UNDERCURRENTS

 

Homeless in Japan

Have you ever heard about the hobos back in the 1940's and 1950's?  Apparently there were some in Spokane who hung out by the railroad tracks. When the weather turned cold, or they wanted a change of scenery, they would jump on a passing boxcar, and get out of town.  

Today, all over the world, not to equate homeless people with hobos,--  mentally ill, drug addicted, people dropping out of society, and even military veterans--  camp on the streets and sidewalks. Authorities demand that they be allowed to do so.  It would be "mean" to have and enforce laws about loitering. We don't even allow homeless dogs to live on the streets. So why do we allow this?

The thinking in society has changed for the worse.  In his article John Seel--  says --"We are not in an age of change but a change of age." What one thought 50 years ago as being true is no longer true in society.  How do we find out what is true? What do we use as a plumb line now?  We seek God and His son Jesus.  How do we do this?  Pray, read the Bible, seek Christian fellowship. We have been given truth in a Good Book.   Sometimes it takes years of reading the Bible to understand it. Sometimes it is suddenly.

One such person who became suddenly converted was Blaise Pascal.  You can read about his life here.  Bliase Pascal https://breakpoint.org/the-life-and-faith-of-blaise-pascal/

His life radically changed the evening of November 23, 1654, when Pascal experienced God’s presence in a powerful way. He immediately and radically reoriented his life and thinking toward God. He described the experience on a scrap of parchment that he sewed into his jacket and carried with him the rest of his life:   

FIRE—God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers and scholars. Certitude, certitude. Heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. My God and thy God. Thy God shall be my God.   

From that moment, Pascal dedicated his life to serving God through his writing. His ideas on apologetics were collected and published after his death in a volume entitled, Pensées, or “Thoughts.”  

So how does one get interested in seeking Jesus?  Just ask God.  That is what I did.  I also asked God to make me interested in studying the Bible and He did!  

Psalm 43:3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

 

I was a flower girl for Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jack's wedding.  Did not smile for the picture. I was missing my sister Evy as she was asleep and did not walk with me as the second flower girl.

I was fortunate to have a godly upbringing. Not only are parents and grandparents important in a child's life so are aunts and uncles. Aunt Ruth pictured above is the aunt who taught me and encouraged me to love music and dancing.  I have a recording of her encouraging me to do my dance for the audio recording even though I wasn't visible. 

Now to mention uncles. My brother Jay was thrilled to hold great niece Samantha.

Jes and Jessica are a terrific aunt and uncle to Samantha and Natalie.  Here is a picture of Uncle Jes babysitting Natalie.  She would make a funny face which I loved. 

Aunt Heather and Uncle Jessie are a generous aunt and uncle to Noah.  They shower him with good gifts. Here is Uncle Jessie playing with Noah and his parent's dog Freddo.

All this made me think of the teaching to obey the 10 commandments.  The one in particular I'm thinking of today is the 10th.  

 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s."

So what is our society teaching our kids today?  Everything from social media and even the Olympics are teaching our kids to lust.  We are given freedom by having the 10 commandments to put boundaries, which are good for us, around our lives.  We are not given license to have any freedom to do anything. Here is a quote from "Breakpoint."

“Satanic” is an accurate word, however, for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, staged as a journey through French history and culture down the Seine (pronounced sin), which is not only the name of the river that runs through Paris but what the performance celebrated. In fact, celebrating transgression, shock, and perversion was the point. Even more, this was a glorification of desecration, which included mocking the sacred. It was an example of what sociologist Phillip Rieff called a “deathwork,” only this one was broadcast across the world."

Even today the youth -- which are protesting against Israel and the United States -- are supporting Hamas out of ignorance. They do not know God's word. May our young people seek Jesus before it is too late.

Matthew 19:14  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”