Spring of Hope

US President Donald Trump once brought a Bible to a campaign rally. When asked whether he prays to Jesus for forgiveness, he said, "I don't bring Jesus into my issues. I correct my mistakes and then move on." People can quote from the scripture any time anywhere to fit their need at a given time. In the gospel of Matthew (Chapter 10:25) we read about an expert in the Jewish law who stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responded to him with two questions: “what is written and how do you read it ?”. The man replied that one should love God, and love his neighbor as himself. One statment was concerning God (Deuteronomy 6:5); the second was concerning the neighbor quoted from Leviticus 19:18. His knowledge in the Jewish law was evident in his answers. Jesus said he answered correctly. To justify himself he went on asking the big question. “Who is my neighbor?” So Jesus tells him the parabl...

The changing of the seasons is striking with beauties. Spring brings growth with new life and flowers, summer brings outside activities, fall has beautiful falling leaves of varied colors, and winter though generally darker and colder, brings Christmas and festivities. Like nature, God has blessed us with seasons in life. A person born as infant grows into a youth, then as an adult and pass through middle age and then to old age. Each season is a blessing because you had a chance to live up to that time. A young child once asked a woman how old she was. She answered, “39 and holding.” The child thought for a moment, then said, “And how old would you be if you let go?”. Most people do not want to acknowledge that they are getting older, even though that is the truth. The world seems to worship youth and is terrified of aging. Old people try to look and act like young. It is a five billion dollar industry that caters to the make up and hair dye business. The modern society has be...

A Muslim woman sued Canada's immigration ministry over a policy that requires new Canadians remove their face-covering while taking their oath of citizenship. The 29-year-old says the 'niqab' ban violates her religious belief that her face and hair must remain covered in the presence of men. The then Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, “It is offensive that someone would hide their identity at the very moment where they are committing to join the Canadian family." I am unsure of the full doctrine behind the Muslim veil as there are so many variations of explanations. Veils are used to cover something, a face or identity from someone else. In Exodus Chapter 34, Moses wore a veil to hide his shining face before the people after he came down from Mount Sinai and seeing God's glory. Moses himself was denied a vision of God’s face but was granted only a backwards glimpse of God's glory from a protective cleft in the rock (Exodus 33:18-23). Yet the people wer...