There is at least one thing that rural, small town and big city type people have in common-besides the obvious things like skin and kids and bills and such. Do you want to know what that one thing is? A fire! I have been part of a crowd in rural New Brunswick at 3:00 o’clock in the morning, and I have also been part of a fire-fueled crowd here in Toronto. Fires attract people-wherever they occur!

One time, Sheila and I were out for a walk and we saw some massive, inky black plumes raising into the cloudless blue sky just a block or two from where we were. We decided to put our lunch date on hold and go check out the fire.

As we started our pilgrimage to the fire, many others joined us along the way. One man suggested that it was the rubber factory that was just over on the next block. I immediately prayed that it wasn’t! What a nasty problem that would have been! Finally, we got over onto Cawthra Road. It runs along the railroad tracks, so we had an unobstructed view of the fire a few hundred yards from us, on the other side of the tracks.

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It’s always a sad thing to hear about someone being murdered. If you don’t want to read about someone being murdered, then skip this edition of Pastor-Eye-zzed. Also, please understand that I am not making light of such a serious and sad situation by writing about it in this blog. It is just that there is one point of interest in this story that grabbed my attention.

It seems that two men in Cheltenham, U.K. have been charged with murder and robbery when they allegedly killed Keith Soons for his iPhone 4.

Now, I doubt very much that it is really all that rare of an occurrence to be killed for something as trivial as a phone. I have heard of others being killed for their designer shoes and I am sure that there have been people killed for much less than an iPhone. But, what I found the most compelling, and perhaps the saddest part of this story, is the fact that Keith was stabbed as he tried to get his iPhone BACK from the thieves.

So, let’s get this story straight. Keith was robbed by two knife-wielding thieves. They held him up and he handed over his iPhone. His iPhone was now in their possession. One would assume that the thieves had what they wanted and they were on their way when Keith decided that he just couldn’t part with his iPhone. It was in this struggle to regain his phone when Keith was killed. Somehow he decided that it was worth risking his life to recover his phone.

I wonder what exactly it was that went through his mind that made him take such a risk. Was it his love for his iPhone? Was it his contact information? Did he have some amazing pictures or apps on his phone that he just couldn’t live without? Was he just about to get a high score in “Angry Birds”? Again, don’t misunderstand me. I am not making light of this terrible tragedy, I am just pointing out that regardless of the reasons that motivated him, they were far too silly and far too trivial to lose one’s life over.

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Have you ever had a theme day? Perhaps I should explain what I mean by “theme day”. A theme day is a day in which a similar set of circumstances continues to reoccur so that, even someone as unobservant as I, begins to see a pattern, and perhaps even a message.

Last week I had a theme day. It began with a call from my friend, Russ, in Ottawa. Russ used to attend Keele, but then he had to find a new church family as a result of relocating. It was great to hear from Russ and catch up with him. I left that conversation refreshed and encouraged.

Next was an email from a friend who used to attend Keele who now lives in Peterborough. Peter was studying in Mark and recalled that I had preached through Mark so he checked out our website and discovered our new sermon section. It was great to hear from Peter and I was deeply encouraged by the fact that he: 1) Remember that I once preached through Mark; and 2) was still interested enough in what I preached that he tried find it. But, what excited me most was that his tremendous hunger for the Word continues. There is no greater encouragement for a preacher than someone who understands the value of Scripture.

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