The Global Village

They say the world is shrinking. Sometimes it certainly seems that way. Technology has reached the point where it allows us to communicate across time and space like never before. For example, in the Firefox browser you can use an add-on called FoxClocks. It sits in a bar along the bottom of your browser window and can display the current date and time of as many time zones as you like. I have US Pacific, US Mountain, US Central, US Eastern, the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Victoria Australia. The reason I have so many clocks is because I have to communicate regularly with people in all these places. I also have a watch on my wrist for emergencies.

Communication technology has come a long way since the smoke signals of North America, the bullroarer of the Australian Aborigines, and the talking drums of Africa. We can now hold simultaneous conversations with multiple people from all corners of the earth, the only obstacle being the need for sleep. Just this weekend I helped Grace do a final check of Splashdown's upcoming short story anthology. We were able to exchange documents back and forth almost instantaneously. Up until not so long ago, that sort of thing would have been impossible.

The Internet has created the "Global Village" which sounds cozy from the inside. Unfortunately, it is a village to which not everyone has access. While we enjoy chatting, texting, and tweeting, there are people out there whose only concern is finding their next meal. Sometimes it is easy to forget just how privileged we are. This weekend I read the news headlines and my heart almost broke. The main story was about how East Africa is being ravaged by the worst drought in sixty years. Somalia is worst-hit and the UN estimates there are ten million people in that region at risk of starvation. Another story covered the shooting in Norway in which an estimated ninety-six people lost their lives. A third story was about a talented British singer who was found dead at her home on Saturday after a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

All of which brought home to me how much the world desperately needs the healing power of Jesus. Without Him, we are at the mercy of all that is bad in the world. Without Him, we are doomed. Scientists may try to tell us that we can build a perfect world, but they are deluded. In one weekend, a woman with everything the world has to offer lost her battle with addiction, an apparently ordinary man decided to kill as many people as he could, and the Horn of Africa stands on the brink of starvation. If this is the best we can do, then we are in deep trouble.

As Christian writers spread across the globe, we are perfectly positioned to help spread the word that there is a solution to this world's problems; that there is a peace that fame and fortune cannot bring; that there is a love that can make the angriest man lay down his guns; and that God's mercy makes us all brothers and sisters in Him and that no-one should go hungry.

We have the technology at our fingertips to see our stories reach the farthest corners of the globe. My prayer is that we write for God's glory, and that our words might help nudge the world a little closer to Christ. Because there is no higher calling.

DEVOTION: The Foundation of Doubt

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

“Because the Bible says so” is the least sufficient reason a Christian can give to a non-Christian. But it's the reason behind all things Christian in the end. For right or for wrong, someone at least thought the Bible said so. And yet, for right or wrong, I often doubt.

It's a frightening topic, somewhat taboo in some circles, functioning as a badge of coolness in others. Both perspectives can be a means of recognizing the value of trusting even when we don't know. If God is good and God is God, Christians should be able to trust Him whether we have it all figured out or not. On the other hand, our means of expressing blind faith should never shut down the exploration of doubt. Speaking in human terms, doubt is the engine of faith.

How can I say that?

My husband Dave is known for coming up with pithy gems of wisdom. We were talking once about how people decide when to doubt, and he said: “Yeah, doubt has to be based on something.”

Ah, I hear an adventure calling. What could be more fundamental than doubt? Surely doubt is the great reconciler of conflicting certainties, the bottom line. After all, who am I to say the other guy’s truth isn’t true, even if it contradicts ours? That’s so not humble. I could be wrong, you know.

But if I leave it there, then there it ends. All truth is relative. I may deduce nothing, even from a plain reading of the Scriptures, nor may it inform my inferences.

What is truth? (John 18:38)

A famous personage said that one, and shrugged and turned away; and I believe I stand in his shoes before the mob if I join him in his viewpoint, asking to be commanded by popular opinion according to the mood of the moment. There’s a corresponding cliche that the only true humility toward God, or life, or others, is a stance of doubt; yet it doesn’t reference genuine doubt, only a decision not to examine. This is the doubt rejected in Scripture as unbelief.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jer. 29:13)

Genuine doubt is based on a fundamental, underlying truth: there are functional means of examining if and when a thing is true, how often that turns out to be the case, and whether the factors involved are consistently correspondent or variable, or somewhere in between. I may not know for sure about a lot of things, but to get through daily life, I constantly infer what's mostly true, true enough, or a pragmatic substitute for certain truth when none can be found.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. (Mark 9:24)

If doubts are founded on inference, there is room to doubt our doubts, to question whether they’re founded on correct presuppositions. We can question what we really know about that grey frontier where reliable inference fades from grasp. If we do not doubt our doubts, we are operating on a form of faith — one that stands in opposition to the truths which undergird doubt.

