roadside assistance issue 8.6

8/10/2019 Roadside Assistance Issue 8.6

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SCRIPTUREALYSSA TUINSTRA [hamilton, ON]

MEMORIZING

BITTERNESSTAYLOR RIEMERSMA [guelph, ON]

POST-CHRISTIAN AGEJAMES MOORE [hamilton, ON]

LIVING IN A

INNERVIEWSSANDRA DYKSTRATHE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HAMILTON RIGHT TO LIFE

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CREATIVEHIGHWAYJOHN BOEKEE [hamilton, ON]

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contact info

Roadside Assistance Magazine38 Queensdale Ave. W. Hamilton, ON L9C [email protected] us on Facebook!www.facebook.com/roadsideassistancemagazineSend us an e-mail at [email protected]

what this is

Roadside Assistance is a forum for Reformed youth. A forumis a place where people talk together. So listen and read,but go ahead and write something as well. We would likeyou to send your articles, poems, and art, and well do ourbest to include them in the upcoming issues! This particularforum is a place for discussing faith matters, encouraging oneanother in the faith, passing on Bible knowledge, buildingand expressing our beliefs as Reformed Christians, sharpeninghearts and minds, stimulating reading on Bible-related issues,and educating each other. Do you want to write for RA?Email us your articles and maybe your work will appear in anupcoming issue!

behind the scenes

Board: Iwan Borst (Editor), John Boekee, Alyssa TuinstraAlina Van Goor, Stephanie Visscher

Design: Jared Helder

KILLING SINIWAN BORST [hamilton,ON]

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KILLING SINIWAN BORST [hamilton,ON]

He sensed the urgency. His life was on the line. They werecoming after him and would not give up until he was dead. Ashe climbed the snowy hillsides, he knew they were following hismovements. They would be able to nd him anywhere on theglobe as long as the chip implanted in his arm was active. Buthow much time would he have to get rid of the chip? The rstdrone that had been sent after him had not been successful, buthow long would it take for them to get another drone in the air?If he wanted to survive he needed to disappear off the map,get off the grid fast. He was running for his life and had limitedoptions: cut out the chip or surely die.

Cut it out or die! As the movie actor promptly decided to cut intohis esh to extract the chip before the next drone would arrive,a certain reality struck me: I have the same option every day!Cut out sin or die! Or to use the words of Scripture, For if youlive according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by theSpirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,(Rom. 8:13). Life or death. Kill or die. John Owen, an Englishtheologian from the seventeenth century, summarized the versein this manner: Be killing sin or it will be killing you.[i] Kill orbe killed. Do you sense the urgency?

The urgency is drawn from the ifs found in verse 13. Life isdependent on many things. That is true for both our physicallives as well as our spiritual lives. We all know that, if I do notbreathe, I will die, because we cannot live without oxygen.So also, God teaches us that our spiritual life requires basicnecessities. It requires the Holy Spirit, who makes us alive inChrist. It also requires that by the same Spirit we put to deathour old sinful nature, that is, the misdeeds of the body. It is likeour immune system, which ghts off microscopic intruders everyday to keep us alive and healthy. So also, by the Holy Spirit,we are to kill and ght off whatever sinful thought, whateversinful desire still tries to live in us, because they bring death andcondemnation, whereas we were made to live for God andglorify him.

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This life is not our own, but is given to us through Christ. InRomans 8, Paul makes it clear that everyone who is in Christreceives a new life through the Holy Spirit. And this lifeincludes an obligation to live according to the Spirit, whichleads to life, and no longer according to our sinful nature,which leads to death. The problem is that our sinful nature isso natural. It is the life that we are used to and want tolive. So our life in the Spirit brings us to a battleground, where our sinful nature, our misdeedsof the body, need to give ground to life in the

Spirit. By the Spirit, we need to kill the sinthat is in us. If we do not do this, we willdie. Paradoxically, this means that living(according to the sinful nature) bringsus death, whereas putting to death(the misdeeds of the body) brings uslife. Death to our sinful selves bringsus life. This principle is grounded inthe death and resurrection of Christand found throughout Scripture. Togive you a sample: Do you not knowthat all of us who have been baptizedinto Christ Jesus were baptized into hisdeath? We were buried therefore withhim by baptism into death, in order that,just as Christ was raised from the dead by theglory of the Father, we too might walk in newnessof life (Rom. 6:8). And those who belong toChrist Jesus have crucied the esh withits passions and desires (Gal. 5:24).Living in Christ means dying to our sinfulself. That is not something for the future.Paul says that we have died in Christ atbaptism so that every day wemight walk in newness of life.

