January 22, 2021Our daughter, Candace, told us something last night that I had not thought about: it was the 21st hour of the 21st day of the first month in the 21st century. From a young age, I have enjoyed counting things. In the 1960s, bolo bats and hula hoops were popular items that helped me develop persistence, as I tried to increase the total number of rotations of my wrists and hips. Seeing images from the archives of a Montreal television station’s 60th anniversary this week brought back other memories, including looking at reels of pictures in a “ViewMaster” and watching a friend and his brother participate in a game show called “A Kin to Win.” Photos (in black and white) of celebrities who appeared on CFCF reveal that a lot has changed since the decade that saw Americans land on the moon. You can see these at: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/ctv-montreal-celebrates-its-60th-anniversary-1.5274941.
Beginning with the book of Genesis, the Bible is filled with numbers. The account of the creation of the world reveals God’s amazing work in six days. Some people say that Christians believe in three gods, using the following formula: 1 plus 1 plus 1 equals 3. The truth is that there is only one God, as seen in the equation 1 times 1 times 1 equals 1. In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “Many people read ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1) and assume that only God the Father is responsible for creating everything that exists. But all three members of the Trinity were active in Creation. The Word – Jesus Christ – is the Creator God and was there at the beginning (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15, 16; Hebrews 1:2). The Spirit of God was present as well, hovering like a mother bird over the earth (1:2). In addition, 1:26 and 11:7 quote the Lord as saying ‘Let Us’ introducing a forthcoming action. What’s more, God’s name in the Hebrew of Genesis 1, Elohim, is in the plural. So from the opening words of Scripture, God not only exists, but exists in three persons.”
When I was in high school, I enjoyed being the treasurer of the Student Council. I counted the money at school dances and paid the bands after their concerts. One Friday night, when I was in the Staff room, the television was on and images of an unfolding drama were flashed on the screen. A diplomat had been taken hostage. Montreal was about to experience the presence of the army, as Prime Minister Pierre-Elliott Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. There is an expression “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” If I were to tell my teachers that 50 years from then, the prime minister of Canada would be Mr. Trudeau and that soldiers would be helping people in long-term care homes, they might have laughed at me.
“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
As we look ahead to a new year and many changes, we know that we can trust the One who created the world to guide us, as we walk with Him.
Scripture for the weekend: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)
Thought for the weekend: “The literary historian sees the Bible as a library: a miscellaneous set of more than or less occasional writings – public records, legal and liturgical documents, history books, lyric and philosophical poetry and visionary prose, hymns, letters, sermons – put together over a period of a thousand years or more. But it is more than a library of books by human authors; it is a single book with a single author – God the Spirit – and a single theme – God the Son, and the Father’s saving purposes, which all revolve round Him.” – Dr. J. I. Packer (from “Fundamentalism and the Word of God” published by The Inter-Varsity Fellowship, London, England)
Steve