BEACONThe

Vol. 2 Issue 3 Crandall University February 16 ,2012

“Harper will not only leave China with a slew of new and renewed deals for Canadian business and researchers — he's bringing back pandas.” -cbc.ca

I’m going to take a guess that you are slightly puzzled after reading this. Point made. If you are not, I am proud. However, the harsh reality is that our Prime Minister is in the middle of making memorable history and most of us have no idea. Free trade with China would be momentous, and most of us would be left wondering why Canada is getting so many immigrants during a recession. Check out http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2012/02/09/china-canada-trade.html for the details. Connect with your government. After all, they may be the only people you ever have the chance to employ.

Rachael Keetch

Well, it's February. There's just something about this month: maybe it's just that we have all been stuck inside for far too long, or maybe it's that we are ready for spring but all that we receive is more winter. Maybe we are overwhelmed with schoolwork or plagued by a lack of motivation. Whatever the cause, February can be hard, and it can be artistically sterile. People get so lost in this month that they forget to take time to express themselves creatively. So, my friends, I am going to share with you a website that I greatly appreciate: www.deviantart.com/. Are you in a mood to indulge your artistic tastes? Looking to share your own wonderful creations? Just searching for another way to procrastinate? Then this site is for you. It is an awesome outlet site for artists of all kinds. I've spent more than a little bit of time scrolling through it's thousands of works of art. Often I am left breathless at the sheer magnitude of the talent people possess. I am swept away by the

imaginations of others. The creations they can bring forth from the depths of their souls are astounding! My own little creative monster

consumes these images of dreams and reality, appreciating them in a way that cannot be fully

expressed.

Sometimes you'll find a piece that is so shocking – in its beauty, or uniqueness, or colours, or unconventionality, or strangeness – that it knocks you completely on your back. Other times you will find a piece that so perfectly depicts something that you have felt or imagined or desired to express that you will wonder if it was made for you. There is an unusual satisfaction that sometimes comes, swelling from deep within oneself, at being exposed to art. Somewhere within the furthest recess of our minds, there is this need to express ourselves and to relate. Some people are just lucky enough to have the talents and creativity to articulate their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and dreams in the form of art. Inspiration hits and BAM, something absolutely extraordinary is created. Really good works can be appreciated by everyone. We can see the obvious ability and value of every technique, every brush stroke. However, if a piece is really brilliant, it does more than just communicate the artist: it moves the audience to feeling. If they are more than that – more than good or impressive; are works that are so full of tangible passion – they can make us cry, laugh, scream, rage, love. They touch us in wondrous ways. Sometimes they even move us to re-evaluate the world around us and move us to action. You may find my ideas of art to be romantic and over-idealized. Perhaps my views of art are too exaggerated and passionate for you. Maybe you do not think of art in these terms, and you do not comprehend where I am coming from. I can understand that. I would just encourage you to

check it out. As I've said (quite a few times actually), you may surprise yourself. Check out deviantART. Maybe you will not find anything more than a new desktop image or a picture of your favourite movie, but you never know: you may find something that inspires you. And, as February fades out and March rears its head, take some time to express yourself. It'll make you feel better, I assure you, and you just may create something incredible in the process. Good luck, fellow Crandallites! Don't be afraid to use the creative instincts

and talents that God has given you! Don't be afraid to unleash that creativity monster! Happy

web-surfing and art-making!

“Where Art Meets Application”

THOMAS

Somewhere within the furthest recess of our minds, there is this need to express ourselves and to relate.