It was out in that grey space, in doubting my unbelieving doubts, that I unexpectedly encountered God.


Cathi-Lyn Dyck is a freelance writer and editor living on the Canadian prairies. She has been eclectically published in the realms of homeschooling, Christian speculative fiction and gardening humor. A former atheist and feminist who came to Christ in 1995, she runs a weekday blog on Christian thinking, life and culture at ScitaScienda.com.

GIANT HARVEST--By Christine Lindsay

It happened just as we prayed. Don’t you just love that when it happens? It doesn’t always, but man . . . when it does . . . .

I was there to see a Guinness World record beaten. On a quarter section—for the non-farmer-type reader that means a quarter of a square mile— I saw 200 giant, gleaming combines harvest wheat in record time. The event was so big that Guinness sent not one of the regular people out to judge, but one of their main administrators.

It was a hot August day under a clear, cerulean sky. And this Canadian felt pride in the size of the golden wheat field around me. To me that represented a lot of bread baskets--a lot of food for empty stomachs.



I also felt joy to see the various Christian communities from this small prairie town come together in support of the event. You talk of old fashioned barn raisings—this was bigger.

Over 200 farmers gave up their time out of a busy harvest season. Many local businessmen in southern Manitoba, Canada, gave of their product and time to cultivate, plant, and nurture this wheat field.



I felt goosebumps as I watched the mammoth combines, in two steady rows of 100 combines each, roll in an unwavering line to meet in the center of the section. And my heart rejoiced with these God-loving prairie people.



The event began with a group of farmers singing our national anthem--Oh Canada--and then heading out to their machines. Three yellow crop-duster planes flew in formation over the field. Several helicopters and two other visiting planes also flew overhead. The Lord even sent a gentle breeze to blow the chaff away so that the spectators weren't covered in dust. A petting zoo entertained the children, and Christian music entertained everyone.

It was a great day. And it all happened because of the love of hundreds of volunteers who want to make a difference in the world, folks who want to feed the souls of the spiritually starving with the Bread of Life—Jesus Christ. But why would simple, Christian farmers go to the bother of breaking a world record? Why work so hard for 15 minutes of fame?

A Christian organization I’m associated with arranged this huge fund raiser. I’m not naming or promoting this group on this website, because most of the writers on this forum are involved in ministries all over the world.

But for all of us in the Lord’s service, it’s good to share when the sun breaks through the clouds of struggle, hard work, and months and years on our knees praying for something. In each of our own ministries and our work, it’s good to be reminded that God does allow our plans to succeed . . . more often than not.

God couldn't have provided a more perfect day for our event that brought in over 10 thousand spectators, TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and dignitaries. So that on this past August 6th, the Lord graciously rewarded this ministry I associate with. It was especially sweet when many of us remembered the faith-testing disappointments of a day back in 2006 when they attempted the same thing, and did not receive the prize.

It just goes to prove that when we step out in faith, and our hearts are set on honoring God first, He lovingly rewards that faith.

So I say to you today, Go to it—whatever the Lord has called you to. Though you win no awards on this earth, though no one sees the hard work you put in. The Lord sees, and the Lord will reward.



To read more by me, Christine Lindsay, please stop by my website www.christinelindsay.com There you can find encouragement if you are someone whose life has been touched by adoption or missions, or the grinding struggles of life. You can find out about my recent trip to India, and the books I am currently writing. Thank you for dropping by. Blessings on you today.

DEVOTION: Every Walk Has Its Steps (C.L.Dyck)

