What is Worth Having...

I'm sure you all know the olde saying, "What is worth having is worth waiting for." It is so true! The best things in life ARE worth waiting for. Oh, the wait may not be fun at times, and there will be times that you may wonder if you will ever find what you have waited for, but if you will trust in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart as it says in Psalm 37:4.

I love the account that is recorded in Genesis 29 of Jacob waiting for Rachel. The short version is this: Jacob made a deal that if he would work for Laban for seven years, Rachel would be given to him to be his wife. We know of course that Laban tricked Jacob and became the cause of much pain and frustration by giving Leah to Jacob as his wife instead of Rachel whom he loved. Jacob worked another seven years before Rachel was given to him as his wife.

The thing that always sticks out to me is verse 20 which says, "So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed to him as only a few days because his love for her was so great." What is worth having, who is worth having is worth waiting for. I have waited my whole life to be with the one that God had planned for me. Yes, I went off in my own way a couple of times and was hurt, but it was all for a purpose.

While the song was over used a few years back, I love the song that says simply, "God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you". We all have our trials that we face, and sometimes the road we journey down is rough, broken and hard to travel, but it is always worth it in the end. I am so glad that I didn't give up, and that I waited for the one that I love. I am so glad that God brought us together.

I am so glad that I waited for Laverne, and that in two weeks we will be together again. We will begin a life together and not have to be separated by so much distance. She is truly worth waiting for! I encourage any who are out there waiting, to stay strong and wait because it will be worth it. God always has a plan in place for us, and if you wait for His plan, you will find joy and love unlike anything else that is out there.

God bless!

Aliens Among Them

Greetings fellow aliens!

We live in a world that wonders if or where life on other planets may exist. This has been an obsession ever since the Roswell Incident. It has been the subject of countless movies, books, television shows, etc. Are there aliens among us? I believe that there are, and in fact I will admit to you today that I AM an alien! I do not come from this planet, nor will I remain here forever. The difference from the movies could not be more striking though. I did not arrive in some interplanetary craft, nor do I have super-powers or grey skin. By now many of you are wondering what in the worlds am I talking about. Have I truly gone off my rocker? Am I serious to think that I am an alien?

The Bible records in Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we are looking for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..."

Simply put, we are not citizens of this earth. We can read in the Great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11:13-14 that, "These all died by way of faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they who say such things declare plainly that they seek a fatherland." 


Once again we see that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world. And of course the old term for a foreigner or someone that does not belong in a certain area is....you guessed it, "alien". The word used for "strangers" in that last portion of Scripture is the word "xenos" which literally means "alien or guest".

We are not from this world. We are strangers and aliens. We will not remain on this world either. The day will come when our King will step out on a cloud and call us home. It will not be a matter of, "Beam us up" but rather, "Come home."

We can see in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord."

Alien abductions will likely be blamed in the day in which we are raptured, but while it is close to the truth, it is still wrong. It will not be alien abductions, but rather alien migration as we return to the place where we belong. We will stand in Heaven, in our Home, and finally be where we belong. In the meantime though, we are the aliens that walk among all those other people on the world. They can come along with us, but it is up to us to tell them that home is waiting for them. It will then be up to them as to whether or not they will accept the offer that our Lord gives us of home and eternal life.

So in signing off, may I quote another famous alien by saying:

"Live long and prosper!"

Doors

We've all heard the saying that whenever God closes a door, He opens another one. There is never a time in life that we are stuck if we have placed our trust in the Lord. There are times that God closes a particular door and we have no idea why! The "door" may be any number of things but whatever it is, we don't like having a door closed in our faces. We are creatures of habit, and we like to take the easy road through life. I mean, who wants to choose the hard way if there is an easy way? Would you rather drive to Halifax or walk? It is a simple thing. Well sometimes the reason that God closes the doors that we are ready to walk through is because He is sparing us from something. Maybe the reason that your car broke down on the way to Halifax (we'll use that as our example), is to keep you from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe if there wasn't some delay, you would end up in a serious accident. Maybe there would have been something even worse if you hadn't have been delayed.

