by jot and tittle

too old, too new, too scared to do, too blind, to see, all the need, too frail, too weak too lazy to seek what God would say to you today too deaf, to hear His voice so clear to give it all even what's small He'll draw you near your prayer to hear to share the love of God above too loving to hide for judgement He died to Him, we bring our suffering our tears to wipe our sins to smite to take you home to bow at His throne to worship the Babe on Christmas day is to worship the King of everything Who left His throne to die all alone to give us life and remove the strife between God and me His child to be till time is no more His name to adore

I recently read 2 articles that have been floating around facebook. One talks about what women want in a godly man and the other is about what men want in a godly woman. The first talks about how men should be honest, pure, strong, compassionate, and humble and the second says that women should be real, confident, beautiful (in spirit), and passionate. These articles were interesting and insightful if those are the only questions you want answers to. (and I did find that the one to men didn't really convey what I would like in my husband). But the real question for Christians is what does God want in a godly man or godly woman? To answer this question in depth I would encourage you to read the entire Bible. If you would like a shorter answer please turn to 1 Timothy 2:8-11 and Titus 2:5-6. We'll begin with men . In this chapter Paul tells Timothy "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." Matthew Henry explains that men ...

It smelled. Rats glared at the shadow that passed their feast of old burgers and moldy pickles. Footsteps made a splashing sound as they carelessly passed through whatever was leaking out of the dumpsters and somewhere in the distance a siren sounded. The steps hurried. Faster, faster, don't get caught . At the end of the ally stood what he was waiting for. A man in a dark hoodie awaited his arrival.      "Did you get it?"     "Yes," our shadow shoved a wade of cash at the hooded man and grabbed the package that was held out to him. He then backed away quickly and waited while the hooded man slipped into a car and drove away. Behind the dumpster would be good . He looked around to make sure no one was watching him and then slid behind the large, green, smelly beast to get his fix.       Light flooded the ally as a door opened. She lifted her garbage bag and made her way toward a dumpster. "Hurry up, we need ya in here!" a voice screamed be...

If you are a Christian you are part of the greatest love story every told to mankind. This story begins with God speaking and it ends with an "amen". It's found between the covers of this book called "The Bible" and if you haven't read it I suggest you begin immediately because you will be amazed at the love recorded there. If you are a Christian you are described as a member of God's church and if you are a member of His church you are also part of the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5). You might say that Israel in the Old Testament was God's church and He made His love story very clear to them as well...though not because they deserved it. Song of Solomon tells the deep, intimate love of Christ for His church and the adoration of the church for Jesus; it's the story of how it should always be . Sadly, in a few books later we read a story that is heart wrenching. Ezekiel 16 is titled "The Lord's Faithless Bride" because this bride, t...

Well I don't know about you but I find that to be a rather strange question; which isn't to say I haven't heard it before. In fact, such a strange question really deserves an equally strange answer. "Because my parents said I can't date till I'm 30 and I'm only 19;" "because I have multiple brothers with multiple guns;" "Oh, I actually have a wretched personality;" or my personal favorite; "Because I have a significant-other killing disease. I got it from a black-window-spider".Those answers are, of course, ridiculous. But like I said, the question itself is strange; especially coming from older more mature Christians. In fact, it can be frustrating and encourage young people to sin. Let me explain. So, you have a Christian young person (let's call her Sally) who is doing her utmost to live for Jesus. She knows she's getting older but she also believes that God only has good plans for His children even if it'...

Lately I've been thinking about God's command to rejoice. To rejoice isn't a magical gift God zaps into you once you become a Christian; it's a virtue that is learned and that lesson can be painful. Yes, painful. You see the command to rejoice in Philippians 4:4 is not a command to be happy when you have a good job, kind family, and lots of sleep (though you should rejoice in those blessings) it's a command first and foremost to rejoice in the Lord and what better way to learn to rejoice in Him and His character than when He has taken everything else away? I ask myself if all I had was God, would I be happy? If I could choose a wonderful earthly life and then go to heaven and there be no God, or if I suffer all my days and have fellowship with God, which would I choose? Moses told God that if He did not go with them on their journey then he didn't want to go (Exodus 33). What about you? Will you praise God in the storm? Will you praise Him when you dance? W...

This post will probably make some people angry, but most of all I hope it will make people think . Next week Sunday (July 28) in London, Ontario, Canada, starting on Ontario St. and ending in Victoria Park there will be a parade. But this won't just be any parade. This parade is celebrating something special for some special people. It's the Pride parade. What are these people taking pride in with their rainbow fliers and lack of clothing? They are taking pride in their sexuality-the fact that they are homosexual, transsexual, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender people. They are raising awareness of their lifestyles. This parade actually comes near the end of the week long "Pride London Festival" which started yesterday (July 20) and includes BBQs, speeches, entertainment, and even a church service after the parade. Some other special people will also be at this parade. These people are not there to celebrate this lifestyle but to spread a warning against this lif...

I pulled into the laneway of a home that I'm sure would have looked quaint if I could have seen it through all the trees. The sign by the road read "hanging baskets and railroad ties" and lo and behold that was just what I was looking for (I mean the railroad ties, not the hanging baskets).  I parked close to the grass incase a buggy had to get by and slipped out of the red mini van. I didn't see anyone. That, however, does not mean that someone did not see me. I strolled over to look at the flowers to wait for someone to come out and see what the crazy girl with the pony-tail was doing on their property. A large dog, missing his right eye, managed to find me first and it was while I was petting this friendly, half blind, beast that the house seemed to spit out a young lady. She was wearing a long dress, an apron, and a head covering. She walked toward me with a smile and I recognized her from a singing I had gone to at the neighbors place a few months earlier. I ...

