1 Corinthians 3:10 – By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. (NIV)

Recently, while on my daily walk, I passed by a new housing development in the rocky terrain of Muskoka. I took the time to observe a workman who was putting the cribbing in place to pour a foundation for a new structure. He was meticulously clearing all of the dirt from the rock with a broom. I reasoned that the purpose for cleaning the rock was to ensure that the base was clear of substances that would prevent the concrete from bonding to the rock. His task as workman on the job was to take the proper steps so that the foundation would be properly laid for the structure that would rise from that foundation.

Watching the workman at his trade brought to mind today's Scripture passages, the one from Matthew, about the wise and foolish builders, and the other from 1 Corinthians, about being careful how we build. It occurred to me that the workman as an expert builder was a wise tradesman laying a foundation upon which someone else — a carpenter — would build a building.

The simple act of watching the workman go about his trade spoke to me. The thought emerged in my mind, as though written on a slate for me to read, that, as I live my life each day, I must be sure of the foundation on which I build my faith. I walked on from that encounter knowing that I must be careful of how and what I build on that firm foundation. Faith built on a solid foundation will stand up to those things that beat against us in daily life.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, Lord of light and love, You have shown the faithful how to build and grow. Teach us, O Lord, to build on a firm foundation that will not crash when the winds of life beat upon us. By Your abundant grace, may we have the wisdom and the understanding to build carefully and wisely each day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

It has been my custom to plant a second crop of beans in my vegetable garden each year. The planting takes place about the second week of July for a September picking. This year was a little special. Our four-year-old grandson was holidaying with us. He was very enthusiastic about helping with the task. We talked about the need to prepare the soil, and the need to plant the seed carefully. I tilled the soil, and Nicolas counted out the seeds and planted each hill.

During the process of working the soil, there were many questions to be answered about the task of planting the seed. The Parable of the Sower came to my mind. To get a good crop, the soil must be properly prepared, and the seed planted in the fertile ground. I explained that we don't just throw the seed in the garden; the soil must be tilled, and it must be cared for, tended, and watered, to produce a crop. The stewardship is ours, but the increase is the Lord's.

It occurred to me while working with our grandson that I have many opportunities, through kind words, meaningful acts, and thoughtful expressions, to plant the seed, and let the Spirit give the increase. The enthusiasm and commitment of our grandson for the tasks of preparing and planting gave me cause to think about and to pose some questions to myself for a deeper meditation. Am I a gospel sower today? Am I a planter of godly seed each day? The gospel seed that we need to plant today has not changed, and neither has the need.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, Lord of light far beyond the shining of the sun, it is You who gives the increase and the growth. Teach us, O Lord, to work as a team in planting and watering. May we have the wisdom, the understanding and the passion to labour in Your garden. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Recently, while driving home from church on a Sunday morning, we were enjoying the beautiful Muskoka countryside, the lush green under-foliage, the rock cliffs, and the stately pines. At one particular point along the route, we noticed that a stone pillar (an Inukshuk) about three feet tall had been erected during the time since we had passed that point a week earlier. It stood there with solemn dignity on the rock shelf. This type of pillar, or memorial, is often seen throughout the rocky terrain in Muskoka. People who visit the area erect pillars as memorials to having been there and having enjoyed the beauty of the countryside. There was something about this particular memorial pillar that drew our attention: it seemed almost majestic.

Today's Scripture came to my mind. Samuel set up a stone memorial between Mizpah and Shen. He gave it the name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." The people who build these roadside memorials do so to commemorate their visit, and to affirm the beauty, grace, and wonder of God's creation. An Inukshuk is a beacon and a welcome sight. To the traveller in the north it says, "I've been here before; you are on the right path."

As I thought about this simple roadside scene, it dawned on me that there is a powerful lesson in a memorial. Each day in the events of life, we should be raising up and erecting our own personal Ebenezer which declares, "Here is where God met me and helped me." In everyday life, we should become conscious of those things that call out to us to remember the mighty acts of God in our lives. God invites us to see and to hear what is around us, and, through that experience, to discern the footprints of the Holy One.

If we but take the time to examine our relationship with God, we will find many reasons to erect and raise memorials: "Here is where I met God." A memorial teaches us not only that God is present with us, but also that we are in the presence of God, that we tread on holy ground each day.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, Lord of light far beyond the shining of the sun, we thank You for the gift of each day, and for Your presence in the simple things of life. Help us to be continuously conscious of Your presence and guidance in all we think, and feel, and say, and do each day. May we have the wisdom and the understanding to see Your presence and to remember Your mighty acts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 23:2 – He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. (NIV)

When we retired and moved to the Muskoka area, we were without the benefit of feeling that we belonged to a church community. We were in need of a flock with which to unite in a spiritual sense. There were days of agony, the feeling of loneliness, and the feeling of being separated from a community that had for many years provided strong support for our faith. We did not really appreciate the importance that the church community had played in our lives until we were without its protective security. We longed to be part of that community. The feeling was deep and intense. In terms of time, the duration of the loneliness was short-lived.

