20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

  I was walking past a lawn bowling facility with a friend. It was a rather fun game to watch. It is not physically demanding. It does require some skills. Having a strategy might be a critical aspect of the game. Some might disagree and insist that the social interaction among players is what makes the game popular. The game objective is to find ways to get your bowl to be the closest one to the target (the Jack). There are many ways to do that with different kinds of curving throws. Here was what I found refreshing about watching a game as a spectator: Players from different teams cheer whenever one makes a good throw regardless of his (her) team. It is a change from what we see in politics and the news these days. The target is not stationary. It moves after being hit by a ball. Our objective of being a Christian will continue to grow and enlarge as we overcome various spiritual obstacles in life. Players will find new ways to get closer to the target when it appear...

  I came across this sign a while ago and began to wonder where I should go if I am a pedestrian. It appeared that I would not be welcome to be beyond that point of the pathway. I have the same feeling when I consider different pathways of life in our society. Somehow regular men and women have been made to feel guilty about being who we are.  The pathway of free speech is no longer there. We are not allowed to say certain words or to express our ideas of right and wrong. We can no longer share our true thoughts because we might hurt other people's feelings. We have reduced ourselves to a mere form of co-existence with meaningless conformity. I found this talk given by Rowan Atkins (Mr. Bean) is very enlightening. https://youtu.be/BiqDZlAZygU The pathway to freedom of religion is increasingly limited. Our right to our faith is more than just the freedom to gather to worship. It is about having the right to live our life according to our faith convictions. That is the real mean...

A friend from California told me recently that she would like to go to the East to see the Fall colors. A few years ago, my wife and I took a trip to the Maritimes of Canada to do just that. We were marveled at the beauty of the Fall Foliage in that region of our country. Somehow we cannot do the same with the change of seasons in our life. We prefer to stay young forever and would do anything to achieve that. Yet, we won't be able to stop the inevitability of aging. Seasons of our life do happen. Getting old is uncomfortable for many of us. Some might feel that we lose our attractiveness. Some are afraid of losing our mind. Some are terrified by the prospect of being forgotten. Some begin to ask about the meaning of death only to discover that we have not yet fully understood the purpose of life. Getting old somehow gives us the feeling of being cheated. We want life to go on forever, and we have gone about life as if that is true. We know that we cannot take anything w...

What is the truth of all of this? I struggle. I don't believe that we should use our freedom as a way to act irresponsibly. I am not sure that governments should have an overarching power either. There is enough government interference with how we educate our children and care for their well-being. Health care and education are the two most treasured aspects of life, and governments have done more than enough to control us. As much as I respect people who don't believe in vaccination, I think people should respect businesses and other public bodies that exercise their choices to protect their employees and patrons. People still want to argue about whether this virus is that dangerous. I have met people who contracted the virus and recovered. Some were sicker than others. Some were hospitalized, and others were not. I have also known people who have lost their loved ones because of this virus. So we can have different conclusions about coronavirus depending on our experience. Wh...

What I am about to share with you has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the sanctity of human life. It has nothing to do with taking away women's right to choose. It is about protecting my right to exercise my moral conviction. It has nothing to do with the accessibility of abortion for those who choose to do so. It is about providing help and support for women who either struggle with their abortion decisions or suffer from the emotional trauma of their choices. Abortion is legal in Canada. However, it doesn't mean that people who morally have taken the opposite stand should be shot down and discriminated against. When we take a stand against smoking, it doesn't mean that we take away the choice of smokers. When we fight against drunk driving, it doesn't mean we take away the option from those who like to drink. It is about having conversations about the potential consequences of our choices. The Liberal Party in Canada is making it clear to us...

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness." Now comes the more hopeful part of the psalm. There are three thoughts I would like to share with you at this time. Restoration of the joy of salvation:  it means   God will restor e us . There is no more separation between God and us. King David was longing for that oneness with God. He prayed that God would grant him a willing spirit so that he would have the willingness to live out God's promise to him. God will teach the transgressors His way: here is the reminder for all of us that God will overcome all things at the end. There will be a moment that each one of us has to face accountability for our lives. God wants us to be with Him on that day. Deliverance from our guilt: we might...

 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." What is a pure heart? A heart knows what is evil. It is aware of its spiritual brokenness and bankruptcy and longs to see God. It is kind and compassionate towards others. It seeks no evil. It walks away from what is damaging to life and beauty. King David identified himself with these conditions intimately. A steadfast spirit wants to be right with God, knowing that it has to work through many struggles. Some people use words such as immovable to describe such a spirit. It learns how to wait for God. It trusts in God for what it doesn't know. It will be willing to suffer with God because of His love for the world. The worst fear, King David had, was God would cast away His presence from him. Being disconnected from God is like living outside the covenant that God has given us. We as nations have decided to do that in some ways. ...