In order to die to self, we need to kill sin. Now it wouldprobably be a lot easier to kill sin if it was physical. If it wasa chip under our skin, we would grab a scalpel and cut it out.If sin had an address, we would go to its house and kill it. Butas it is, sin is in us, it is part of our sinful selves. It is found inthe perverse thoughts we have. It lives in the selsh desires that

we treasure. So how could we cut it out? How can we evictsin when it lives in us? We cannot do it on our own.

It has to be done by the Holy Spirit and no otherway. We can only kill sin through the Spirit of

life. We read this in Romans 8:13. The Spiritmakes us share in Christ, so we are alsomade alive through the Spirit. Thereforewe are never alone in this battle. In fact,if we were alone, there would not be abattle, because only those alive by theSpirit can battle sin. Live people battleand ght. Anyone dead in sin does notbattle, because dead people do notbattle.

By the Holy Spirit, we are able to becomenew, living people, with renewed minds

and hearts willing to do Gods will. So the

death of sin is not a goal unto itself, instead, itis always working towards new life. Weeds are

pulled out so that good fruits may grow. They cannotboth grow in the same garden, because they oppose

each other. They will always ght each other for thesame sunlight, water, and nutrients. So also, weeither walk by the Spirit or by the desires of theesh. As long as we walk by the Spirit, we will notgive in to our sinful desires (Gal. 5:16-17). TheChristian life is not just about running away fromsin, it is also about running to Christ.

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It is not just about not doing sin, it is also about doing goodworks. It is about getting rid of all the sinful ideas we haveabout money, sex, relationships, reputation and to supplantthem with Gods ideas of money, sex, relationships, andreputation. There is no room for bad thoughts or desires,where they have been replaced with God-honouring thoughtsand desires. If you occupy yourself with God-pleasingactivities, thoughts, and reading material (and whatever else isgood (Phil. 4:8)), you will probably nd that sin has a lot lessopportunity to entice you.

The Spirit also gives us the means to root out sin and cultivatethe fruit of the Spirit: prayer and Scripture. In the NewTestament, the Word of God is called a sword in Eph. 6:17and in Heb. 4:12. More specically, it is called the swordof the Spirit. Since we are in the business of killing sin, thisshould be our weapon of choice. Jesus Christ himself usedthis sword while He lived on earth. While Jesus was in thedesert and tempted by the devil, He countered every attackwith passages from the Old Testament. Nothing more, nothingless. So killing sin requires that we know Scripture and studyit. Whet that sword every day, so that it is ready for action atall times. Carry it in your heart so that you can draw it at thesound of danger. Read your Bible, because it is the Word ofGod, the sword of the Spirit.

But reading and understanding Scripture can be hard work.It can be difcult. And even if you love Scripture, you mightstill have a difcult time killing sin. Sin can be appealing. Sinmight want to convince you that you are not killing sin butkilling yourself, your true self. Sin might convince you that youridentity, name, or reputation is found in the sinful person thatyou are. So we need strength and wisdom to recognize sinand kill it. We need the Spirit and we can be sure that Godwill give his Spirit to us when we ask him (Luke 11:13). That isalso the command we receive at the end of the passage aboutthe armour of God.

Pray for Gods strength and his Spirit so that you may killwhatever sin you wrestle with. Do not depend on your ownstrength, but confess your weakness before God in prayer sothat He might work by his strength.

