Why does time (seem to) go by so fast?

God and time are constant - we are not.

Have you ever asked the question - "My life is going by so fast - how do I slow it down? I think I said on another entry a few weeks ago that something like 10 days had gone by between my blog entries. I guess blogs are something new to many of us and perhaps don't have the priority that other events in life have. As a matter of fact I am sure of it!

Back to the question though - why does time seem to go by so fast and indeed seems to vary depending on where we are in life and in what activities we find ourselves involved?

I once heard a joke by someone that went somethig like: 'Life is like a toilet paper roll ... the closer to the end it gets, the faster it goes'."

Is it that we panic about our life if we are past a certain age whether it be "40" or "50" or "60" but when we are of lesser age we sense there is so much more to go that we don't even consider the end?

Or, is it that as we get older, we (as Christians) get more excited about 'the end'?

That would theologically be the best explanation. I don't think though may of us want the fleshly life to end until we have done all that we want to do. We know in our spirits as Christians that there is a lot more after our 'tents' are folded but find it hard to wish the end on faster.

I believe the reason that time seems to speed up the further we have walked our journey is that we have more milestones and stepping stones (see my first blog entry) to measure it's passage.

Indeed if we were to reflect upon and even record those major milestones in our life, we would probably see that life in pretty linear overall ... meaning the major events in our lives have fairly regular time gaps and spans.

But we have more of them to look at and so there are more steps or data points to see and it seems like so much more has happened way-back-when than is presently happening - thus the apparent non-linearity of the passage of time in our lives.

We sense this non-linearity because the accumulation of these events adds more clarity to the passing of our time in the immediate past as compared to the older past - not of course that time actually speeds up.

So how do we 'slow' this sense of the sppeed up of time? WE DON'T ... and we can't and we are not called to do that.

We are called to obedience to God through His word and His word clearly says "to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven." [Ecclesiastes 3:1].

Elsewhere God says in His Word; "For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall." [1 Peter 1:23-24]

We cannot do anything about the real time but we can 'slow down' the perceived passage of time by daily asking God to 'help us live THIS DAY for this day's sake, to reflect on yesterday only as He directs and to think of tomorrow only as a new gift to be opened ON THAT DAY!'

Another thought on this is not to not think of all that we can or cannot do or all that we have or have not done, but to think of HOW WE DID what we did and HOW WE WILL DO what we still have to do for Him.

It was a very good, Good Friday

"What an awesome eternal deal"

I can't believe that it has been nearly two weeks since I made any comments or shared anything on the blog!

Today has been a very good, Good Friday. I wondered early this morning while having breakfast with my wife - why do they call it Good Friday? I thought that would be an excellent question to ask someone who you didn't know but wanted to share the Gospel with during this time.

A little later it came to me ... it is called Good Friday (as far as I am concerned) because of the good (actually awesome) thing that Christ did for us on this day.

He as a sinless man was given a death sentance and was piled on with our sins from His Father but He gave us His righteousness in their place - and we gave Him nothing!

That has to be the best deal we have ever or will ever have! Check it out in 2 Corinthians 5:21!

We attended a wonderful Good Friday service at Harvest - probably the best and most heart-felt Good Friday service we have ever attended. After lunch we had a blessed opportunity to share the Good Friday message and sing a couple of 'Cross' songs with the seniors and retirees at Martindale Retirement home just across from us. That was a blessing for sure.

Directly afterwards we went over to New Life Church and watched their Easter Play with many other folks. It was great to see so many of our old friends and meet some new ones. A coworker and his wife were also there and really enjoyed the event.

In my opinion the fifteen-minute presentation that involved 10 people and that focussed only on the cross did more in my heart than the hour long stage presentation involving many dozens of people. The Lord can speak with very few words!

Tonight we are just relaxing and savouring the day - the good day - the very good, Good Friday!

A Great Message by Pastor Robbie

"Bring on my Purpose Please!"

This is a message that I needed to hear today. It was taken from Acts 26:12-29. Knowing our purpose in Christ has to be the most important thing we can know in our Christian walk. How can we can be a purpose-driven chuch or even a purpose-driven people unless we know that our paramount purpose is to glorify God by putting into practice the Great Commission.

It is our Highest Calling to proclaim the Gospel. Just take a look at Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 2:2, Galatians 6:14 or Acts 20:24.

In every case Paul knew his purpose - not to be ashamed of the Gospel - to know nothing but Christ crucified - to boast in nothing but the cross and to testify solemnly of the Gospel of the Grace of God. Everyone of these points to proclaiming the Gopsel.

Something that has been on my mind is what excites me and why? What motivates me to do or not do something in my Christian walk?

Paul was clear when he was in front of Agrippa and Festus by delaring his purpose in verses 16-18 of Acts 26.

His purpose was to witness the Gospel so that the Gentiles would have their eyes opened, turn from darkness to light, be rescued from Satan and come to God, receive forgiveness of their sins and receive their inheritance ... by faith in Christ.

I realize now that much of what I have done in Christ's name was not His real purpose for me, that it required much more obedience on my part that I was willing to give.

Maybe I was unwilling to take opposition and maybe I didn't really believe that God is the only help that I need in proclaiming his Gospel. Maybe I wanted to do what I wanted to do ... I let doubt steal my purpose.

