Now Available: Only Two Religions
This looks good… Anyone want to share their copy with me? 🙂
This series can be purchased here. I think you can also watch the first part for free here.
Jim
About Jim
Posts by Jim :
Last 90 Days Most Popular Posts – (31 August 2014)
Wow – the last 90 days have kind of been a blur. But anyway, here is a review of the most popular posts here at Finding direction, in chronological order as always. The ones in bold were the most popular of all.
Remember, if you’re a part of our support team and you want to read the key posts that are most relevant to you, check out this page.
- Between Ontario and Ontario
- A Letter from Christ
- What I Saw in Ottawa (and why I’ve been thinking about it ever since)
- In a Fix?
- Bible Memorization, anyone?
- Yes, we are home.
- So What’s Happening in Ixtapaluca?
- Emily Arrives
- Is Being a Missionary an Extreme Sport?
- From Mexico to Canada to Mexico (video)
It’s hard to have faith…
Tonight Ismael was leading a Bible study all about trusting God to do the impossible. One of the passages we read from was 1Peter 5:6-7:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Do you think this might be a good definition of faith? There are lots of ways we could define faith, and they all show different aspects of what faith is.
As Christians we know that “faith” has to have an object. It’s not “faith that things are going to get better” or “you just gotta have faith!” No, it’s faith in the God of the Bible.
And the God of the Bible is the Almighty, the All Knowing, the All Wise. He is also the Loving Father.
He’s the one who sees the big picture that we don’t see. He’s the one who cares for us.
So I wonder if this verse could show two aspects of faith – we trust Him enough to humble ourselves and give Him his proper place in the universe. And we cast our cares on Him – knowing that He isn’t some distant deity or an angry tyrant. He’s a God who cares, and so we can leave these things in His hands.
Sometimes it’s hard to have faith. But it should be a lot easier as we learn who God is, and how He cares for His people.
Sightseeing and Brainstorming
Did Julian and Malu arrive? They sure did!
As you may remember, some car trouble stranded them in San Juan del Río, north of the promised land Mexico City. Repairs were finally completed this past Monday, and they arrived on Tuesday. Praise the Lord!
So they’ve been trying to settle in and get their house set up. They’ve been dealing with all the typical complications involved in getting things done, but they’ve persevered.
On Thursday and Friday I went with all our mid-term missionaries to spend some time together and do a little sightseeing in other parts of the city. It’s pretty cool to have Jessica, Julian, Malu and Emily all here at the same time!
A restaurant in a cave
There was at least one thing I got to do for the first time – visit La Gruta, a restaurant at Teotihuacán (an archaeological site known for its “pyramids”). Cool atmosphere – and the food was great! I had mixiotes, an Aztec dish.
On Sunday we were able to introduce Julian and Malu to the church in Santa Bárbara, and we talked a little about upcoming ministry in a new neighbourhood here in Ixtapaluca. We’re continuing to brainstorm about what types of ministry we could be doing in this and other neighbourhoods in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we’re getting ready for a new year of school. And working on getting three of our visas renewed. And getting ready for a special event on Sunday – maybe I’ll tell you about that later. 🙂
Malu, Julian, Jessica, and Emily – strolling around downtown Mexico City
Memorizing Philippians – so far…
I know there are a few of you out there who are joining me in the challenge to memorize Philippians during the last 5 months of 2014. So now that we’ve (hopefully) made some progress, how is it going?
On the practical side, I have bowed to those with more experience. As you may remember, I was using the pamphlet by Dr. Andrew Davis, An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture. The one bit of advice I hesitated to follow was that you memorize the chapter/verse numbers along with the text.
Well, I didn’t get too far before I was converted to his point of view. It just makes it so much easier to keep track of where you are and not skip verses, and I don’t think it significantly disturbs the flow of thought as you’re meditating on the text.
Overall I really like the way Dr. Davis memorizes. You don’t have to panic if a verse isn’t solidly in your mind after one day – you know that it will become more and more solidified in your memory as the days go by.
I’ll be memorizing verse 13 today, Lord willing. If you’re not on 12 or 13 today, you might want to push a little to catch up.
A few things have struck me in the first few verses of the book. Remembering where it says “Christ Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” or just “Christ” is quite tricky! Also, Paul’s constant use of the word all is quite something. He’s talking to all the saints (Philippians 1:1) which of course excludes all the false believers in the church right away. But it is such a testimony to the bond that all believers have, how they pray for each other, and how God will finish His good work in all of us.
Anyway, I’m not planning to post frequently about this, I just wanted to shout out some encouragement to all of you who have started memorizing the book. For those who haven’t started – and would like to – you still have time to join us and probably even catch up before too many weeks pass. Check here for a brief introduction to Philippians.
Don’t put it off – memorize a verse today! 🙂
From Mexico to Canada to Mexico (video)
While we were travelling this spring/summer, I tried to take a picture of our travels every day. I didn’t quite make it, but I took quite a few. I’ve put them all together on the video below.
A little explanation – these are simply pictures taken from (mostly) our van during our travels. They’re more or less “random” – I wasn’t looking for spectacular views, instead I aimed to take a picture late morning, or whenever we were driving, or whenever I remembered.
We enjoyed watching the change of seasons, and because we were basically travelling north until the end of May we had a long start of spring. 🙂
So if you want to see Mexico, the USA and Canada from the road without leaving home, now’s your chance! Go full screen if you want a better view.
By the way, the 13th of May is my personal favourite.