Now perhaps this whole business of killing sin seemsdaunting. Or perhaps you are wrestling with sin and are notsure if you can kill it even with the Spirits help. Sometimes itfeels like sin has beaten us. It might seem so powerful in us. Ifyou have these doubts, please, look to Christ. Look to the crossand by faith embrace Jesus Christ. He has gained the victory.His banner rises above the battleeld in triumph. In Christ, weare more than conquerors. Sin might intimidate us. It might tryto make us doubt the outcome of the battle. It might set itselfup as a mighty Goliath, but we know that Christ has overcomeit. Though this ght might last a lifetime, though it mightfeel like we are on the run at times, we know that the battleagainst our sinful nature will end, either when Christ returnsor when we go to dwell with our heavenly Father. Until then,keep killing sin.

PRAY INTHE SPIRIT ON

ALL OCCASIONSWITH ALL KINDSOF PRAYERS AND

REQUESTSEPHESIANS 6:18

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SCRIPTUREALYSSA TUINSTRA [hamilton, ON]

In my house this year we have made it a goal to memorizeScripture. For me, this is something that I have not givenpriority to since it was required of me in Sunday School.However, in Deuteronomy 11:18 God gives us a command.He says, Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them onyour foreheads. We should be eager to memorize Biblepassages, having in our hearts Gods promises, laws, andencouragements. Practically, we may nd ourselves called onto defend Scripture, or even sometime without long-term accessto the Bible. If we have put in the work to memorize verses and

passages, we will still be able to meditate on Gods word.

Memorizing does not come easily to everyone. For most of us,we have to try a number of methods to see what works best! Ifmusic is a good method for you, try looking up Bible verses setto melodies. Having a tune in mind helps when trying to recalla particular passage. Another method to try is reading theverse ten times, reading it out loud ten times, then attemptingto repeat it without looking. Or, write down the rst letter ofeach word and punctuation. After reading through the verse afew times, use the rst letters as prompts to recite the verse. Ifyou learn best by doing, try writing out the verse or making upactions for each word in the passage.

I have found that I personally learn best either by writing outverses or by nding the verse in song form and memorizingit set to a tune. Have you found any methods that areparticularly helpful to you? If so, please send them in! Wewould love to explore Gods Word in different ways with you.

MEMORIZING


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BITTERNESSTAYLOR RIEMERSMA [guelph, ON]

You think you can hide itAnd no one will knowYou think you can hide itAnd no, it wont showBut the root is so bitterAnd becomes so setAnd once it takes overYoure soon to forgetThat we owe everything

And we deserve nothingHe gives us everythingAnd we give Him nothing with bitterness.The words cut like glassAnd our plans go astrayBut its much easierjust to conveyThe anger, and maliceand words we take back the next dayHow quickly we forget.That we owe everythingAnd we deserve nothingHe gives us everythingAnd we give Him nothing with bitterness.


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POST-CHRISTIAN AGE JAMES MOORE [hamilton, ON]

Have you ever thought about the society welive in today? It is full of sinful behaviour thatis encouraged by many. The total depravity ofman is very evident in this age. What age dowe live in, exactly? Many view this age as thePost-Christian Age, which started to develop justafter the Renaissance in Europe. This Post-ChristianAge is named so because it was inuenced by veryhumanistic ideas, with the intention of becoming freeand autonomous from God. This is very evident todayas we see that a large portion of our society is living forthemselves and not for God. The ironic part of the namePost-Christian is that while these worldly behaviours runrampant, Christianity is ourishing now more than ever. TheWord of God is present all over the world and is beingbrought to more remote areas all the time. We canbe very thankful for this as it means that thereare more believers in Christ than ever

before, even though the world hasmany openly depraved people.

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Roadside Assistance Magazineinterviewed Sandra Dykstra, theExecutive Director of Hamilton Rightto Life, an organization dedicated topromoting human life and ghtingagainst abortion and euthanasia.

