State of our world: Pt II - Contrasts

Link to Part I

(Thanks to Tessa for the first picture)

Awakening (Cover by KevinKayChong)

Awakening

- Chris Tomlin & Reuben Morgan

Verse 1:

In our hearts, Lord, in this nation

Awakening

Holy Spirit, we desire

Awakening

Chorus:

For You and You alone

Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing

For the world You love

Your will be done, let Your will be done in me

State of our world: Pt I - UNdistribution

If there could be one fact, one statistic that can fully describe the state of our world... it is this:

"... the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth."

Or how about ...

"One half of the world population lives on less than $2 per day. 160 million live on less than 50 cents. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day."

Many people in this world have come up with amazing plans and strategies to eliminate poverty in this world... but the best and simplest strategy was proposed long ago: Share the wealth.

Luke 19:1-10 (The Message)

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."

(Don't believe the statistics? Search it up on Google to confirm.)

Stay tuned for Part II - Contrasts

Mighty to Save by Hillsong United [Cover by KevinKayChong]

I spontaneously decided to do a cover on any song... and I happen to pick "Mighty to Save" by Reuben Morgan of Hillsong. Great song, great message.

This is the one and only take I did.

Verse 1:

Everyone needs compassion,

Love that's never failing;

Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,

The kindness of a Saviour;

The Hope of nations.

Chorus:

Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save,

He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,

He rose and conquered the grave,

Jesus conquered the grave.

Digging Deep

I will now be taking a turn with my blog; instead of entertaining fluff and stories that humiliate myself for the sake of your delight. I will be digging deep....

................ digging deep into my thoughts, my mind, my soul. I will dig deep and whatever plunder I find, I will lay it all on the table for you to see.

I have done some initial digging and this is what I've found ...

... a treasure chest filled with lead,

..........a box filled with snakes and scorpions, and

................a bottle of numbing poison.

Obviously those are metaphors - metaphors to represent heavy burdens, internal conflicts, dilemmas, and things that chip away at your soul.

Sounds depressing?

It is only depressing because I don't know what to do...

It is a lose-lose situation...

........It is like asking out an ugly girl.

1) if she says yes, you got an ugly girl,

2) if she says no, you just got rejected by an ugly girl. (okay, that's the last metaphor).

(Don't worry - I will continue my "Adventures in Fort McMurray"...though it seems a better name would be "Fort Mac Funnies".)

Traffic Jams

Traffic jams in Fort McMurray. Yes. Hard to believe. It has a population of ~120,000 people and I have experienced longer traffic jams here than the ones where you come home from camping on a long weekend in the Lower Mainland.

My pants are ripping (my fight against fat and weight gains - Pt 2)

WOW, seriously... I thought I had my weight gains under control but apparently I haven't - now look... I'm bursting at the seams!