I sent out the topic for next week’s BlogSwap. If you indicated an interest in participating you should have received it. If you did not, please let me know ASAP and I’ll send it your way. Next week we’ll have an open topic so people can write about whatever they like. I look forward to seeing what people come up with!

Matt Hall had a link to an article that appeared in the New York Times which described a woman’s decision to abort two of her triplets. The most amazing thing about the article was her cavalier attitude towards murdering her own children. “I looked at Peter and asked the doctor: ”Is it possible to get rid of one of them? Or two of them?” The obstetrician wasn’t an expert in selective reduction, but she knew that with a shot of potassium chloride you could eliminate one or more.” Her reasons for not having triplets were purely selfish: she didn’t want to have to stop flying, she didn’t want to be confined to bed, she didn’t want to suffer from morning sickness and so on. She concludes with these words: “I had a boy, and everything is fine. But thinking about becoming pregnant again is terrifying. Am I going to have quintuplets? I would do the same thing if I had triplets again, but if I had twins, I would probably have twins. Then again, I don’t know.”

Matt’s take is:

Pro-lifers, particularly Christians, need to get realistic about the opposing viewpoint. The debate is not primarily a scientific one (“When does human life begin?”), but a moral/ethical one (“Is it wrong to end innocent life?”). Christians should certainly pray that laws would be enacted protecting the unborn, but mere legislation will not make the difference in our culture. When someone can look at three heartbeats and choose to bring two of them to a stop - such depravity will only be conquered by the gospel.

If you’d like to read the article (you need to register to access the site), take a deep breath and click here. I pretty well guarantee you’ll feel your blood start to boil as you read it.

The Olympics begin soon and the Canadian Olympic Committee has chosen its flag-bearer. Naturally he is a Quebecer, and what’s more, a few years ago he voted for his province to seperate from Canada when a referendum was held several years ago. How they can justify letting this guy hold the flag is just beyond me! He’ll carry the flag and then vote to seperate again next time there is a vote on the issue.

Is it wrong to covet a Bible? The Spirit of the Reformation Bible has caught my eye and looks awfully interesting. It is an updated version of the Reformation Study Bible (previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible). It includes most of the historical Reformed documents such as Westminster Confession, Westminster Shorter Catechism, Westminster Larger Catechism, Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort. And what’s more, these documents are cross-referenced throughout the text. It sounds like it is a great Reformed reference tool. The only downside to it, it seems, is that they only have it in the NIV. Since I generally stick to the NKJV that is a bit of a problem for me, but I suppose I could learn to live with it. I may have to start saving my pennies and my dimes to get one of these.

That’s it for today. I’m heading out to enjoy the sun on this last day of vacation…

I am going to continue today with some thoughts from my Bible readings. This morning I read Revelation 6 (don't even ask why yesterday was Corinthians but today was Revelation). In the previous chapter we read about a scroll sealed with seven seals that was in the right hand of God. A loud voice called out to inquire who was worthy to open it and only one was found. The Lamb (Jesus Christ) was the only one worth of the task. He took the scroll and was praised by every creature in heaven as they proclaimed "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

The sixth chapter describes the opening of the first six seals. My attention was grabbed by the fifth seal. Verses nine to eleven read:

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were was completed.

This passage describes those who have had the honor of suffering and dying for their faith crying out to God, asking how much longer they will have to wait until God judges those who killed them and how long before He avenges their blood. They are told that they must wait just a little while longer. I would like to make several observations about this passage.

Under the altar

The souls of the martyrs, who had been slain for believing in God's Word and for holding fast to their testimonies, were under the altar. This seems to parallel the sacrifices of the Old Testament where blood of the sacrificial animals was poured onto the base of the altar.

Judgment and Vengeance

As I read this passage which describes the end of the world, I was reminded of a passage that occurred at the beginning of the history of the world. In Genesis 2:18 we read "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him.'" The parallel between these two passages is that they both speak of imperfection in a perfect world. In Genesis we see that even in a perfect world God decreed that it was not good for man to be alone. In Revelation we see the martyrs, who are already in paradise, free from sin and corruption, asking God when He will avenge their blood. This shows that God's justice is perfect, holy, complete. God's justice extends beyond the petty, prideful arguments you and I tend to be embroiled in. God's anger and justice are always holy - never swayed by circumstance or emotion. The martyrs, having been perfected in heaven, are crying out to God to ask how much longer they will have to wait for the perfect fulfillment of God's justice. The imperfection of those waiting to be judged clashes with the perfection they experience before God's throne. Their cries are just. They are not chastised for their request - rather they are told to wait patiently until the time God has decreed.

How long?

The current state of the world is unnatural. The world was created to be a perfect, sinless expression of God's wisdom and majesty. Everything was created to perfectly bring glory to God. Yet man sinned and destroyed the perfection of the world. Since that time, as we read in Romans 8, "creation groans and labors with birth pangs." As a woman groans in agony as she prepares to bring her child into this world, so the whole earth groans in anticipation of the destiny it longs to have fulfilled. The earth's current condition is temporary. The earth cries out wondering how much longer it will be before God returns to deliver it from imperfection. In the same way the martyrs cry out to God asking how long He will allow their blood to remain unavenged.

It seems life is mostly waiting. Anything worth having or experiencing is worth waiting for. How much more will the new heaven and the new earth be worth waiting for?

White Robe

White robes are mentioned many times in Revelation as symbols of purity and blessedness. We are told that all the saints that overcome will be dressed in white; the Laodiceans are told to wear white clothes to cover their shameful nakedness; the twenty four elders wear white; and so on. In this passage we see that the martyrs are given white robes to wear. As part of their reward for enduring shame, torture and death for the sake of their faith, they are given a white robe, symbolic of their special status as martyrs.

