plan of salvation.

Have you considered my servant Job God asked to Satan in an infamous meeting found in the book of Job in the Old Testament. Many theologians have taken this verse to teach on the sovereignty of God, but I assume there's something deeper hidden in this text in the Old Testament. It has to do with free choice and the choice of good over evil. We are all put on this planet to fulfill a purpose, some Christians will say that that purpose is found when one repents of their sins and receives God's forgiveness. This is true in a sense but it doesn't quite give us a full picture of what was happening in this famous meeting between God and Satan. The theological reason for this meeting was free will or free choice. Theodicy is the justification of God in the presence of evil, we may ask why certain things happen to us and how can God still be righteous and just when bad things happen to good people I think there was a book called by that name. It wasn't that God was testing Job ...

Can you hear me now?

Words choice words are like weapons they can build another person up or they can tear another person down. My goal is to build you up. When we think about a tragedy there are many ways we can process this information. Psychology has many answers to how the mind works, in times of stress and turmoil people turn to their faith in order to get them through these difficult times. In a country like Canada where there is a very vast array of faith, A personal belief in God will not suffice so to speak in helping one get through the most difficult of times, unless that faith promotes the health and well-being of not just yourself but other people as well. This weekend many people will be worshiping God in the ways that they've been brought up with or the ways that they learned as an adult. To say that all religions lead to God was once a view that, brought comfort to those who may not even have believed in God. The claims of Evangelicalism, nondenominational ism and any other is immersed ...

Coffee.

That sacred taboo that thing that you couldn't have when you were a little kid, being a big kid right now makes it all the more sacred all the more delicious. Do we have a coffee epidemic on our hands right now? Buy that do I mean that we are highly addicted to this substance which excites our senses and flavors our taste buds. Surely people can be addicted to substances like tobacco or alcohol, but has coffee addiction become a reality? Can we really blow all of our money on buying stacks of coffee and canisters of coffee? Coffee mugs and espresso cups of coffee of all kinds of different sorts? Why do our churches still serve coffee at the end of services? If coffee was so bad why not ban it  out right like it's a drug. I know of some Christian denominations who believe that coffee is something that they should not drink. I know other religious organizations that don't eat meat. But doesn't the Bible say do not  let anyone judge you on what you should eat or drink I th...

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Today I have a meeting with someone from the CMHA act team. Today is a day that I've been wanting to have for quite some time now... We are going to do art. Being a suffer of chronic depression I want in this blog to give you guys an idea of what it is that I go through some of the time. Depression is really something that begins in the mind and it's a mind disease. If you've ever been up late at night and couldn't go back to sleep, that feeling that you get that your mind and your thoughts are kind of like zooming  everywhere, is kind of what I go through on an every day scale or experience. A lot of people who suffer from chronic depression also suffer from insomnia. It doesn't mean that we don't sleep just means that our bodies are not well adjusted to our thought processes so sleep becomes very elusive and unrestful. I could sleep 10 hours one night and wake up feeling like I've only slept three, that's what it's like to have depression and to no...

Income for the elderly.

I thought I would make a funny blog, commenting on the social ills of society. But being sick myself right now, I thought it would be more interesting to just voice my opinion about certain things! We live in a society of rapid transit, instant cash, and instant termination, by that I mean we are free to pick and choose on social websites like Facebook who we want to be friends with and who we don't want to be friends with and instantly drop them. But life is a little bit different. When we meet someone in real life we can't just automatically block them out of our lives like we do on the social website Facebook. I think some people who are very negative would like to treat life like a Facebook account. If I don't like this person I'll just stop being their friend, if this person is bothering me I'll just block them, or even worse what about reporting someone who seems to be sending you harassing emails. That one doesn't sound so bad but we all receive spam in o...

From rules to radical.

In the 1990s I read a book by someone in Quebec the title of the book was Quebec is killing me. This book had a professional and impact on my life, it was during the surge of separatists in Quebec wanting a referendum in order to separate from Canada. At that time in history Canada almost demanded that Quebec remain a part of it's own country. The referendum showed that just over half of the people in Quebec wanted to remain part of Canada and half of the other people in Quebec wanted Quebec to be it's own country. By a very small percentage Quebec at that time stayed in Canada. I think the author in the book that I read, couldn't understand how a government wanted so much more than what they had already been given. Even though this person writing this book was very independent, she had a clear grasp on the politics of her day. The reason why Quebec was killing her, was because they were taking a very big issue and making it small. When we take a big issue like a referend...

What is sanctification?

Romans 6:1-23   ESV / 36 helpful votes What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.  Definition:  Sanctification  is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born of God: “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and  sanctification  and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is a once-for-ever separation, eternally unto God. Sanctification is intimately linked with redemption. Y...

The doctrine of salvation.

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.      For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “ The one who does these things will live by them .” * But the righteousness that is by faith says: “ Do not say in your heart , * ‘ Who will ascend into heaven? ’” * (that is, to bring Christ down) or “ Who will descend into the abyss? ” * (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “ The word is near you , in your mouth and in your heart ” * (that is, the word of faith that we preach), because ...