Roadside Assistance: What is Hamilton Right toLife, and how is it connected to the other Right toLife programs across Canada?Sandra Dykstra: Hamilton Right to Life is the education wingof the pro-life movement, along with other pro life groups invarious cities: Halton Alive in Burlington, Toronto Right to Lifein Toronto, Cambridge Right to Life in Cambridge, SimcoeVoice for Life in Simcoe, Guelph Right to Life in Guelph and soforth. Each right to life group takes care of educating in theircity or town. We come together in a few ways: at variouspro-life conferences, or with our displays at various events.

And in Guelph there is an organization called Alliance forLife Ontario and they are also educating against abortionand euthanasia, but in a special way, and that is to get newand up to date information to all the various right to lifegroups across Ontario. This group has a conference oncea year and also meetings that we as educators can attendand hear how other pro-life groups are doing and in this waylearn from them. There are also many other pro-life groupsbut their purpose varies from ours. Campaign Life Coalition,for example, is the political arm of the pro-life movement andthey have ofces in Toronto and Ottawa. Life Canada havevirtual ofces in Ottawa and BC and they are constantlygetting out information on billboard ads, adoption, etc. The

Catholics have their own organizations as well; for example,Priests for Life, Pharmacists for Life, and others. There is alsoan organization called Euthanasia Prevention Coalition andthey work tirelessly to prevent euthanasia from becoming law.we are mainly on our own in this movement in Hamilton, butif we need them, we have the help of other organizations. Forinstance, Campaign Life puts on rallies every year, the big onebeing March for Life each May in Ottawa.

INNERVIEWSSANDRA DYKSTRATHE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HAMILTON RIGHT TO LIFE


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RA: Can you explain how Hamilton Right to Lifebegan and what its mission is?SD: Hamilton Right to Life began operating in 1972. It wasstarted by a number of women who had a heart for the pro-life movement and who stayed involved for many years. Mrs.Mary Burghardt, from Dundas,was one of the many involvedin establishing Hamilton Right to Life and in getting HRTLaccredited as a charity. The mission of HRTL is to educateagainst abortion and euthanasia. Our Mission Statementis as follows: Hamilton Right to Life (HRTL) is a not-for-protorganization committed to the principle that God is the author

of life, and that each human life has intrinsic value and shouldbe revered and protected from conception to natural death.The HRTL mission is to educate and promote these positionswhile encouraging people to recognize and afrm the sanctityof human life.

RA: What is your role within the organization andwhat does it entail?SD: I am the Ofce Manager/Executive Director and as suchIm the only face of HRTL on a daily basis. My role is to runthe ofce at the boards request. I take care of all aspects ofthe ofce: fundraising, organizing events to promote HRTLand to get the message about the devastation of abortion and

euthanasia to the public. In addition I do the bookkeeping,answering the phone, answering questions or directing peopleto the place to have their questions answered, updating ourFacebook Page, and our Website, and talking with thoseindividuals who come by our ofce and want information.

RA: How did you begin working with Right to Life?SD: The previous Ofce Manager/Executive Director and Iwere friends and she took a leave of absence during a timewhen I was not working. Having been pro-life my whole life itwas a perfect t for me. I came on temporarily and have beenhere now for 8 years and 5 months.

RA: How does the baby bottle fundraiser work?SD: The Baby Bottle Fundraiser was the brainchild of aformer board president. We write letters each spring andfall to various churches and ask them to get involved. What

this entails is having bottles dropped off at the churchesand sending bulletin announcements via email asking themembers of the church to pick up a baby bottle in the spring,on Mothers Day Sunday and returning it on Fathers DaySunday, or in the fall on Labour Day Sunday returning it onThanksgiving Sunday. Church members are requested to ll thebottles with their loose coin, bills, and cheques to help supportthe work of Hamilton Right to Life. The money is used to getthe message of life to the public. We do this through havingour ofce open, advertising in local papers, on billboards,and by various events held throughout the year. Manyvolunteers come in once the bottles are returned to help sortand count the donations.