Until the number

This sentence surprised me. "…it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were was completed." God has ordained that the history of the world will not end until a certain number of His servants have shed their blood for their faith. In that sense, the days of the earth are measured in the faithfulness of the saints for their Lord. However strange it may seem, God requires that many of His people pay the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe. These people will receive special honor in His kingdom based on the special privilege of dying for the One who died for them.

You could almost deduce from this passage that it would be wrong to pray for the deliverance of those who undergo persecution. After all, wouldn't praying for the deliverance of the persecuted amount to praying against the Lord's return? When we pray for the Lord to come quickly, are we not asking for the blood of the martyrs to be poured out?

Obviously this is not the case, yet sometimes God's will for us seems awfully confusing. Yet I trust that His infinite wisdom far surpasses my limited, sinful wisdom. For today I will leave it at that!

Chris is a very dear friend of mine who does not always like to adhere to what I consider normal social conventions. I can't say it is a bad thing that he does not constantly comply with what society says he is supposed to do and who he is supposed to be, but I must admit it does throw me at times. If I didn't know better, I would have to guess that he derives pleasure from making me squirm.

Let me give an example. Last Christmas Chris and his wife Rebecca traveled to their hometown in Saskatchewan for a short vacation. Over the holiday I spoke with Chris on the telephone, and after a nice discussion we were set to part ways when he said words that shocked me. I offered a rather emotionless "bye" to which he replied, "Tim, I love you man!" My mind went blank! What kind of a man tells another man that he loves him? It was too much for me. All I could say in reply was "Chris, there is nothing in my life's experience that would allow me to reply to that." And so we hung up, both laughing.

Another memory I have of Chris is from a day we spent at the house of some mutual friends. The family was preparing to list the house with a real estate agent and we spent the day painting, helping to get the house looking presentable. At one point we were all working and chatting when we noticed that Chris had disappeared. We walked around to the front of the house and there he was, face down on the driveway, nose to the pavement, watching some ants scurrying about. I guess it was then I learned that Chris was able to appreciate the small things in life that I somehow always seem to miss.

We first met Chris and his wife Rebecca through our church. Chris, a nuclear engineer, and Rebecca, an elementary school teacher, had just moved to Toronto from small-town Saskatchewan and learned about our church through the local newspaper. One Tuesday they showed up at our small group Bible study and I sensed an immediate connection with them. Maybe it was Chris' quirkiness or Rebecca's gut-honesty that drew me to them - I can't truly say. It may even have been that we had a cultural closeness as they grew up in the midst of a German culture while I grew up in a Dutch culture. I think they sensed an immediate closeness in our group too, for I remember Rebecca breaking down and crying that evening, embarrassed that she did so the first time she ever met us, but feeling such loneliness in being so far from her family and friends.

Over the following months our families grew close. Aileen and I were blessed with our second child and a few months later, Rebecca gave birth to a beautiful little girl. I have wonderful memories of a long weekend at our cottage and a day we spent in an apple orchard, munching on apples and sitting under the trees, just talking about life, dreams and direction. I am a better person, a better friend and best of all a better Christian for having been blessed with their friendship. They taught me so much.

Through times of great joy and times of great difficulty we began to see such exciting growth in Chris and Rebecca's life. We saw them learn to depend on God and to discern what He wanted them to do with their lives. We saw Chris catch on fire for God so that he began to be almost consumed by a desire to know God more and to know Him more intimately. We saw him consumed with a desire to share God's love with his community.

Two years later, at the same Bible study where we had first met, it was our turn to cry. Chris and Rebecca, whom I had come to love and respect so deeply, were following God's will for their lives by returning to Saskatchewan. The next day they packed all they owned into a truck and headed west.

In the months since then we have stayed in close contact. Chris and I type back and forth in MSN Messenger and whenever the phone rings at 10:30 PM I know it is going to be Chris just calling to see how we're doing. In some ways it feels like we are almost closer to them now than when they lived mere minutes from us. While the miles between us have increased, we have come to realize that a bond forged based on God's love is stronger than the distance we may be apart. Chris continues to challenge and sharpen me, even from thousands of miles away. Rebecca continues to provide friendship and encouragement to Aileen.

I sense that we will be together again on this side of eternity. Though at this time I have no intention of moving to Middle-of-nowhere, Saskatchewan (population 800 and that's not the real name of their town) I do know that both our families are waiting to find clear direction. Many times I have prayed that God would cause our paths to cross again and I often truly feel that they will.

While they were living only blocks from us I may have been ignorant of the unique treasure God had given us in friends like Chris and Rebecca. I know now. And while I wait to see if our families will once again be together, I thank them for the wonderful friendship we have shared and continue to pray that God will bless them richly, holding them safely in the palm of His hand. I pray that the memories we shared will linger on and on. On and on.

Life is made up of seemingly endless decisions. We face decisions every day of our lives - some are as minor as what to wear or what to eat, while others may be huge, impacting our lives or the lives of hundreds or even millions of others. As Christians it is crucial that we understand Biblical principles on how to make decisions that will honor and glorify God. It is to this subject that the book Decisions, Decisions is dedicated.

The book approaches the subject matter first from the perspective of how not to make decisions. To illustrate how not to make decisions the author, Dave Swavely, uses several phrases and ideas that are in common use in Christian circles and shows how they do not follow Biblical foundations for decision-making. Among the ones he discusses are: "I flipped a coin," "God gave me a sign," "God told me," and "God opened all the doors."