Category: Christian Living

  • Chubby Cheeks

    Life lessons from a chipmunk

    Chipmunk

    This little chipmunk was obviously very used to people feeding him.  Even though I had no food, he had no qualms about approaching me. When he realized I had nothing for him to eat, he moved away,

    A little way down the trail, he came across a pile of sunflower seeds that someone had left for him. He stuffed his cheeks so full that they ballooned out and disappeared back into the woods. It wasn’t long before he was back, repeating the process until all the seeds were gone.

    I tried but couldn’t get a decent shot of his chubby chipmunk cheeks. He resembled something out of a cartoon.

    Chipmunks stash all the food they can find, so they have plenty for autumn when they are preparing to hibernate. I’m sure that they are like squirrels and forget at least some of what they have stashed, which allows the seed to grow in new places.

    While people don’t have chipmunk cheeks, with the exception perhaps of some trumpet players, sometimes our habits resemble theirs.

    We can’t get enough. We lust for the newest, fanciest, fastest, sexiest whiz-bang gizmo, as the old saying goes, “It’s good for everything, and if that isn’t enough, it’s good for nothing too!”

    Advertisers are aware of our tendency to be unsatisfied. Billions are spent every year to cause us to buy more things. They appeal to our vanity, our lust, our loneliness, and more. Buy our product and we promise you will be satisfied, well, at least until we have another one to sell you.

    We all fall for it. Chipmunks do it to survive, we do it out of emptiness and dissatisfaction.

    We spend money we don’t have to buy things to impress people who don’t care. It’s a problem as old as humanity.  We find ourselves trapped in prisons of debt, with stuff we didn’t really want or need, and still hungering for more. 

    It’s a problem as old as fallen humanity.

    Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man. Proverbs 27:20 NIV

    For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 NIV

    Our true satisfaction can never come from chasing the things of the world.

    You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 NIV

    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV

    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 NIV

    But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NIV

    Seek fulfillment where it is to be. Find contentment in the Lord.

    Let me close today with a prayer from Paul. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

    Kevin

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  • Old and New – The Old Will Pass Away

    This morning’s image showcases a small section of a massive  sandstone cliff in Point Roberts, Washington. Point Roberts is a pene-exclave of the USA, meaning it is American soil, but you have to go through Canada to access it by land. It has some small but beautiful ocean-side parks.

    These sandstone cliffs have stood seemingly forever, yet they are slowly vanishing. If you look at the center of the pic, you can see a groove running downwards. The sand is almost constantly in motion, trickling back down to the sea as it slowly erodes away.

    The sound is like a soft, gentle rain. It will take innumerable human lifetimes for the cliffs to be gone, but in the fullness of time, they will stand no more.

    Even the most permanent-seeming of things in the created universe have an expiry date. The sun itself will eventually burn out if God hasn’t come back by then.

    The little blue planet, third from the sun, that we call Earth will pass away.

    Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35 ESV

    For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. Isaiah 66:17 ESV

    But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10 ESV

    And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” Hebrews 1:10-12 ESV

    The final end to the existing physical order is not something we need to fear. The same God who created it all with a word, who stands outside the physical realm, remains, and He promises His faithful a new home.

    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-6 ESV

    As we await that day, we steward the physical realm to the best of our abilities, all the while recognizing that God created it for our use.

    The seas may dry up, the climate might change, the magnetic poles might swap end over end, and the mountains fall into the sea. Yet, we can hold fast because the God we worship remains the same, regardless of our earthly situation.

    God is in control and totally dependable. Praise His name.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

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