Sometimes though, instead of closing a door to spare you, God closes a door to give you something much better. Years ago, Monty Hall hosted the game show "Let's Make a Deal." Now, there is a remake but the premise is the same. You are presented with blind options and you must choose which prize you would rather have. For example: "Would you like the money or what's behind door number 2?" We need to remember that to God, these are not blind options. He is omniscient, which is a fifty-cent word for all-knowing. He knows what is behind each and every door that we face in life.

I speak from experience when I say that if God closes a door, it is because He has something so much better in store for you; you just need to trust Him. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us about the fact that God has a plan for each of us. This plan is to give us a future and hope. God's plans are never to harm us or be detrimental to our journey with Him. So, sometimes God closes a door to protect us, and sometimes it is to reward us, and it is also a way for Him to give us something so much better than what we had before. As I said, I speak from experience.

I had a really hard time a while back when it seemed like the door to my future was slammed shut on me. Little did I know at the time how happy I would be once the door was closed. God always blesses those who will remain faithful to Him even during hard times. When doors are closed in life, instead of looking at what you "lost" instead look at all that you have. I still have a wonderful, loving family. I have a very bouncy, perpetually happy beagle who is truly one of this man's best friends. I still have my ministry and the calling on my life. In addition, God has since opened other doors in my life, one of which I am especially thrilled about.

For those of you who have me on facebook or talk to me regularly, you know that I am dating an absolutely wonderful woman named Laverne. She is a kind, sweet, loving, compassionate, thoughtful and caring person, and she will probably turn beet red reading this because she is so humble as well. Right now we are many miles apart, but as those of you who truly know what love is, physical distance does not dictate the heart. You can be directly beside someone and never have a real connection, or it can be a forced one.

On the other hand though, you can be miles away and still have such a strong connection to someone. I am so glad, and I thank the Lord that He DID close the doors that He did. Without them being closed, I never would have met my Verny. She truly is special, and proof that God always knows what He is doing. He brought two people together that likely never would have met, and built a bond between us that is only strengthened each day. To those of you out there who are still standing in front of closed doors, it is time to realize that God has a much better plan. That plan may be behind door number 2 or 3 or whatever, but God knows where He is leading. Won't you let Him lead you?

PB Jr.

Family Time

Hi followers of my blog! 

I just thought I would do a bit of writing tonight and let you know what's going on in the Pass household. Tonight we started doing something that I have been looking forward to for months! It all started back when we were kids. When Matthew, Alannah and I were kids (we never were little), we would always take time together as a family to read at night. We would read a chapter or so every night.

Anyway, a couple of months ago I got thinking about it, and thought that it would be a nice thing to start up again. You see, it is so easy for everyone to get going their separate ways, and never really spend time together as a family. So for us, we have 5 books picked out, and though it will take a long time to get through them all, we are going to have fun with it. 

There are so many people who lament the fact that their families are not closer. Sometimes it takes a determination to make sure that you will set aside time for your family no matter what life brings your way. I know that I do enjoy spending time with my family, and this is just another way that we can do so. Maybe reading isn't your thing, but in my humble opinion, everyone should determine to spend time with their family, and don't let anything get in the way of that. Don't let TV consume your time, or work, or gyms or anything else. God needs to be first in our lives, and family needs to be second. Everything else can come afterwards. 

Just a thought.

Beagles: The Beautiful Disaster

I know that today many people are blogging and talking about the brand new year. It has been unspoiled by heartache and frustrations, and is a time of new beginnings. I'm not thinking about the new year right now though. I am thinking about my beagle Daisy Mae.

I heard the term "beautiful disaster" years ago, and I think that it perfectly fits Miss Daisy. She is a sweet little ball of fur. She can look at you with those big, sad eyes and melt your heart. She can curl up against you in the bed and let a huge sigh out of that tiny body and make you feel so happy. Yet there are also times that you hear that high-pitched whine accompanied by the scratching at the door that makes you wish she knew how to use the toilet instead of having to go outside. And then there are the times that she goes outside simply to "sniff the flowers;" a term that I use for when she does absolutely NOTHING!

