Reach

Isaiah 26:3–4

I invite you to focus your full attention on one of the rarest of all virtues. It is a virtue that everybody pursues, but very few possess on a regular basis. I’m referring to the often-longed-for but seldom-found virtue of peace. 

Jimmy Carter, the self-effacing peanut farmer, humanitarian and former navy lieutenant who helped Canada avert a nuclear catastrophe before ascending to the highest political office in the United States, died Sunday at his home in Georgia.

He was 100, making him the longest-lived U.S. president in American history.

Concern for Carter's health had become a recurring theme in recent years. He was successfully treated for brain cancer in 2015, then suffered a number of falls, including one in 2019 that resulted in a broken hip.

A look at national news events in August 2024

1 - The Israeli military confirms the death of Hamas' military leader, Mohammed Deif. Deif was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July, knocking another leader of the militant terror group off Israel's hit list. Israel says it targeted Deif in a July 13 strike on the outskirts of Khan Younis, but hasn't been able to confirm the kill for weeks. The Israeli confirmation came a day after an apparent Israeli airstrike in Tehran killed Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. 

Tragedy has struck a close-knit Australian community after a beloved youth pastor was killed in a shark attack while spearfishing off Humpy Island in Queensland’s Keppel Bay Islands National Park.

Luke Walford, 40, was in the water with family members on Saturday afternoon when the attack occurred on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef according to local news reports.

Online predators are becoming increasingly resourceful in trolling media platforms where children gravitate, prompting an explosion in police case loads, said an officer who works for the RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit in British Columbia. 

Data show the problem spiked during COVID-19 when children began spending more time online — but rates did not wane as police anticipated after lockdowns ended.

In B.C., they soared, almost quadrupling from 2021 to 2023.

A look at national news events in July 2024

1 - The strike is over at WestJet. The Calgary-based airline reaches a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend and saw 829 flight cancellations. In a statement on its website overnight, WestJet says there will still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as its planes are brought back into service. 

John 14:1-3

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Hebrews 4:1–11

A look at national news events in June 2024

1 - Israel's government says its conditions for ending the war with Hamas have not changed and that conditions for a ceasefire are still not met. The comments come a day after U.S. president Joe Biden put forward a proposed peace deal between Israel and Hamas that seeks to enact a three-phase wind-down of the war. Israel's government says putting a permanent ceasefire in place before the conditions are fulfilled is a "non-starter.''

A look at national news events in May 2024:

1- Manitoba's Peguis First Nation declares a state of emergency after years of flooding caused heavy damage to infrastructure and housing. Chief Stan Bird says the community has seen significant rates of emotional distress, with a rise in self-harm among youth, drug addiction and incidents of domestic violence. The First Nation recently filed a $1-billion lawsuit alleging the federal and Manitoba governments failed to protect it from the frequent flooding.