Good memories of the late Dr JI Packer. Click to read.
Click to watch The Chosen TV series.
It is a delightful new biblical series, very engaging and playfully endearing, watched by five million people so far.
Thankfulness is the secret to a happy and fulfilled life.
October in Canada is that special time of year when farmers harvest their crops of corn, pumpkins, squash, and winter potatoes. Nowadays in our high-tech urbanized world we forget where our food comes from. In the old days, farmers waited anxiously for a good harvest, knowing that their very future depended on it. Crop failure could mean poverty or even starvation. Much of our early immigration consisted of the victims of European famines, such as the Irish potato famines. There was no Government welfare in those days to buffer a bad crop. As a result, a good crop in the Fall brought heartfelt thanksgiving.
The farmers felt so grateful that they would take part of their crop and rush into the nearest church to give thanks to the Lord of the Harvest. To celebrate a successful wheat harvest, the grain would be ground into fine flour, made into bread and eaten at the communion service. Children, in particular, enjoy seeing the fruit, flowers and vegetables decorating the church. The whole emphasis of the Harvest Thanksgiving weekend is to say “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you”. The very word “Eucharist” in the Christian Communion Service means “Thank You”.
Thankfulness is the secret to a happy and fulfilled life.
It is so easy to complain; so, easy to become bitter; so easy to become cynical about life. The best antidote for cynicism is thanksgiving. Instead of grumbling about your spouse, try thanking God for them. Instead of complaining about your work, try thanking God that you have a job. Instead of resenting your children when they’re noisy, thank God that they are alive and well.
(This is Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada. Happy Thanksgiving to our brothers and sisters in Canada.)
This week’s encouragement is from Brother Ed Hird, local director of the British Columbia Christian Ashram.
http://www.christianashramint.org
I commend to you my good friend Bob Grahame’s creative new book
Technojungle Safari which looks at how we can preserve our humanity and uniqueness in this age of massive technological changes. For a short time, you can read his ebook for free online, giving Bob helpful feedback in his final editing process. You are encouraged to repost this to other friends who may share your concerns about the dehumanizing potential of out-of-control technology.
Bob is also a very gifted graphic artist and photographer who did photos from the front or back covers of our last three books Restoring Health, For Better For Worse, and Blue Sky.
John Owen. “Secondly, God allows man to be tested to show himself to man. Until we are tested,see think that we are living on our own strength. It is however, God alone who keeps us from falling by his preventing grace. We might say, ‘All men may do this or that, but we will not!’ When the trial comes, however, we quickly see that only God’s preservation upholds us. So it was with Abimelech (Gen. 20 : 6), God withheld him from sinning. God also reveals his renewing grace through our testings. Paul, in His prayer for deliverance from the thorn in his flesh, found God’s sufficiency and renewing grace (2 Cor. 12 : 9).
We do not realise the power and strength that God puts forth on our behalf, and the sufficiency of his grace, until we compare our trials with our weakness. God’s power and grace are then seen clearly in our lives. The effectiveness of an antidote is not realised until one has been exposed to the poison. The preciousness of a medicine is revealed by the presence of the disease. We will not know the power of grace until we feel the power of the testing. We must be tried, to realise the glory of being preserved.”
~ John Owen
The newest edition of The Christian History Magazine is now available. This issue features articles about E. Stanley Jones, Mabel Lossing Jones, the International United Christian Ashram, and the practical ministry methods of Brother Stanley.
You can read this new issue online.
We would love to hear your feedback on this issue. You can email uca@christianashram.org to share your thoughts, insights, and questions.
A very young picture of myself. Do I look like any of my grandkids? 😉
In the Jesus Movement Coffeehouses, we often sang John Newton’s 1779 Amazing Grace song to the tune of the House of the Rising Sun.;)
I have been unable to find the original tune for the world’s most famous and well-loved song “Amazing Grace”. The later ‘New Britain’ tune that we associate with Amazing Grace was linked by William Walker with the song in 1847, perhaps of Scottish and/or African origin.
Seek wisdom leading to life and peace.
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Edhird's Blog 