... More reasons to be thankfulby Jean

I believe it is appropriate for me to start off by showing gratitude toward God for His grace and provision that enabled me to write in “The Beacon.” The Lord has been faithful in supplying according to my needs, so that I may not rely on my insufficiencies, but on His over-abundant resources; therefore, if anything good comes out of all this, to Him be the glory. Of those gifts, I would like to acknowledge the key contribution of Chris Zak, who, despite an already busy schedule, agreed to type (and proofread) these compositions. Gracias, Chris! Another “behind the scenes” participant is our own editor, Rachael Keetch, who has done a fine job; “merci beaucoup” for your personal touch in adding creative and relevant pictures and in making things fit within these pages. I appreciate the availability and patience of both of you two toward me. An added blessing is that I have gotten to know you both a little more as well. P.S. Thanks to all the other authors for your efforts invested.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counsellor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36) To one who carefully examines and contemplates all that is going on, whether it be global, national, in communities, families, or within each one of us in our fallen human nature, it's obvious that all is not well: suffering, injustice, violence, immorality, natural disasters, addictions... How can we give thanks to God for this? For those who know Him through faith in Jesus Christ, we realize that He is not to blame for the ills of the world – sin is. In spite of that, His promise is that, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) He will teach valuable life lessons to those who humbly submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I could go on for a long time with this, but I will end with this poem. (The author, who is unknown, thought he had all the answers on a personal level – to achieve success, fulfillment, and the “good life.”)

I Asked GodI asked God for strength, that I might achieve.I was made weak, that I might learn to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things.I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Pauline walked out of the meat shop, walked to her car and got in. She didn’t know the butcher, but she could tell that he was not someone who knew the Lord, if you know what I mean. As she sat in her car, she had a pressing desire to pray for him. So she did, out of what seemed to be genuine love for a stranger.

Has God ever placed someone you didn’t know on your heart? Given you a glimpse of his love for a complete stranger? Immense, heartfelt, divine love for them?

Well, that is just the kind of love that Jesus had when He walked on this earth. Remember the story of rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to inherit eternal life. The bible tells us that in the middle of their conversation “Jesus, looking at him, loved (agapao) him ...” (Mark 10:21).

Instant love like that, love that spurs up in the middle of a discussion, a love not based on earthly things, can only come from one place: God who is love Himself.

Pauline did “agape-love” the butcher enough to pray for him, and you know what, twelve years later, Pauline saw him again. This time it was at a neighbouring church where this man was now following and serving the Lord. God had answered her prayer, and then for this special time, for the building up of her faith in Him, He made sure she knew about it.

So I say, let the love of God flow freely from us. May our hearts beat as His. May we love everyone around us, strangers too, at the mall or driving by, since these strangers, when we think about it, are in fact no strangers to Him.

Strange Love & Random Prayer

By Nathalie Martin

WANTED

WHO DID THIS??? You have hit the rumor mill. Not only for the best Valentine’s Gift of the year, but for driving every girl on FACEBOOK and in the Crandall halls to a state of insanity. AND for

that matter half of the guys. Seriously. You can’t just leave a gift like this to

guesswork. Take credit.

? ???

***Clare Campbell gave the QT Pie Notepad***

IAN PELKEYHOLLY DAGGETTLAURA SANTOSRACHAEL KEETCHSHARILYN WESTVOTE

CRANDALLSTUDENTASSOCIATIONPRESIDENTVPSTUDENTSERVICESVPEXTERNALVPINTERNAL

STUDENT ELECTIONS 2012

Maybe it's just because I'm a Biblical studies major and I hang out with other Biblical Studies students, but when it was announced that Thursday chapels this month would feature Nooma videos, things kind of exploded around here. To understand why this presents a problem let's look back a little bit. According to the its website, “NOOMA is a series of short films that explore our world from a perspective of Jesus. NOOMA is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion,” and feature the teaching of Rob Bell. Bell was, until recently, the lead pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, not to be mistaken for Mars Hill Church, pastored by Mark Driscoll in Seattle. Bell has come from a decent theological pedigree, holding degrees from Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary, and had been held as an innovative and refreshing Bible teacher. Over the past few years, however, many in the Evangelical Church have begun to distance themselves from Bell as he seems to have been distancing himself from what they could consider to be orthodox Christianity. I have personally watched a number of the NOOMA videos and I find that they have been good at fostering “spiritual” discussion and getting people to

