Tag: rain

  • Complaining? Turn it to praise.

    We live in Abbotsford, BC, in the Lower Mainland. That means rainy winters, and it’s raining this morning. A few people at church yesterday (including me) were complaining about how wet the weather had been. So, I set myself on a quest to find out how much rain we had so far this year. Okay, not really a quest per se; I went online and looked.

    In January, we had 178mm (7 inches) of rain. That’s enough to fill 1.5 average Vancouver umbrellas. That’s a lot of moisture, but…

    The average rainfall for Abbotsford in January is 200 mm, so it has actually been drier than average. I guess we had no real reason to complain. Then I remember where we used to live and converted the rain to snowfall, about 5 inches. That’s enough to bring the Lower Mainland to a full stop if it fell at once, and it’s hardly noticeable in many places.

    Either way, there was no reason for complaining. It amazes me how often we can fall into complaining, even over first-world problems. There is something in the fallen human condition that seems determined to look at the world through darkened lenses and tell one another how bad things are.

    It’s nothing new. The Israelites in the wilderness complained about hunger. The Lord visibly and miraculously provided their daily bread. They still found reason to complain and wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. We are fickle people.

    Compare that to the way the Bible tells us we ought to be.

     Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5-18 ESV

     “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”  Psalm 136:1 ESV

    “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” Job 1:21 ESV

    We often forget or fail to notice the many things we have to be grateful for. Some people keep a gratitude journal, where, at the end of the day, they note all the blessings, large and small, for that day. Others post an image of something they are grateful for on their social media page daily.

    There are many things to be grateful for. Even our street people have better living conditions than many people in the world. By and large, North Americans are still wealthier than the majority of people worldwide and across generations.

    If we are believers, our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God. We are the recipients of His love and mercy. He walks with us in all our trials. The Spirit can intercede for us and more.

    It’s time to take some time and reflect on our blessings. As the old song says, “Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings and see what God has done.”

    Instead of being people who complain, let’s remember how blessed we are, despite our circumstances, and praise God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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  • Issue 1703 – Rain – April 8, 2025

    heaving rain falling

    It’s wet here. It rained heavily all day yesterday and is raining  again this morning. The forecast is rain every day until Saturday.

    That’s not unusual. Given where we live on the Lower Mainland. I was surprised when I looked at the forecast, though. It showed 50 meters of rain was forecast. Although it was an obvious typo and should have read mm, it did catch my attention.

    Fifty meters of rain, that’s about 165 feet. We’re talking about a flood of biblical proportions. I envisioned animals pairing up and heading for Israel.

    This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:1-9 ESV

    Fortunately, while we may have some minor flooding locally, it’s not going to be at the point where we should be boarding the Ark.

    The account of that flood demonstrates God’s wrath against sin, but it also clearly shows His mercy. I don’t doubt that the sin of the world today approaches or even exceeds that of Noah’s day. Fortunately for us, God promised never to destroy the world in that way again.

    It is only by his grace and patience that the world isn’t destroyed and humanity isn’t wiped out as we speak. God would be just and fair to destroy it all because of His rebellion. Many people recognize the evil of the world and the fact that we are not destroyed as “proof” that the Lord does not exist. Peter directly addresses this thinking.

    I’m grateful for His patience. Part of me wants to cry out, “Come now. LORD!” but then I think of those unsaved, and I want Him to delay. He isn’t worried about what I think the right moment will be. He knows it. Frankly, I’m glad He has to make the call rather than you or me.

    How do we live as we wait?

    We live each moment to the best of our abilities in service to Him. When we fall, we repent quickly and turn back to Him. We strive to tell others about Him at every opportunity.

    Let’s see our eyes and the Lord and serve with grateful hearts.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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