The Sighting! 08/04/19

Forllion National Park, Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.  ~ John 4:23-24

We did things a little differently on this Lord’s Day.  Since there still are no churches anywhere near us, we settled on listening to Pastor Mike extol on the Gospel of John once again.  When I say “settle”, I don’t mean it like he’s second-rate.  There is no finer teacher in the country – at least not that we’ve sat under so far – but we desperately need a drink from the corporate worship well!  There’s nothing finer than being together with other believers worshiping our God and Father!  It’s a very special time that we’ve looked forward to each and every Sunday for as long as we can remember.  We need refreshed!  Maybe at our next stop . . .

It was a gorgeous and still morning, so we opted to kayak first thing and were in the water by 7am, and remained there for 2 ½ glorious hours!

Since Blaine had heard seals on the beach yesterday, we wanted to go check that area first.  It’s also the start of a boldly highlighted red section on our Park map, which means it’s a protected area and you’re not allowed to hike, snorkel or tie up your boat there.  Doesn’t say anything about paddling by, but you’re supposed to stay 100’ away from shore.  Now how’s a body supposed to get decent pictures with a phone camera from that distance?

But when we got there, there were no seals.  ☹ 

We considered which way we wanted to go now – continue the same direction with not much scenery, or turn around and head towards those giant cliffs we saw the other day.  Eventually we concluded that we’d just keep going, and just around the next rock . . .

We spotted the first of what turned out to be about 200 seal sightings!  How fun!!  Thank You, Father for encouraging us to go on!

When we returned to the campground, there was an armed man in a pick-up truck in front of us!  It was the Park Warden.  😊  I know.  I shouldn’t joke about that.  Sorry. . . Anyway, he pulled off and stopped and we stopped and waited because there was a little, fluffball dog standing right in the middle of the camp-loop road.  The Warden walked up to it and knelt and it started barking and snapped at his hand, before he scooped it up and carried it into the site.  I’m thinking the owners got a reprimand about letting their dog roam free. . .

Back at home, it was time for our weekly lesson.  This week, Pastor Mike taught on John 4:1-42.  It’s a lengthy exchange that took place at a well when Jesus and his disciples stopped in a town in the region of Samaria.  Most of the conversation took place between Jesus and a woman from the town, with no one else was around.  Now you may think you know this story, but do you know the surrounding circumstances that make this event even more important than just the conversion of a virtually outcast woman and the small town she lived in?  Let me outline a few things for you, because perspective makes a difference.

1. Scripture tells us that Jesus “ . . . had to go through Samaria.”  But there was no reason he “had” to go that way.  In fact, most every other Jew (especially Rabbis) would go out of their way to avoid the region of Samaria.  (regions are kinda like our states – there was Samaria, Galilee, Judea, etc.)  They avoided the region because they believed the people (and the land) were perpetually ‘unclean’, so they avoided them at all costs.  They considered the Samaritan people not even worth coming into contact with.  They despised them.  Why?  Because the Samaritans were ‘half-breeds’. They were Jews who’d intermarried with other nations and had families and didn’t follow the strict temple religious protocol.
2. The trek from Jerusalem (where Jesus was just before this), to Galilee (where he was going next) ran through Samaria as the crow flies, and that’s the way Jesus went.  I’m certain his disciples were very uncomfortable doing this, although scripture doesn’t mention that.
3. Once they arrived in the town of Sychar, Jesus went to the town well, and his disciples left him alone there while they went in search of something to eat.
4. A woman came to the well about noon to fill her water jars.  This is another anomaly.  First, women always came together in the morning hours when it was cooler.  Coming at noon, it was virtually certain that no one else would be around.  
5. Second, she had many strikes against her.  She was obviously an outcast in her community, but Jesus spoke to her.  He was considered a Rabbi, but he spoke to her first.  He was a man and he spoke to her, something else that was never done.  He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan.
6. Even by today’s lose standards, she would be frowned upon.  During their conversation, Jesus pointed out the truth of her condition – she had been married five times and was now living with a sixth man and not married.
7. There were a host of cultural barriers – racial, religious, moral and social.

And yet, Jesus went looking for her.  He’d never met her, but he knew her.  He knew her heart and he knew everything about her – without ever having spoken to her or hearing about her.  He went out of his way, and ignored social convention and barriers.

And she’s the only person, before his trial, that he revealed his true identity to.  I AM.  The Messiah.

He went so far for one person.  An outcast.  A woman.  A sin-filled woman.

And because of her immediate testimony about Him to her neighbors, who despised her, they came to meet Jesus and “more became believers.  They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’”

He went that far for this woman.  He’ll go just as far for you.  And He will meet you where you are.  You don’t have to ‘clean up’ for Him.  Come as you are.  Come to Jesus.  Your life will never be the same.

And for those of you who have already come to Jesus, where do you set your barriers against people?  Who is it that you deem unworthy of your effort to introduce them to Jesus?  Who do you look down your nose at?  Is it prostitutes?  Gays?  People from other nations – Hispanics? Muslims? Jews?  Is it the heavily tattooed neighbor down the street?  The folks from ‘the other side of town’?  The pregnant woman with no husband?  The teenagers with their ballcaps askew and their pants hanging below their hips?  Or the young men with hoodies pulled over their heads?  The divorced?  The infirm?  The mentally challenged?  The homeless?  

We all have them.  We shouldn’t.  Jesus didn’t set any barriers.  We have no right to.

After lunch, we set out again.  This time on a trail.  We didn’t get nearly as far as we’d planned.  But we did get to the Hyman & Sons store, and a couple of other buildings.  We expected to just walk around and be on our way, but it turned out to be a museum, and you know by now what that means.  We spent a lot of time reading and taking pictures of information boards.  😊  Enjoy the history lesson!

As we were finishing up with the museums, the weather quickly moved in and we had to hustle back to the Jeep.  We didn’t make it before it started raining.  At least it wasn’t a downpour, but it was more than a sprinkle.  Blaine didn’t wait for me.  You know how it is – – all that sweetness melts.  😊

And besides the rain, the front that came through brought with it much cooler temperatures, so it was a cool, wet walk back!

Tonight’s dinner was a repeat of my birthday dinner – – cheeseburgers, fries and salad – only the salad was on the burgers because that’s the only lettuce we had.  Yum!!  We love that new burger recipe I found a while back!  I’ll share it again.

1 ½ # hamburger

1 piece white bread, crust removed and cut into ¼” pieces

8 t. milk

1 ¼ t. Kosher salt

¼ t. pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. ketchup

Mash together the milk and bread until lumpy, add remaining ingredients except meat.  Mix well.  Add meat and mix carefully, but thoroughly.  Form into loose balls, then flatten.

The rain had stopped and we needed to walk after that meal, so we headed to the back of our loop and down a trail to an observation area.  (This is the place where Blaine first heard the moaning seals yesterday.) 

And then he showed me the beach he was on. 

And that’s it for today.  😊