May 21, 2021

Dear friends,

When I was growing up, I was in Cubs and Scouts at St. Andrew’s United Church in Saint-Laurent, on the island of Montreal. I liked wearing the uniforms of those groups, including a scarf with the same blue-and-white pattern found on the flag of Scotland, which is one of the oldest flags in the world. For more information about this flag, please visit: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/saltire/index.html. I knew that Andrew was the patron saint of Scotland, but I had not realized that San Andreas was the Spanish rendering of his name. According to Wikipedia, “the fault was identified in 1895 by Professor Andrew Lawson of UC Berkeley, who discovered the northern zone. It is often described as having been named after San Andreas Lake, a small body of water that was formed in a valley between the two plates. However, according to some of his reports from 1895 and 1908, Lawson actually named it after the surrounding San Andreas Valley. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Lawson concluded that the fault extended all the way into southern California.”

In my blog post two weeks ago, I wrote about the signs of the return of Christ, as recorded in Matthew 24, including “earthquakes in various places” (verse 7). In the Jeremiah Study Bible, the following commentary is given: “The wars, ethnic and territorial conflicts, famines, epidemics, and widespread earthquakes that Jesus mentioned will not signal the end; they will merely be the beginning of sorrows (literally ‘birth pangs’). These troubles will form the backdrop for what will come, and they will increase in intensity when Christ’s return draws near. But none of these things – although terrible in themselves – should trouble God’s people, for He remains sovereign and will bring history to its final conclusion, as He has ordained.”

When I wrote about earthquakes being one of the signs that will precede the second coming of Christ, I had no idea that ten days later, southern Quebec would experience a minor earthquake. If you are reading this and have never asked God’s forgiveness for your sins, I urge you to not wait another minute to do so. Saul’s life was transformed when he was hunting “any who were of the Way” (Acts 9:2). We then read “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” (verses 3-4).

After the Lord Jesus told Saul that he was persecuting Him when he attacked His followers, Saul realized his need to repent and trust Christ. Instead of persecuting Christ, Saul now preached Christ (verses 20 and 22). Later, the apostle Paul quoted David’s words in Psalms 14 and 53: “There is none righteous, no, not one … There is none who does good, no, not one.” in his letter to the believers in Rome (Romans 3:10-12). He goes on to contrast the wages of sin (death) with the gift of God (eternal life in Christ) in Romans 6:23. Don’t delay! Trust Christ and dedicate your life to serving Him and telling others the wonderful news of salvation.

Scripture for the weekend: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (NASB)

Thought for the weekend: “You’ve probably never thought about it this way, but in eternity past God triaged us, determining that we need salvation first and foremost. Because of man’s sin, we didn’t need a theology lesson or an example of love or even a reason for hope. What we needed was salvation. We needed atonement for our sins, which is why the second person of the Trinity was sent to the cross for us.” – Brad Mellette (from his book “Rules of Engagement” published by Word Alive Press, Winnipeg, MB)

Steve