I was introduced to a lady who came to Canada as a refugee in 1990.  She was able to escape from the communist oppression of Romania to Canada, our free country. She tried to go to the USA but her refugee status was denied there so she tried Canada, and was allowed in.  Canada and the USA have been the place of refuge-seeking people like this lady and thousands of others over the past century.  If Canada becomes just like every other nation oppressed under the dictates of socialism and communism, there will soon be no place for refugees to run to.  I am not going to reveal this lady’s real name at her request but will call her Veronica. Her story is about the takeover of communism in Romania and the horrible years of communist oppression when poverty and police brutality reigned over Romania from post Second World War to 1989.  

We have an addiction program called Reformers Unanimous or RU.   It is a faith-based program that we offer to our community to try and help people who are struggling to get free from hurtful addictions.  We make reference in our program to the highest power, meaning we name the highest power in the universe and encourage our students to get to know Him.  The following verses explain this truth: 

Israel is a little nation, whose beginning is told in the book of Genesis in the Bible.  The word Genesis means “beginning”.  We find the beginning of many things in this book of beginnings: the beginning of creation and the beginning of sin.  We read of the great flood that came on the sinful world, and of the Tower of Babel where everyone spoke one language, then were dispersed.   The Beginning Book reveals the sinfulness of all men and nations lost in sin and in need of a Saviour.  A Saviour was promised in Genesis 3:15 who would provide salvation from the curse of sin, and Who would conquer Satan by being bruised for all mankind. The prophet Isaiah wrote of this in 53:5:  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement of our peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. 

Many of you received an envelope recently from our church that had a magazine in it entitled Sound the Trumpet.  It is a message of warning and direction regarding the time that we are living in right now.   

From Israel we can learn so many valuable lessons for our nation and for our churches.  Israel was given guidelines by God to keep their nation in a special position of protection and blessing if they obeyed His laws but curses and troubles if they disobeyed and rebelled.