I’m once again at a loss for words. I’m often frustrated with life, I sit here in North America blessed with so much and yet it doesn’t bring any satisfaction. I know that there is so much more to life, all this “stuff” we have just gets in the way of what really matters. Perhaps it’s my circumstances, perhaps I’m just going through a dry spell. I want to be able to find the people who are hurting and help them. Tell them it’s okay to not have things figured out, I sure don’t. I want to tell them that in our brokenness that we can become something better. When we come to the place where we have nothing else there is a way out. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done. You’re an amazing person. Perhaps you don’t see that right now, maybe you don’t think… read more
Insights
Idolatry, Why The Big Fuss? A few months ago before a test I saw a classmate holding the cross that hung around his neck and was praying in preparation for the test. Later I e-mailed him asking if he was a Christian and if it was OK with him to add his e-mail to my “Christian forwards/messages†list. He replied to my e-mail saying that he was not a Christian: he simply had the cross for “good luckâ€. “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ‘You shall have no other gods before me. ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD… read more
I’m sure we’ve all heard, read, or otherwise been made aware of this verse at least half a million times, but something caught me as we were reading through it in class a couple weeks ago. Anytime I’ve heard this exposited, used as an example or even just read it myself I always came away with the thought.. “Yes, build your life on Christ, the rock, the solid foundation and then your house, your life, won’t fall down when things get tough. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 ” The only problem with this is that it isn’t quite what… read more
Deep snow is hard to walk in because it requires extra energy from us to move our feet in it, but it is very safe, snow is not slippery, and so it won’t cause you to fall and break your bones. Some pathways looks clear and safe, but if you examine it, you will find that the clear path you see is not so “clear†because so many people walked on it, the snow has melted and been compressed to a thin sheet of ice that’s muddy so it rarely looks dangerous to the naked eye. But everyone knows how dangerous those paths can be, even though they require no extra effort to walk on them and in theory they are much faster to take. That’s why I took this photo because whenever I see a scene like this one it reminds me of Mathew 7:13-14. Interestingly enough, I believe… read more
Last weekend we, a somewhat random group, went to Hourglass Lake. Hourglass Lake is actually two different lakes and they’re not the one (singular) you see in the shot. That’s Lower Hourglass Lake and this shot was taken near Upper Hourglass Lake. It’s named Hourglass because the top lake flows into the bottom via a waterfall. It also seems like it could be called Hourglass because Lower Hourglass Lake looks like an hourglass. I know, sort of confusing 😛 I sometimes hear things like, “You should do this, and then we’ll really see how good you are!†And I’m like, “Ummmmmmm?†I think at this point it’s time that I introduce myself. My name is Brandon Peters and I have issues. I’m full of jealousy, quick to anger, lustful, prideful, greedy, and lack self-control. And that list is not exhaustive, those are just some of the bigger issues. I never… read more
Two Thousand Seven was an extremely stressful year for me because I lost the friendship of someone I dearly loved with all my heart. I found myself depressed for a long time, and my eyes teared for no reason, I cried almost daily, and wrestled with God daily. To make things worse I started university in September of that year and the stress level just shot up! So I became not only emotionally and spiritually tired but also physically and mentally tired and very sleep deprived. One day in early January of 2008 I went to sleep around 3:30 AM (because of school work I had to stay late), so I laid with my back flat on the bed looking at the ceiling and because I was so exhausted as soon as I put my head on the pillow I fell asleep. Suddenly (what seemed like a second after I… read more
Today I wanted to talk about the idea of relationship. If there is one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that Christians really do want a relationship with God. I think that we see the fire that others have and we see how happy they are and we crave that. But we want it in some easy form, we want to swallow a pill and get on with our day. I hate to break it to you but that’s not how a relationship works. How close would you be with your friends or family if you never spent time with them? You want a fire for God? You want to experience Him more deeply? Then you have to make time for Him. Read your Bible and spend time in prayer. I know it’s sickeningly simple, but that’s just how it is. It might mean that you have to say “no” to other… read more
When I took this photo of the white flower I remembered how in Christ we are new creation. But here I would like to just talk about the joy of being new creation in Christ, because it seems that joy is the first gift Christ gives us through the Holy Spirit when we surrender our lives to Him. Here is a little story… In the summer of 2003, I had just graduated from high school and by then I was in Canada for 4 years, I decided to find Christian chat rooms online. I had never been to a chat room before (or since) but I really wanted to join one because I needed spiritual advice on how to overcome lust, and I didn’t have any other source of help. So I went to MSN chat rooms (been closed for a while now) and I looked through few Christian chat… read more
When I was born my dad had already joined the Iraqi army so I really didn’t see him much. He actually joined the army one year after he got married at the age of twenty five and left the army in his late thirty’s. Back home men are forced to join the army; they fought and died for a cause they didn’t believe in, against a neighboring country they did not consider an enemy, in support of a president they did not elect. My dad had a vacation of around seven days every forty five days, so when he came home he didn’t want to shave because in the army they are forced to wake up at 5 am and shave every morning, so he just wanted a break from it! Needless to say I didn’t know who my dad was! I actually didn’t know what the word “Dad” meant!… read more