think. One of the videos, however, struck me to the core. In this particular message, Bell relates the story of Jesus walking on the water and calling Peter to walk out and meet Him. He steps out of the boat and begins walking towards Jesus, but is frightened by the wind and the waves and begins to sink. Jesus comes over and helps him up, saying “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31b ESV) Now, up to this point, I was tracking with just about everything Bell said, but here he dropped a bombshell. He tells the viewer that Peter did not lose faith in Jesus, because he could clearly see that Jesus was walking on the water and thus it was not an issue of faith, but instead states that Peter lost faith in himself. At this point, I'm in shock, and shortly in due course I starting yelling at the computer screen. Now, is that the best way to respond to something you disagree with? Probably not. But I heard in those words an error that sounded so “nice” and yet in reality was an attack against the truth of the Gospel. It was not that Peter needed faith that Jesus walking on the water, but that Jesus was the one who empowered him to walk on the water. Now I've seen arguments on both sides of this video all across the internet, and I guess

that it's performed its mission admirably: it has definitely stirred up conversation. But I guess, in a way, that has become my primary issue with Bell. This postmodern, often called “Emergent” strain of the Church that Bell finds himself in is all about conversations, but rarely about conclusions, because at its core it is a reaction to the certainty and propositional truth touted by the Church, and honestly, also abused by many in the Church, in past generations.

In the end, I realize that I've only given one example and a few bits of background information, but I guess here is where I do appreciate the purpose for this Chapel series. Let's start some conversations. If you have questions, talk to your professors, talk to your peers. We're all attending an institution – a school – that exists because of the belief that truth can be known, and that God has made Himself known. So we welcome questions. And we'll seek to humbly answer, and to be honest when we really don't know. In fact, if you have any questions about Jesus, Christianity, or even what I've written here, feel free to email me at czak567@crandalluniversity.ca, and I'll be happy to join in the conversation.

Much Ado About Nooma by Chris Zak

I.T.S. Corner

I have been bad in not submitting more computer tips in the last few articles. I apologize for that. I would like to take this time to hopefully provide you a couple tips on saving you some money and power. Laptop/Mac power cords are as delicate as your machine. They need special care too. They usually cost in the ball park of $100 to replace. And what can a Laptop/Mac be without power? Batteries last only so long. Firstly, you need to take care in not dropping them on the ground/floor hard. You need to gently let them rest usually by letting it slide to the ground by holding the wire lightly in your hand and let it slide down smoothly. The power adapter boxes that sit between the wall plug and your plug end that goes into your Laptop/Mac has a chip board inside. It does not respond well to shock. So, keep that in mind for longevity for your power. Secondly, the wire that goes into the adapter box is usually were 80% of trouble starts/exists. You will notice that there is an extra coating of rubber/plastic that comes out an inch to provide some protection so the wire will not be pulled out from the connection to the chip board inside. A lot of people wrap their wires tight around the power adapter box and this causes stress in that area as it is not made to bend. This will cause pull in that area and eventually separation of wire from board causing a short in the whole unit, thus, no power to your Laptop/Mac. I suggest gathering the wire together in a looping fashion, leaving give in the wire attached to the adapter box and you can use the Velcro strap that usually comes with it to wrap your wire or use elastic to keep it together. This will provide less stress on your power adapter and again give you more longevity. If you would like a demonstration on how to properly wrap your power cord to keep it in good working order, stop by my office sometime (MH-137 I.T.S.) or if you see me in the hall, flag me down and I can show you on spot. I hope these tips are helpful in providing longer days of power and save you a few replacement part bucks.

- Adam Wright, Crandall University,Technical Services Specialist

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What a celebration for those who have received God's gift of eternal life. Rest assured, we are in good company.

• “The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

• Jesus says, “likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10, but be sure to read the whole chapter.)

• “His Lord said to him, 'well done good and faithful servant... Enter into the joy of your Lord.'” (Matthew 25:21,23)

• “But now I (Jesus) come to You (the Father) and these things I speak in the world that they (born again Christians) may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13)

• “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness nad peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

• “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Jean’s Additional Thoughts from Last Edition (Vol.2, Issue. 2)