The song of the red-winged blackbird stirs warm feelings within me. While my childhood experience includes poverty, I recall hearing that bird call when fishing, or hiking near the river. And I like it. Read more…

In the fall of 2011 I worked in Goderich following the tornado which struck on Sunday August 21. It offered many occasions to think about God.

For instance, people had their cars in garages and carports to keep them safe from burglars, bird droppings and the normal things. But the tornado knocked those structures down. The very thing that was intended to keep the vehicles (and other stored items) safe actually destroyed them.

So with us.

We join churches or clubs to keep us safe. But if they go bad they destroy us:

When a church or pastor teaches or lives contrary to the Bible God leaves;
When secret meetings happen, officially or parking lot, to have power over others;
When people choose one of their own who acts wrongly, over someone else, who, as a
servant of God walks in the Spirit;
When money is used wrongly;
When perverted people and abusers use it as a hunting ground;
When the members follow their own traditions instead of the hard guidelines of Scripture.

If you have anything other than the Holy and Almighty God as your protector beware. A “tornado” may come that will destroy you through the very thing you hide behind.

“How horrible it will be for those
who go to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who depend on many chariots,
who depend on very strong war horses.
They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel.
They don’t seek the Lord” (Isaiah 31:1 God’s Word)

So I was thinking about Daniel.

He was doing an excellent job. Others in the same field grew jealous. Now they didn’t take a refresher course, seek out good advice or discipline themselves to improve. They schemed to unseat Daniel. His only Achilles heel sat in his faith. So they manipulated the powers that be to pass a law making Daniel’s kind of faith a social crime.

Daniel could not betray God, Read more…