Hi Folks:

Its been a pretty good week. The boys are back in school, Jan got called for one day of subbing, and we're getting back onto a regular routine. I have to admit, I like when Christmas is over and we get back onto a normal schedule.

I had some people sign up for the weight loss challenge. No one said anything about taking up the Bible reading challenge. To those who sign up for the weight loss challenge, I'll pass along some of the tips that have worked for me. I've taken and kept off more than 60 lbs for more than 15 years.

I'm going to interrupt our series on characters in Mark. We can hardly say it's a series yet, since we've only had one. In any case, some things came together for me in the book of Jeremiah this week and I thought it was important to pass them along.

--------------------

I watched with interest this week as PM Stephen Harper shuffled his federal cabinet. The main change was that Rona Ambrose was removed from the environment portfolio and replaced by John Baird.

The apparent reason was the slip in opinion of the Conservative's handling of environmental issues. It seems that this winter's unusual winter has caused something of a crisis in government. Everyone is talking about how strange the weather is - mild in the eastern regions, wild on the west coast. The environment has come to the top of people's minds because of the weather, and government has noticed.

What was interesting to me was not the politics of it all. That was simple enough. The Conservative minority government needs every edge it can get to avoid an election, and they obviously read the poll which showed them slipping on their record of the environment. However, this was not what interested me.

What interested me was how something like the weather can affect even the agenda of a government. The mild winter has made people think about what all this means. That's what interests me.

Right now you're thinking about global warming. I'm not surprised, since we can turn on the tv and every change of the channel reveals people's thoughts about global warming. But global warming is not what I'm thinking about.

The real issue is "What does it mean?" The tv will tell you that it means global warming. Here's my thought. What if global warming is not what this is about? Could it mean, instead, that God is using natural events to get the attention of his people?

Here is why I ask. I've been reading in Jeremiah. In his day there were some unusual events as well, such as earthquakes and drought (Jer 4:24, 26; 9:12; 12:4). God used these "natural" events because the people wouldn't listen to the prophets he sent (5:12-13; 6:17; 7:25). To make matters worse, the spiritual leaders were currupt and led the people astray, telling them only what they thought people wanted to hear. When someone suggested the drought would get worse and they would be invaded from the north if they didn't return to obedience and faithfulness, the leaders shrugged it off as nonsense (5:5; 5:30-31; 6:13-15; 8:11-12).

What if our unusual weather is God competing for our attention? If God could use weather events in the past to try to get the attention of his people, couldn't he do it again? I know - sometimes weather is just weather. But, what if…. Its that possibility that causes me to write this week.

What should our response be? Jeremiah gives us the answer. "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you." (7:23 NIV) While I feel uncomfortable in the role of a prophet and talking about what unusual weather might mean, I have no trouble reminding us that we can always be more obedient. None of us is perfectly obedient, but we are called to follow Jesus. Peter reminds us, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' " (1 Peter 1:15-16)

I hope this helps. Be onfire,

Troy

Jan 7, 2007.