Timeless Truths

0622h September 19, 2025- Waning moon, Venus and Regulus

The sky this week has been beautiful with the waning moon, Venus and Jupiter shining brightly in the blue pre-dawn twilight. Friday morning, the moon was 2% full with Venus to the right and the star Regulus below. 

This summer was busy in positive ways, including a trip to Newfoundland, training a new puppy, a move that brought our family closer together geographically, and a busy work schedule covering full-time staff vacations. 

On the other hand, the world is a heavy place with an emotionally draining news cycle. It is hard to avoid online outrage, revenge, judgmental hatred, misinformation, fear-mongering, and one-sided opinions. My antidote is the natural world, the timeless and predictable rhythms of the solar system, and the trees of the forest that have lived decades longer than any election cycle. Face-to-face interactions with family, friends, neighbours, patients and co-workers convince me that most people are decent and kind. Our grandchildren give me hope for the future. 

We are influenced and formed by the things to which we dedicate our time. The diverse online world is forming the minds of millions of people. There is always a place where we can find views we like and ideas that validate our own opinions. The internet is a source of useful information, but it is also home to extremism, corruption and abuse. It is impossible to keep up with all the voices and influencers who speak to specific audiences. I never heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed because my online algorithms do not take me to the places where he and others like him voice their opinions. 

The timelessness of biblical wisdom and truth, and the repeated patterns of history, help me look beyond the daily headlines. My notebook is full of scriptures and thoughts that give me peace and perspective when I feel overwhelmed. Isaiah spoke to Israel and Judah in a time similar to ours.

A Call to Trust the Lord  (Isaiah 8-11-14)

The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,

“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,

and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.

 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.

He is the one you should fear.

He is the one who should make you tremble.

He will keep you safe."

As a Pharisee, the Apostle Paul was zealous for the Jewish traditions and religion and felt justified in persecuting followers of Christ. In Galatians 1:14, he described himself as a young man.

"I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers."

Today's zealots make idols of flags, weapons, social ideology, power and wealth. Some wish to erase history and scientific thought and return to an era of corrupt white male supremacy, trampling diverse social and racial groups in their zeal for control. The Sermon on the Mount and the teachings of Jesus that embrace the outcasts of society are dismissed. It makes me very sad that many people who focus on social and political issues, not Christ, call themselves Christians.

After Paul's conversion, his zeal was for Christ, not for personal fame and reputation. In Galatians 2:20, he says,

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

The true Church of Christ is not left or right, nor is it aligned with any earthly power. History shows that Christian nationalism is dangerous and destructive. 

The Church is called to be an Embassy of the Kingdom of God on earth, a refuge, and a place of peace and healing for all people. Amen!