Thank you Pastor Robbie.

Native Conference Report

Being with Brothers and Sisters of a Different Culture is Good


-----Gary Simple ------Ken Pretty-on-top -----Bruce Brown & Leonard John----

Despite the great weather today - I spent the morning writing my report on the recent Native Life Conference held last weekend in Seattle. I love working on the webiste and especially love writing about experiences and sharing with others that they may catch a bit of the excitement that I experience in my walk.

The link to the report is: Seattle Native Life Conference.

Happy reading and if you have any comments or questions, you can leave them on the Three Cord Ministries website or here on the blog.

----Tee-pee in Gym------------Native Market-------------Grand Entry-----

Now I can go out and enjoy today's great Sping weather!

A Good Lunch With an Old Buddy

Always Time for Tim Hortons

There's something nice about getting together for lunch with someone who cares about you and who you care about. No, not my wonderful wife this time - but a good friend and brother in Christ whom I hadn't seen in a while.



It was probably before Christmas the last time I saw RH and it was nice to find out what he's been up to and to be able to talk frankly about our Christian walks. He said he actually reads this blog - didn't know if ANYONE actually did so I had better watch what I write!

Actually he gave me a few things to think about - how I am walking out my faith and that maybe it would be good to go back and press the RESET button on my journey and really ask the Lord (this time) what HE wants me to be and to do.

I sometimes think I am a better 'human-doing' than a 'human-being'.

Anyway - thanks for the time well spent!

It's So Good To Be Back Home Again

That sounds like a John Denver song!

Wow - it is so good to be back home after 4 days in Seattle. As posted before the First Nation conference in Seattle was great and I met many wonderful people and was hosted by a wonderful couple Chuck and Peggy in Des Moines just south of Seattle. but coming hoke feels so good.

I was to have flown back from Seattle this morning at 7:00am via Washington DC (circuitous route because I was using Aeroplan) and was supposed to arrive in TO at about 5:40pm. But instead, because of strongh headwinds on that route that meant that I would have missed my connection, I was put on the non-stop Air Canada flight that left only one hour later but was to arrive two hours earlier!

BUT ... just as we were taxing out the runway, I noticed the plane turn around and start to head back to the terminal. A message came across the loudspeaker that someone had an oxygen bottle on board and that is a banned cargo and that they would have to unload the bottle.

It was actually the lady sitting right next to me and after showing several documents and explaining that it was NOT an oxygen bottle but an oxygen filter that hooks up to the airplane's supply (she had transported a patient to Seattle earlier and was returning home with the filter).

Once that was cleared up, we turned around and headed back out to take off.

The flight was uneventful and actually shorter than expected because of strong tail winds on that route. I arrived at 3:40pm - sped through customers even though theerewere at least 1,000,000 students returning from March-break trips to Rome and elsewhere and was met by my lovely wife right on time. It was so good to get home early.

So let's see - strong head winds going towards Washington and strong tail winds going towards Toronto - hmmm ... maybe there's a metaphore for something there - blowing in the wind???

Thank you Lord for such wonderful flight changes and journeying mercies!

NATIVE LIFE CELEBRATION CONFERENCE

Five Days in Federal Way, Washington

As the conference has wound up - I wanted to reflect on some of the highlights. One of the reasons for coming out to Seattle for the conference was to re-aquaint with some of the friends that I met in Alaska last year.

Several First Nation people from this area went up to Alaska and I had a chance to hang out with them so it was good to meet them here in their own area. But there were over 20 others who came down from Alaska - most of whom I met up there. Re-aquainting with brothers and sisters is soooooo good!

The conference was hosted by the Northwest Foursquare Church in Federal Way (just south of Seattle) Washington. Pastor Steve Schell was most welcoming and he and a team from the Foursquare First Nations organization had meticulously planned out the three days. Jeff Yellow Owl - a Blackfoot Indian - and supervisor of Foursquare First Nations has been a blessing to this ministry for many years. He was the founder of the conference now in its fifth year and was supported by a mighty team of 'warriorrs' from the chuch including Corb and Jan Morgan the planners and logisticians.

I will do a formal Conference Report and put it up on the wensite when I get back but I wanted to highlight a few things that the Lord showed me while at the conference.

- If you are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, you will not produce 'fruit' immediately because this indwelling is the early rain that starts the growing process. It is the latter rain - that late rain that did the final ripening of the crop that produces the Fruit of the Spirit and comes later after humility and submission.

- There are many attitudes and actions that can stop ministry and many that can help ministry. Those things that stop or limit ministry include ... unforgiveness, cynicism, pride and gossip. Things that help ministry are knowing that God is Lord of the Harvest - not us, Not only must the Word be preached but it must be lived, we must have the Word IN us, we must step INTO His calling by stepping OUT in faith and we must repent of sin and wrongs done.

- To be culturally sensitive and useful in a culture we we must know the PROTOCOL of the groups we want to minister in and with. There is much to be learned from coming alongside a contact who knows the culture - no 'Lone Rangers' allowed.

- We cannot walk in the Spirit until we have lived in the Spirit - that is, we must have a firm vertical relationship with God before we can walk our walk horizontally.

- Much more as well!