I don't know if all beagles are like my Daisy, but she is certainly interesting to say the least. I have never had a dog that chewed shoes, yet if you fail to keep your shoes in the entryway, she will roll around, play with the laces and start chewing on them. She will stick her little head into the edges of the couch and find tiny pieces of chips that no one even cares about much less remembers. The chewing, the whining, the bumming for food, and the standing on your shoulders to lick out your ears are things that make Daisy a disaster.

BUT, there are also the times that she lays down on the couch beside you, places her head on your leg and goes to sleep. There are those times that she looks up at you and gives you a little lick on the cheek and lets you know that you have a friend that loves you no matter what.

Just a moment, she needs to go outside again.

Okay, back again. I love the quote by Charles Shulz, "Happiness is a warm puppy." Daisy is a hound through and through. At night, she'll push me over in bed so that she can curl up at my back and watch the door. There are the times like today when I am sick, and she comes back downstairs to see if I'm okay. I hear the unmistakable thump, thump, thump of her running down the stairs, and then she seems to fly from the doorway to my bed and she sniffs me all over to see why I'm still in bed.

I am a hound person, and I dare say that I am now a beagle person. Despite the annoyance and frustration, despite the disaster that is beagle-dom, the warmth and love of Daisy is all that I could ask for. She is a good dog, and good dogs show perfect love; they love you no matter what, and always want you to be happy. If more of us were like good dogs, we would see a real difference in this world. If we all loved each other no matter what and put the happiness of others above that of ourselves, what a world we would see!

No, we won't always do it right. We may very well turn it into disaster, but like the beagle, we need to shake ourselves and try again to make people smile. Daisy is a little clown, but I love her.

All That Is Gold

J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote a beautiful quote that says,

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.”

As I said, this is a beautiful quote, but there is so much more than just the surface. Tolkien, like C.S. Lewis, was a Christian. In fact, it is believed that Tolkien was the one who led Lewis to the Lord.

When we know things like this, we can look beyond simply the words of the quote and see the symbolism that Tolkien wove into his works. Yes it had meaning for the book, but I believe it also has spiritual meaning, and that is what I am looking at here. I’m going to look at this quote in sections.

“All that is gold does not glitter…”

This first part seems simple, and yet it is a profound truth that we need to remember. The situation may seem to be dark and terrible, and yet God can still turn it around for good.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Situations may not glitter, but God can turn them around to be golden opportunities to speak for Him. The same applies to people. We all go through testing, and we may fail at times. We may not always be that perfect, shining example of a Child of God, but if we only go to our Father, our King, He will forgive us and make us pure again.

“…not all those who wander are lost…”

There are times when we have to wander through the wildernesses of this life. I think of John the Baptist who spent years in the wilderness proclaiming, and preparing the way for Christ to come.

I also think of Jesus in the wilderness for forty days. I think of Elijah by the brook of Cherith. We have times that we have to go through these times where we seem to wander in the wilderness to grow.

These are times of spiritual growth. And remember that though we may wander, the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path according to Psalm 119:105.

“…the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

This can be a great promise for us! When we stand on the Rock of Ages, when our roots are growing into the spiritual depths of the Word of God, when we place our hand in the eternal hand of Jesus, then we will not wither, and we will not be frozen out by the storms of this world.

Psalm 1:3 says, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not wither, and all which he does shall be blessed.”

When our base is Almighty God, the winds may blow, the storms may come, the fires may roar, and the enemy of our souls may rage against us, but nothing, and I mean nothing can stand against us. We belong to the Lord, and He will protect us.

“From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring…”

The first part of this section refers to resurrection. In the legend of the Phoenix, after 500 years would pass, the Phoenix would be devoured by flames until only ash remained. The ash would then rise up and the Phoenix would be reborn.

That is just a story, but we know there is an account, something true that happened. Jesus Christ gave Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and died on the cross. Three days later, despite all the Satan wanted and strived for, Jesus rose again!

The shadow and suffering of Hell was blinded by the light of Almighty God as Jesus wrest the keys of death, Hell, and the grave from the hands of the devil.

We can see in Revelation 1:18, “And the Living One, and I became dead, and behold, I am alive for ever and ever, Amen. And I have the keys of hell and of death.”

Then, when the third day dawned, the Light, Jesus, sprang forth and lived again.