     I didn't come from a religious home. Even in small-town Canada, out on the prairies, I managed to get myself into plenty enough hurt before I became a Christian. My culture is very secular, and the values I learned pretty much excluded any serious consideration of Christianity.
     As a gritty Christian, I’ve heard it said a few times–"Well, I don’t really have much to tell. I was saved as a kid, and nothing bad ever happened to me. I’m ‘just’ a Christian."
     Do you know what a huge accomplishment that is in today’s world? If nothing bad ever happened, that’s rare indeed, and not ‘just’ anything. Take a quick look around the globe, and the phenomenon of “I have no real complaints” becomes nothing short of miraculous. To be able to say that about one’s life is truly special.
We have a notion that in order to express Christ, we must have a gritty contrast to reveal the grace. Otherwise, we have nothing to talk about.
     But the reason this makes a testimony is not because Christ operates primarily in the depths of sin and sorrow, but at the end of self. And for most of us, we have to mess up big in order to get to the end of self.
Living sinfully is not necessary to the deep experience of Christ. It would not exactly make for a holy God, if life-damaging pain were the measure of experiencing Him. He is certainly there in the worst pain, and I can assure you, He's there more than anywhere. But what it takes to meet Him is the end of self. Anyone can do that, regardless of experience.
     Anyone can open their Bible and dance with God.
     I used to wonder, why insulate oneself from worldliness, if it’s of no value against fleshly indulgence? (Col. 2:20-23) And there’s a truth there on one side of the coin. I should go out and face the world for what it is. But there’s also a truth on the other, which says, “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father … to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27) I can go out and face the world for what I am -- a child of God.
     Even if I remove the world’s intrusions and conquer the devil’s temptations, there is still the flesh -- the me that I wrestle with daily. I could be a hermit on a hilltop and still need God. Because when all the external weight is removed, I must still deal with myself.
     And that’s when I truly begin to see God for who He is–in contrast to my incomplete, internally gritty self. Knowing that, I am learning to say what Paul said:

     I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

     I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ~Phil. 4:12-13

     There is a lot to conquer in order to come face to face with Christ–to end the separation due to unlikeness of nature. It doesn’t matter where a person’s at, whatever the obstacles, there will be some. So tackle ‘em and never apologize. There is no such thing as ‘just’ a Christian.
     Do you feel like you can "dance with God"? 
     Do you ever wonder what your spiritual message is? 
     Do you wrestle with what it "should" be?

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Cathi-Lyn Dyck is a freelance writer and editor living on the Canadian prairies. She has been eclectically published in the realms of homeschooling, Christian speculative fiction and gardening humor. A former atheist and feminist who came to Christ in 1995, she runs a weekday blog on Christian thinking, life and culture at ScitaScienda.com.

Giving is Powerful - M. Laycock

Marcia Lee Laycock lives in Central Alberta Canada with her pastor husband, two golden retreivers and a six-toed cat. Her devotionals have been endorsed by Mark Buchanan and Phil Callaway. Her novel, One Smooth Stone won her the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award in 2006. The sequel will be released soon. Visit her at http://www.vinemarc.com/

Giving is powerful. I read a blog a while ago that illustrates that truth extremely well. It’s a story about a man who had a story to tell and needed an illustrator. He contacted a well known artist and told him his idea. The man did a few drawings to show what the characters could look like. The writer was astonished and asked how he could be so generous with his time and talent. The man’s response was telling. He listed a number of ‘giving opportunities’ that had come his way – times when he used his talent to help others with no thought of remuneration or compensation. In each instance it had led to other opportunities that helped grow his career and his life experience. It was obvious in the tone of that response that it was the man himself who had been blessed.

We all have to eat, pay bills, “make a living.” But we all have to give to others – give of our time and talents and person. I learned this lesson many years ago but sometimes I forget. Sometimes I grumble when the fee paid for a speaking engagement doesn’t even cover the cost of gas or when I wonder if I will ever see a royalty check from my novel. Sometimes I groan when a novel I think is poorly written hits the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

But then I give something away – some time, some money, some thing, even some writing – and it does something to me. Suddenly I feel a little lighter. That book on the NYT bestseller’s list doesn’t bother me so much. I smile more.

There’s something about giving that strengthens us, gives us that extra measure of grace we might need in a tense moment, provides the compassion needed to show someone that there is love in the world. It’s in giving that we are tied to one another. It’s in giving that we learn what being human really means.

There’s a popular commercial on TV these days that shows various circumstances and then quotes the cost. Cost of taxi to the airport, $50.00; cost of flight to Italy, $1500.00 ; cost of camera to record the event, 450.00; cost of the look on my best friend’s face, priceless. That’s a wise commercial. It plays on the idea that we all know the best things in life, the most important things, cannot be measured by money. They’re measured by what we give without reservation, just to benefit someone else.

Jesus knew this better than anyone. He spoke of it to tax collectors and thieves, men who were motivated by greed. He explained it to men more concerned about ‘making it’ on earth than expanding God’s kingdom. He changed their hearts and when they obeyed, they reaped the blessings. Look at Peter, for instance. He was one whose main concern was fishing to make enough to live. Until Jesus said, “follow me.” Then he became a man who healed a lame man with the words, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you” (Acts 3:6).

What I have I give you. All of us have time, talents, gifts that we can share with the world. May we all remember the Lord’s words – “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b).