Month: November 2013

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Space Commander of Expedition 35, is very popular in Canada.  He charmed us with his singing and strumming his guitar in the Space Station on March 17, 2013.  When asked by Maclean Magazine about his space experience, he jokingly replied that he is still dreaming in the day time.  Joke or not, his quick-witted response stayed with me.  Well, with a name like Daniel Paul, and a subject like dreaming, what do you expect?  By the way, I must be biased or something, he has good choice, singing “Oh Danny Boy.”

Whether a King like Nebuchadnessar or a slave from Israel like Daniel, all men are created equal, endowed by their creator, and we all dream.  It is not easy, but let us try to dismantle the super halo normally ascribed to Bible Characters.  Imagine “Neb” and Daniel as ordinary human beings with like passions for a few minutes. Turn the clock back to 600 BC.  Neb had a dream one night, and by morning, forgot the content of the dream.  He could not get over it and his wise men could not reconstruct his dream either.  Do not miss the fact that God, who is no respecter of persons, was graciously dealing with a pagan autocrat.  This might surprise some, God was taking time to show Neb prophetic events to come, of course, using his faithful servant Daniel to interpret.  It took years but the dream came true.  Historically we know that, years later, a group of wise men from that region, aided by the stars, took a journey to Bethlehem, seeking the baby king (perhaps a future blog post).

A destitute runaway, Jacob, dreamt about a stairway from earth to heaven with angels going up and down.  Furthermore, God assured Jacob a safe return home.  It took some years, but the dream became a reality.  Once again, God used a dream to fulfill his purpose.  Finally, we have none other than Joseph the Dreamer. The dream initially brought him untold calamity from his brothers, but eventually it came to pass.  The point of all these is God used dreams to show His plans as well as to encourage the dreamers to continue on in faith. The dream was the whole; Neb, Jacob, Daniel and Joseph were the parts.

Now fast-forward to a modern day dreamer – a black clergyman, the late Dr. Martin Luther King.  Famously titled “I have a dream” and he interpreted it 50 years ago at Washington, D.C.  This dream was not a one night event with his head on a pillow.  He day-dreamed all his life, though for a short while. Wonderfully, others started dreaming along with him too.

That dream became an historic movement.  Let us not take it lightly, in that we are live witnesses of a “partial” fulfillment of that dream, with another black man and family currently occupying the White House in Washington D.C.

I was curious to find out more about Hadfield, the famous astronaut.  He grew up like any ordinary Canadian boy, on a farm near Sarnia, Southern Ontario.  He was inspired, though young, watching the Apollo moon landing.  We can see how the dream flowed seamlessly into his life.   He joined the Canadian Air Force, studied engineering, and became a fighter pilot.  The day dreaming continued and blossomed till he commanded the space station.

Reverently, Jesus was a dreamer too.  The mission of redemption consumed him.    Throughout his life, he carried the dream of a kingdom in his bosom until, finally, he gathered enough strength and breath at the cross, to shout victoriously: “It Is Finished!”   He imparted that dream to a group of no-name men and, through them, turned the whole world right side up.  The dream continues.

What about us?  Do we dream? It is never too early and never too late.  What I write in my blog, I encourage my grandchildren to day dream, like Chris Hadfield, the boy from Sarnia.  We must resist negativity.  St. Peter said: “In the last days, I(God) will pour out my spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men (and women) will dream dreams.”

After all, is this not what the good book says?  Train up a child….to dream?

God bless, Danny Paul

There is a Grocery Chain Store in Ontario called No Frills.  The idea of promoting goods with a name like that is not uncommon.  During my working days, we bought large quantities of glass and plasticware for medical research and hospitals in Toronto.  I believe the manufacturers and dealers collaborated on a promotion strategy. They sold name brand products with a slightly higher price and “no name” brands with a slightly lower price, possibly all manufactured in the same factory, but packaged differently.  I am borrowing this title, in line with my theme of moderation, to highlight some of the lesser known names in the scripture.  These persons inspire and prompt us to study them further.

Recall Ananias who prayed for Saul of Tarsus.  We do not know much about him; no mention about his background, his tribe or his father’s name, his standing in the early church.  Nothing at all about anything he wrote – nothing!

As far as I know, he was not an evangelist, deacon, a bishop or part of the group of seven, as seen in Acts 6:5.  He was not from the head office at Jerusalem and no one from there ever mentioned about him either.  He was a local layman, simply called a disciple, which by the way, is saying in current terms, a Christian.  It was left to another lay man, Luke the Physician-cum-Journalist, to write about him.   Luke mentioned him only once (actually twice), both related to the same event.  He was like Lucius Cincinatus, who stepped in at the right time and stepped out after a heroic work.  Please read  my blog post “Stepping in and out” (8 April 2013) on Cincinatus; Cincinnati, Ohio named after him.  Have you met, rather sought after people like that?  They are exemplary, besides they are like antigens against factions, divisions or cults.

No-name or not, Scripture revealed him as a devout man with a good report from all the Jews who dwelt there.  Evidently that was rare in those days.  What a testimony to the Believers around the world!

This simple man was open and obedient to the vision God gave him.   He did ask God – once – “But Lord, exclaimed Ananias, I have heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the Believers in Jerusalem.  And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest those who call upon your name.  But the Lord said, ‘Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to the kings as well as people of Israel.  And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake’ ”. (God willing, I will write a blog post on this).