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RA: What other projects is Hamilton Right to Lifecurrently involved in?SD: We advertise in a variety of publications, Universityhandbooks, and this past fall we advertised in the AncasterNews, Dundas Star, Hamilton Mountain News, and the StoneyCreek News. We have done billboards, bus shelter ads, adson the back of the Hamilton buses, had various speakerscome to speak to our members, host a respect life fundraiserdinner with guest speaker once a year, take a bus load ofpeople each year to March for Life in Ottawa, and host LifeChain Vigils across the city once a year on the rst Sunday of

October. In these vigils people come out for one hour to holdposters that promote life.

RA: How can young people help in the pro-lifemovement?SD: Those who are Christians can pray for young women whond themselves unexpectedly pregnant, or for people who aredying and want to end their life. They can start pro-life groupsin their schools, or join ones already established and in thisway get the word out about how devastating abortion andeuthanasia are. They can also volunteer at crisis pregnancycentres, hold fundraisers for various organizations likeHamilton Right to Life, Birthright, Martha House, St. Martins

Manor (a home for unwed pregnant teens who have nowhereto go), Pregnancy Support Services of Hamilton, who rely ondonations to keep running. They can keep themselves informedon the pro-life movement in Canada so as to be able to speakto those who are considering abortion and for those who haveno voice, attend events to hear speakers and learn more aboutthe issues surrounding the pro-life movement.

RA: Can you elaborate on how the 24 hour helpline works?SD: We do not run the 24 hour help line but do leave amessage on our answering machine that one is available. Thisis run by a group out of the West Coast. Basically they takethe phone calls and lead the young woman who nds herselfin a crisis pregnancy to a crisis pregnancy centre near themso that they can receive the help and counseling they need.

RA: What would you recommend as the firststeps for a young woman who finds herself

unexpectedly pregnant?SD: My recommendations would be to let her know that sheis not alone and that there are pregnancy support centres, orcrisis pregnancy centres, and people who are in a positionto help her without any cost to her or any gain for the personhelping. Further, I would recommend that she seek counselfrom a crisis pregnancy centre like Birthright, Beginnings, orPregnancy Support Services of Hamilton, where she would begiven a free pregnancy test, counseled with accurate and up-to-date information about her pregnancy and all of her optionsincluding adoption, and parenting. These crisis centres do notrecommend abortion but instead counsel the young womenabout the devastations that surround abortion.

RA: What message would you like to leave ourreaders with?SD: Nine months is the length of time an abortion can belegally procured in Canada with no need to supply a medicalreason. Canada is one of only three countries in the world,along with China and North Korea, which has no law at allsurrounding abortion. Please pray for the government thathearts and minds will be moved to effect change in Canadaregarding a law against abortion.


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Creative HighwayHOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE?JOHN BOEKEE [hamilton, ON]

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, All Scripture is God-breathed andis useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training inrighteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughlyequipped for every good work. In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 weread, These commandments that I give you today are to be

upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk aboutthem when you sit at home and when you walk along theroad, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them assymbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on yourgates. Psalm 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp to myfeet and a light for my path. The Word of God is indeed anincredible blessing. We ought to value it above all else. TheGod of the universe has given us His own Word that we maypersonally know Him and know how to please Him. We knowthat we should study the Bible and make it the foundation ofour daily walk with the Lord and our relationships with others.But if we stop and think about it, we are actually relativelyunfamiliar with the Word of God. How well do we really know

our Bible? Here is a little quiz to test your general knowledgeof the Bible. Hopefully this will also get you thinking aboutways in which you can get to know your Bible better.

What do these chapters talk about? 1 Corinthians 13 Hebrews 11 Revelation 12 Genesis 12 Romans 3 1 Corinthians 12 Romans 8 Deuteronomy 5

Where do we nd these important passages? The fruits of the Spirit The Sermon on the Mount The Beatitudes The Flood The 10 Commandments The Crucixion Pentecost Qualications of elders and deacons The heroes of faith The denition of faith David and Goliath Remember your Creator in the days of your youth Gods greeting

The summary of the Law The benediction

You can probablylist the rst ve booksof the Bible or the fourGospels, no problem. Buthow well do we know thewhole Bible? Get a pieceof paper and a pen andwrite out the names of allthe books of the Bible.


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roadside assistance issue 8.6

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