Over the past couple years I've had the privilege to be blessed and I don't mean in just the blessings of day to day life (though that is also true) but more specifically I'm referring to the blessing the pastor will declare at the end of the church service. When I was little didn't take much notice of it until I started thinking about the words. Now different pastors use different blessings but they usually involve God being gracious and granting peace. And these blessings unite us as believers more than you might think. When I lived in Toronto I was blessed in Punjabi almost every Lord's Day. This first made me think of the amazingness of our God, that He not only understands other languages but also created them. You see, God is not the God who blesses only those who speak English and He will bless you even by using languages you don't understand. In the past six weeks I have been blessed in French, German, Italian, and English. It reminds me that my home c...

He took from his flock and sacrificed to God out of obedience. His brother did not. He sacrificed what he wanted and God was not pleased. When God came to his brother he did not listen, instead he grew angry, angry enough to kill. They were in the field and Cain struck down his brother and killed him. You know the story. Genesis 4. After this the story goes on to talk about how God put a mark on Cain so people would not kill him and we go on in the book without much pause but what about Abel? Does anyone feel sorry for Abel? He died young. He had no family. He hadn't done anything significantly great. Yet he died. Because he obeyed. He's a hero of faith (Heb 11:4) though he did nothing great. He obeyed. You may do nothing great by earthly standards. You may not defeat giants or save cities. But if you obey. God will credit it to you as righteousness. Abel was the first to got his eternal reward. All because he obeyed. Be encouraged by our brother, Abel. And obe...

It was an evening just like any other, completely unpredictable. Two of my friends, Agatha and Tia, and I were simply minding our own business when we heard a strange sound blowing in the trees. Our great black lion, Sophie, jump up with a snarl. We all stood, grasping our weapons of choice, and rushing out the door. It was just before dusk with the sun setting behind us when set out into the woodland on our adventure. We began on the path through the wood. A conversation began, as is prone to happen in a company comprised completely of females, but it came to an abrupt end when Sophie began to growl and her hair started to rise on the back of her neck. We stopped and took in our surroundings. A gasp escaped from Tia’s mouth when she saw what lay ahead. A great, green dragon blocked our way. Fire periodically puffed out of his nostrils with a low rumbling sound. “I think it’s sleeping,” Agatha whispered. Now the great thing about great, green dragons is that they have very ba...

they sit on your lap they run to and fro they giggle with joy Daddy, do they know? they play in the sun they sing as they go they see with eyes that wonder Daddy, do they know? they think things are big they'll stand on your toe they eat dirt and sand Daddy, do they know? they will soon grow up they won't stay at home one day they'll have jobs Daddy, do they know? you love them so much your all you'd bestow you gave so much up Daddy, do they know? your proud their your children you watch as they grow you teach them of Jesus Daddy, do they know? did you tell them you love them? did you bring yourself low? to show them your love for Jesus, Daddy, do they know? one day they will die, before God's throne they will go, may God not condemn them may they never say "Daddy, we didn't know"

In my last post I talked about how much of a blessing parents are and how mine are especially a blessing to me. Shortly after posting it a good friend of mine brought up the fact that we also learn bad things from our parents and should try to weed those qualities out. In order to help do this and to learn things that our parents can't teach us he brought up that it is sometimes helpful to adopt "fill-in" parents, however, is this undermining your own parents?  I would be inclined to think that "fill-in" parents can be a great blessing to you and to your parents as well. It is good to have more people around you who care for your spiritual wellbeing and yourself as a person in general. We aught to have older men and women who encourage us in the faith, both with words of kindness and with words of exhortation so that we are made more and more to look like God. Titus 2 talks about how older women are to teach younger women to work at home and how older men sh...

There they are. You have them too. Everyone does. They are the people who told you “no” when you were little and then continued to tell you “no” as you grew up and then when you finally became an adult they told you “well, it’s really up to you” but what they meant was “no” and you just wished they said it out loud. However, they were also the people who fed your friends when they came over, taught you to do dishes, bought your first puppy, and make cake for your birthday. They are your parents and you probably won’t realize how much they shaped who you are until you no longer live with them. This is what happened to me.   Growing up there were things I didn’t understand about my parents and things I didn’t like. There were times we didn’t get along and many times when we couldn’t stop laughing. I don’t think I really appreciated them until I moved out and I probably still don’t appreciate them as much as I should. One thing I found frustrating at times was when I would ask ...

In my parents' household there is almost always someone smiling, laughing, or doing something amusing. This isn't to say that we don't have serious talks and ponder deep mysteries, but in general there is a lightness about their home that is both welcoming and relaxing. This, however, is not a popular trend in today's culture.   The gift of joy, being able to laugh, and finding pleasure in normal every day things seems to have been drowned in the bottomless pit of  work, raising a family, school, money, and stress. Life is busy and I think everyone can agree with that, however, I don't believe the business is the problem. The issue really is selfishness. Sometimes it takes effort, a lot of effort, to step outside of your stressed out, busy mindset and listen to what your child is saying and laugh . Yes, that's right, it is OK to laugh at the silly things that happen.   I believe my father is becoming a master at this art of laughter.  When the...