The parable of the lost sheep came to our minds once again. It had always been a great source of comfort and strength in time of difficulty and distress. Throughout the period of separation, we had the sense that a shepherd was searching for us. Through this experience, we learned three lessons. First, the Holy Spirit guides the true shepherd. Second, there are people in the church that follow the Master's footsteps and call out to those in need of a spiritual home. They take the role of shepherding seriously. We sensed their caring attitude, and we sensed their compassion for our condition. Their care and compassion and our need met in a way that enlarged our understanding of what the parable of the lost sheep means in the 21st century. The third lesson was one of learning to be patient and learning not to panic. Panic has the effect of destroying one's faith and one's sense of nearness to the shepherd. Panic also has the effect of shutting out the voice of the true shepherd.

The experience gave us a new understanding of a verse in our favourite psalm, Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd never abandons the sheep. He was always with us. There was no need to panic or feel any doubt. Learning to follow the shepherd and heeding His voice brought us to lie in green pastures and beside still waters.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, You are a shepherd to the people who hear Your voice and obey Your commands. We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire the church to call to those who, like sheep, have gone astray. May we learn to hear Your voice and recognize it in the rush and busyness of everyday life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Romans 12:1 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. (NIV)

Three years ago I retired from the active work force and accepted retirement as a change of lifestyle. One thing soon became apparent to me. I had, in my working life, placed a separation between my faith in God and everyday tasks. Retirement taught me with a new clarity that work, be it work in the garden, caring for the lawn, refinishing furniture or making wooden spoons, is activity that should be offered to God as an act of praise and prayer. The spiritual and the physical are by no means opposed in human life; according to Scripture they are complementary.

This taught me a lesson that I should have understood years earlier as a believer. I realized that work, leisure, hobbies, and volunteer work are really things I do in the company of God, if I acknowledge His Lordship over all areas of my life. It seems like a radical idea to use our life, our work, and our leisure to glorify God. In today's scripture from Samuel, we are told that David danced before the Lord with all his might while the ark was being brought to the city of David. David was totally involved in the activity at hand; he was honouring God with his actions.

The discipline of acknowledging God's presence taught me that there is a link between body and spirit. What we do and how we do it honour God as much as the praise of lips. My hobbies, my gardening, and my leisure, carried out in the company of God, have merged my faith with what I do in everyday life. There is something honourable and beautiful in both work and leisure if they are well done. They become a participation in an activity of God, who makes all things well and wise and beautiful in detail.

God is not limited to Bible study and church attendance. Planting flowers, weeding the garden, and making wooden spoons can all be done to the glory of God. In that sense, our bodies become instruments of praise to our God and Creator. We too can become totally involved in honouring God with our activity.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, we thank You for life and for the opportunity to glorify Your name. Forgive us, O Lord, for our indifference toward our responsibilities to You in the way we live and work. We pray that You will be present with us and guide us, so that our bodies will be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing in Your eyes. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Psalm 90:1 – Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. (NIV)

Some time back, I took up the habit of keeping a spiritual journal or diary. One of my recent journal entries was about living in the present moment. It seems to me that our western culture is so addicted to productivity and events that time has no real value unless we are finishing a project that is considered important, or preparing for the next big event. The time that fits in between those big moments of achievement is most often considered unproductive and unimportant. The business model does not teach us to treasure and appreciate the moments between the big events. The diary allows me to reflect on "where is God in each day?"

The in-between moments give us the opportunity to focus the mind on things eternal. My diary has helped me to use the in-between moments to become aware of God's companionship. Its use helps me to focus on God's presence, and on where I can meet God. I discovered that it was not the lack of time; it was a failure to appreciate each moment in time, and to see God's work in it. To God, one moment is not more important than the next. We must apportion the day to prayer, labour, refreshment, and rest.

Keeping a spiritual journal has enabled me to learn that God is a constant companion, and that every corner of my life can be occupied by the sense of God's presence. If we learn to rest in the Lord daily, we will find that it is in the in-between moments of life when we are invited in new ways to be in the presence of God. A growing friendship with God helps us to move through life with the sense that God is delighting in us and working his power of redemption within us. Learning to live in the present moment helps us to understand and value the process of life.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, creator and author of the universe, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. We pray, O Lord, that your presence will go with us on our daily journey. Teach us, O Lord, to treasure each moment you have given us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)

My hobbies include a vegetable and flower garden. The more I work in the garden, the more I appreciate the wonder of budding, blossoming, and bringing forth fruit. The stewardship of caring for the garden has become an exercise in practicing the presence of God. It has moved His companionship beyond church functions, Bible study, before-meal grace, and times of reflection, to feeling His presence in the ordinary things of life.

Learning to keep company with God in the daily tasks of life transforms into acts of worship the work of digging, planting, feeling the earth between the fingers, cultivating, weeding, and picking the fruit. The Lord our God is with us. He will quiet us with His love if we acknowledge His presence.

The awareness of God's presence is part of how we delight in God, which we are commanded to do in today's verse from Psalm 37. We must never hijack this verse as a formula for getting what we want from God. Delighting in the Lord is the thing that fulfills the desires of the heart. Brother Lawrence put it in simple terms when he said, "Our only business is to love and delight ourselves in God." It isn't a matter of achieving God's presence, but of surrendering to God's presence. It is more than a habit; it is a way of living and thinking. His presence hovers around us in the garden, in the flowers gently swaying in the breeze, in a bee picking up nectar, and in the quiet beauty of a lily. Delighting in the Lord will bring us into His presence.

Prayer: O heavenly Father, we thank You for the opportunity to see and feel Your presence in the everyday tasks. Change us, O Lord, so that the desires of our heart may be to delight in You in all we think and do each day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.