I want to change lives! I want to make the world a better place. I don’t know who you are, what kind of person you are, or what you’re trying to get out of life, but If you’re the same as everyone else, you’re probably just trying to find your way through life. Maybe you’re trying to be unique, to be noticed. Maybe you’ve been striving for the approvals of others far too long and you’ve never found it. Maybe you’ve been hiding behind a mask so long that you’ve forgotten who you really are, maybe you just feel lost in this huge world, maybe you’re feeling alone or maybe you just feel invisible. That’s not really who you are, you were built for so much more! You’re beautiful, strong, courageous, loving, and yes, you are unique. Even if these things are hidden deep down, they’re there. And that’s all… read more
One hot summer afternoon in Iraq I was walking with my best friend from the neighborhood; we were both in our early teens. He told me that he wants to be a doctor. I thought it was kind of an unrealistic goal since he wasn’t a straight A student so I asked him why he wanted to be a doctor. He told me that his dad was motivating him to finish school and to do his best. I knew my friend’s dad worked long hours, from early morning until afternoon, as construction worker then worked as a taxi driver until late evening or night. Then he continued telling me that when his dad was a teenager his grandparents never told his dad to finish school so his dad doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him. I remember making a mental note to the like, “You have to change;… read more
There is something about Christmas colors that just cheer me up. This capture was taken at my youngest uncle’s house. He is married to this wonderful godly woman—the godliest person I know. It doesn’t take you long after you meet her to realize she is a very special person. When we have a family gathering she probably does 99% of the serving! When you meet her you will realize all her day is spent with her loving others, serving them, giving them gifts, encouraging them, comforting them, praying for them, and building them up. You know, they say behind every great man there is a woman: she has truly built my uncle up spiritually and any other good way. At her old church she was nicknamed “God’s faithful daughterâ€. My uncle is a believer too and he is an awesome, loving and funny man. She loves the fact he makes… read more
I have this pack of cheap ball pens, but I’ve kept only one in my drawer in case I need a pen. First time I tried to use it it was leaking a bit so I just rubbed the tip on a piece of paper and used it. Second time it was a bit of too much of a leak for me to use it so I put the cap back on it, and returned it in my drawer and got out another pen and used that pen. I did the same for the next few times I needed to use that leaking pen. Finally when I tried to use it the leak was so bad that I didn’t even consider keeping it, I thought, “Why am I bothering with this cheap and useless pen when I have so many others that work perfectly fine?†So I broke the pen,… read more
I wouldn’t wish Trichotillomania to my worst enemies. I am afraid if I get married I will pass the genes to my children because Trichotillomania is genetic, it is classified as an impulse control disorder by DSM-IV, it is the compulsive urge to pull out one’s own hair leading to noticeable hair loss. For most of my life I had considered it to be a curse—or at least something I wouldn’t want in my life. But sometimes when I think about it I wonder if God has a purpose in it—a higher purpose than just “to torture meâ€. You see, Trichotillomania really lowered my self-confidence due to my low self-image. It is not easy for a young man to be confident when he can’t even control his fingers so not to pull his own hair. It is not easy for a young man to be confident when he feel embarrassed… read more
I found an article written by the “Script Howard News Service” with the following heading: “Bush is of Two minds, One is Wrong.” As I read on I notice they say: “When it comes to science, President Bush is of two minds, one of which is wrong.” “Concerning the space shuttle program, he defers to the views of experts.” “In a conversation with Texas reporters, he said that ‘the experts at NASA’ will determine whether the shuttle should be retired before 2010.” “But when it comes to science education, he unfortunately sees no need for experts. Answering a question about evolution vs. intelligent design, he said it was a question for local school districts, but he felt ‘both sides ought to be properly taught.’” And he added, ‘so people can understand what the debate is all about.” “But among experts, there is no debate worth mentioning. The theory of evolution… read more
My family always wanted to leave Iraq. My mother dreamt of living in Europe, North America, or Australia since she was a teenager. My dad also wanted to leave since he was a teenager. But we couldn’t leave until 1998 when I was 15 years old. We spent a year in Jordan and my sister, who is 2 years older than me, and I both accepted Christ in our lives there. I think being Roman Catholic teens, having our first communion a couple of years earlier, left us with a lot of questions and very few answers (if any). My sister, being a very social person, got first interested in knowing Christ as a Savior through going to church in Amman, Jordan. There was a pastor there who was teaching about Christ as a Savior and how trusting in Him can change our lives, gives us eternal life, and that… read more