“…renewed shall be blade that was broken…”

Jesus seemed to the world, to His own Disciples, and to all of Hell, to be broken and defeated. You see, many times we only associate the Lord with love and forgiveness, and it is true that God is love, and that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. (1 John 1:9)

We also need to remember that God is Master of all, and He is the head of a spiritual army. As kids we sing, “I’m in the Lord’s army,” and yet as we grow, we forget that we are in fact at war. We don’t fight against flesh and blood as the world does; we fight against darkness, and spiritual realms.

Our Lord and King truly is Almighty, and His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12)

“…the crownless again shall be king.”

Right now, the enemy, Satan rules this world. How else would he be able to offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus when he tempted Him in Luke 4? His reign will be short-lived though.

The day will come when the Lord will set up His throne in Jerusalem and the devil will be bound, and cast into the pit. It doesn’t end there though; the enemy will be released for a time, and then thrown for all eternity into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

It is then that our eternity will begin, and Almighty God will be on the throne beyond even the passing of time, reigning over the new Heaven and new Earth. The Prince of Darkness is ruling right now, but soon enough, the True King, Jesus Christ will sit on the throne, and all will see Him.

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly ones, and of earthly ones, and of ones under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)  

Jesus is Lord!! Never forget that He is King, and He will suffer no imposter. Then enemy’s days are numbered, so hold on because Jesus will triumph, and we, as His children will triumph as well!

The Olde Ways

I know that it has been a while since my last post, but it has been both because I have been incredibly busy, sick, and just thinking instead of writing. The thing that has been most on my mind is that I miss the old ways of doing things. I miss the old times. My family has always joked that I was born old, but I fully agree with them.

I like the old fashioned things. For instance, I have always loved pocket watches. My parents bought me a lovely pocket watch for my birthday. It is a mechanical one with exposed workings. This, as well as a conversation we had earlier in the week about lost words and terms got me thinking about old ways and old ways of doing things.

I know that I can't go back to the old days, but we CAN go back to the old ways. We can make things the way that they once were if we choose to work to make it so.

I miss the days when the church was an integral part of the community. I miss the days when you went to town and saw families together. I think the most endangered thing in this world is the family unit. It is getting to the point where people don't even tolerate each other on Christmas Day. They can't wait to get out of the house and away from their family.

People spend all day long with texting, and email, and facebook, and all these different things. Now, these things aren't wrong in and of themselves, but the overwhelming time that is spent on them should be spent with family if possible.

I know that we are all guilty of this at times, but there are people who don't even see each other except over their various screens. What happened to the art of conversation? Or even listening? What happened to the family sitting around, talking about their day or even reading a good book but being able to enjoy each other's company?

My mother and my sister love watching "The Waltons". Now, growing up, I never really cared for the "walnuts" as Matthew and I called them, but as I grow older I grow to like watching it more and more. The thing that I like the most is that you see the family in a warm, loving manner that is totally unlike anything on TV today.

Now I know that the "real" family doesn't solve problems, and have stories wrapped up neatly into little, one hour portions. I know that families aren't the happy, perfect family that is seen in "The Waltons," but isn't that love, and happiness worth the hard times?

Aren't the times of frustration, and the times of hard work worth having a loving family? I love my family, and I know that they love me. I love having my family around me, and I love the simple, old fashioned life that we have. No, we are by no means perfect, and yes, we do have our times where it is more work than reward, but the reward is always more than worth the work.

People, your family is the best thing you can possibly have aside from a relationship with Christ. Take time to cultivate that relationship and that love with your family. People come and go in your life, friends will come and go, and even loves will come and go. Your family is what you need to concentrate on along with Jesus.

You may have everyone else leave you, but you can never cease being a part of your family. The ties that reach from your heart to that of your family can never be fully broken. Your family is not perfect either, and those ties that bind may be stretched, but if you work to strengthen your family, they will not be broken.

And Jesus will never leave you either. We can see all-throughout Scripture where the Lord says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

I have been told many times in a negative way that I am old fashioned, but I think that being old fashioned is what we need. The old fashioned family, the old fashioned church that the community sees as a solid rock, the old fashioned people who are seen as trustworthy, and the people who give their word, and it is their bond. That is how we need to be. We need to get back to the Olde Ways.

Just my two-cents.