No more questions, he took off to meet Saul.  Did you observe the difference in the responses to visions from the Lord, between Ananias and the Apostle Peter?  Peter was very reticent to go to Cornelius, a Gentile.  He did finally give in.  Ananias did not have that baggage.

Notice how Ananias addressed Saul, the notorious one-man wrecking crew, Brother Saul, instant brotherhood status extended.  There was no hesitation on his part.  He did not hang around there to wait and see whether Saul’s conversion was genuine or not.  In fact, Ananias persuaded Saul to take baptism then and there!

God always looks for people simple enough to believe Him and do his bidding.  Recall one Simeon at the dedication of baby Jesus at the temple?  This old man took Jesus in his arms and made one of the most profound prophesies on both Jesus and Mary.  After that we never heard of him again.  What a no name brand!  Think of the four who opened the roof and lowered the man suffering from palsy with his fragile cot (or mat) for Jesus to heal him.  It is not written, but let our imagination roll at their joy and excitement When Jesus said, first, “Your sins are forgiven” and later said “Stand up, pick up your mat and go home”!  Thinking about lowering with rope, imagine the joy of those in Damascus, who rescued Paul by lowering him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.  Those no-name brands risked their lives to save Paul’s life.  What if they didn’t?

My home town Newmarket belongs to York Region in Ontario.  The York Regional Police have this motto printed on their stationery and painted on all their Vehicles and Cruisers: “Deeds Speak”.  May the Lord grant us grace that others see our deeds and glorify the Father who is in heaven.

God bless,    Danny Paul

No, it is not the Good Samaritan parable which Jesus spoke, but close to it.  Instead of the one who fell among thieves on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, it was a horse named Prodigioso. The story came out recently in the Toronto Star.  Please feel free to read the article at your leisure

According to the paper, he is a thoroughbred race horse, sleek and chestnut with a white spot on his forehead.  Unfortunately Prodigioso did not make it good in the racing world.  “When horses are not winning races and not covering the cost of their upkeep, some owners will just give them away and wash their hands off.  He was reduced to a starving rack of bones.  The frightened horse had rope burns on his back ankles, which were tied to a bucket of cement.  He had been dragging the bucket along in search of food and water.  He also had scars on his face, feet that oozed with a painful thrush infection and a right eye that had been freshly blinded”.

The Good Samaritan(s) in this case are a mother and daughter from St. Catherines, Ontario, about an hour and half drive from my home.  They found him in Florida and brought him to Canada to care for him.  Initially, the horse was nervous, but the new owners helped him along to recovery. He gained weight, “and flies over jumps, knees tucked, ears pointed and you would never know now that the same horse was found starved and partially blinded in the Everglades.”  What a touching and redemptive story!

My kudos go to this newspaper, for publishing this story, on their front page with the picture and the head line: “One-eyed Wonder”.  There is so much gloom and doom spread around these days that in my opinion, this article is like a stream in the desert.  There are, of course, decays and damages, but the world has not gone to the dogs and that God Almighty has, is, and will always be in control.  There are people who care and newspapers who dare to publish them.

Like the Good Samaritan, these women were moved with compassion.  Something touched their hearts to take a second look, and be willing to transport this horse all the way from Florida to Ontario, and care for him.  I guess they spent a lot of time and finance to restore. Compassion is not cheap; it is precious and costly!

The new owners changed the name of the horse from Prodigioso to Piper.  There is something far deeper here; it is like a new life.  In other words, this horse is a new creature.  Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Thinking of the name change, do you recall Jacob?  He was, as his name indicated a sub-planter, in simple term a deceiver, from day one.  He cheated others and in greater measure, others cheated him.  His freedom from this awful bent in his nature came much later at a place called Peniel, where he had an encounter with God, who appeared in the form of man. There God asked him a simple but probing question: “What is your name?  Jacob confessed his name was Jacob.  God said your name will no longer be Jacob.  From now on you will be called Israel.”   A fitting name for a patriarch.

Back to the news story, the mother and daughter noticed something very important.  The road to recovery was not only the caring for the physical; there was something else – fear!  They said “to help him cope with the vision loss, they did a lot of different things, assuring him constantly and showing him there is nothing to be afraid of.”  The owners now say “he is special and he knows it”;  reducing fear increases self confidence.  Jesus emphasized this frequently.  His famous words are “fear not” and “do not worry”.

Has this modern day parable of a horse anything to do with human beings?  Like Prodigioso, do we know someone that had possibilities but could not succeed in life?  Do we call them losers?  St. Luke observed many like that and called them the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind.

There is always a Good Samaritan that comes to our lives, seen or sometimes unseen. It may be parents, a teacher, (old saying, the teacher touches lives) friend, customer, and at times strangers.  These are the Angels Without Halos.   If we can trace, it is always the unseen hand of a loving God.  While typing my posts, I normally catch myself whistling or singing to myself an old hymn or a chorus that comes to my mind.  Guess what is on tonight?  It is the old song by Austin Miles: “There’ a new name written down in glory, and its mine, yes its mine”.  Is it yours?

God bless,    Danny Paul