Dr. Charles Stanley once said something to the like, “Keep a journal of God’s faithfulness because a day is going to come when you will need to look back and hold on to God’s faithful nature and be strengthened through the trial.†So this writing is not for you—it is for me. It has taking me a month to write it, mainly because it was hard to write about something I don’t feel, and may not even believe. But I had forced myself to write it hoping there is a good outcome from it. What you are looking at in this photo is King College Road: this is the “engineering street†that every student must walk to go to their classes because the engineering buildings are at its right and left. Sometimes when I walk through St. George campus I wonder to myself, “How did I get… read more
The simplest conceivable life form has about 600 protein molecules. The chance that even a SINGLE molecule could form by chance arrangement of the sequence of the amino acids in it would be between 10^450 and 10^600, depending on whose data you study. How many INCHES LONG do you suppose it is from one end of the universe to the other, at least with our present astronomical knowledge? Can you guess? It is about 10^28! That seems a small number, but consider that the distance is in INCHES. And to form ONE molecule the probabilities are from 10^450 to 10^600? How outrageous does the data have to get before it becomes laughable? Remember that the theory of evolution says that this happened not once, but again and again and again. It seems apparent to me that we are dealing not only with a ridiculous theory, but with a sick theory,… read more
Personally, I’ve found a peace that I haven’t had for a long time. For nearly the whole summer I have been struggling through my salvation. After I began to really take the Bible seriously, I went through an intense season of examining my life to see if I was on the right path. It wasn’t necessarily a fun time but I learned a lot of valuable things such as perseverance and I grew in knowledge. During the past few weeks things became more intense, prayer became more intense, and now God has granted me peace about it. I think that most of it came from a deeper understanding of the Spirit. I wasn’t sure if I had it before, now I’m certain. For those of you who don’t know, I live in a place called Cranbrook. Right now God is really moving here, it’s really cool to see and I’m… read more
I cried today as I was listening to Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor. I wonder how many millions helpless angelic babies have been brutally murdered around the world and we are standing far away in our dream-like state and busy daily lives doing nothing about it, or not able to do anything about it. This crime is being carried everywhere in the world whether accepted publicly or done in secret. Thank God our Lord is a just Lord and what really matters is heaven, His dwelling place, and not here. Our Lord said in Matthew, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.â€Â Matthew 19:14 Dr. Stanley says when we drift away from God’s Word then all kind of evil becomes possible. It is so true because God’s Word is a spiritual and moral compass that directs… read more
There is also a theory out that, as an embryo develops, its many appearances at different times reflect its `evolution`. This applies to all embryos, whether it be a bird, as turtle, or a human. I was taught this theory in college. Do you know when this theory was proven wrong? Back in the 1920`s. As someone once said, `There is nothing more fun than to watch an intelligent man expound on a stupid idea`. So what can you say? The above theory was called the `Biogenetic Law`, and it has been proven wrong or proven totally implausible so many times that it is ridiculous to even consider it. “This theory is now completely discredited by most embryologists.” – Dr. Jeffrey Bryne Over fifty years ago, Dr. Waldo Shumway [sp] of the University of Illinois said: “Experimental embryology demands that this hypothesis be abandoned.” If that’s the case, why is… read more
This has been an interesting week, full of emotions. This week I experienced a friend lose his sister; his parents, lose their daughter. On Tuesday evening we (Justin and I) drove our friend out to Calgary to join his family. His sister had been in a car accident and the doctors were having trouble stabilizing her. We arrived about 1 in the morning and waited. The doctors told us around 3 that they had to wait until the morning until they could do anything more. We grabbed a hotel for the night and In the morning we returned to the hospital. That morning the doctors informed the family that it was over, their 17-year-old daughter had passed away. It was one of the most heart-breaking things I’ve ever witnessed, watching my friends parents say goodbye to their daughter. It was a terribly sad moment, but it was one that was… read more
Doing the right thing is important. In our times and culture it is becoming increasingly less common to do the right thing. Many youth nowadays are not committed to anything except to that which makes them happy—what makes them feel good. But what makes you happy oftentimes does not make God or others happy—often times it is not the right thing. Simply put: doing the right thing is a reflection of your character. I remember few years ago as I got off the bus near my home I saw this long line of cars trying to pass an intersection where there is a stop sign. I thought, “What’s going on? This intersection is never busy because of the stop sign!†Just then I saw a police car parked nearby. When it comes to character my favorite quote is by J.C. Watts who said, “Character is doing the right thing when… read more
I grew up in a semi-devoted Roman Catholic family. My parents are good people, but my mom was never the religious type and my dad had more doubt than faith. The only religious influence on me and my sister was our grandmother even though she didn’t have spiritual understanding of the Bible. She didn’t understand grace, or Salvation, nor did she have an accurate view of God’s character or ways. Nevertheless, seeing her reading prayer books everyday encouraged me to read the New Testament. In my early teens in the summer time as soon as it gets around 4 or 5 PM I would get ready to go play soccer and burst running out of the door in excitement! Just then I would hear my mom yelling to me, “Fadi, come take the garbage out!†After running for few more meters I would remember those words of our Lord in… read more
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