¶ Welcome to Starting Right
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . Well , good morning and happy birthday , canada .
Because it is Canada's birthday today , I want to do something just a little bit different . A while ago , my wife gave me a book entitled Canada Portraits of Faith . In this book it lists 52 individuals who , from even before Canada became a nation , right on up through to more recent times , of people whose faith impacted our country beyond measure .
Many of these names you might be familiar with , yet there are others that you will probably never have heard of before A woman by the name of Marguerite Bourgeois she was Canada's first school teacher . There's Joseph Scriven , who wrote the hymn what a Friend we have in Jesus . There's John Hunter , who actually led Canada's first prime minister to Christ .
Yes , he led John A McDonald , the famous drinker , to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ . Right on up to Timothy Eaton , who most of us in Canada will remember or know of the Eaton's department stores .
These are people of faith , and many others in this book that talk about our foundation , that we have a foundation that says faith is important to who we are . The preface of this book contains a quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau , who was the Prime Minister of Canada back in the 1980s and is the father of our current Prime Minister , justin Trudeau .
But Pierre Elliott Trudeau said this the golden thread of faith is woven throughout the history of Canada , from its earliest beginnings up to the present time .
Faith was more important than commerce in the minds of many of the European explorers and settlers , and over the centuries , as successive waves of people came to this country , many in search of religious liberty , they brought with them a great wealth and a variety of religious traditions and values .
Those values have shaped our laws and our lives and have added enormous strength to the foundation of freedom and justice upon which this country was built .
It is an acknowledgment of that debt that the Parliament of Canada later gave its approval , during the constitutional debate , to the statement that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law .
Faith played a large part in the lives of so many men and women who have created in this land a society which places a high value on commitment , integrity . Society which places a high value on commitment , integrity , generosity and , above all , freedom .
To pass on that heritage strong and intact is a challenge worthy of us all who are privileged to call ourselves Canadians . As we celebrate our country today , let's remember the heritage that we have . Let us not forget what that heritage meant .
Psalm 88 and verse 12 , the last portion of that verse says can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about righteousness ? No , if we start to forget what's right , if we start to forget what's good , if we start to forget the difference between right and wrong , then we are bound to go down a path of destruction and failure .
These 52 people of faith listed in this book , who were part of the heritage of faith of our country , all understood this principle from Matthew , chapter 5 and verse 13 . You are the salt of the earth , but if that salt has become tasteless , how can it be made more salty again ?
It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men . They recognized that principle of influence , that they were people to make a difference . They were called by God to make a difference in this country of Canada and to the people around them , and you and I are called to do the same . God is for us , he is with us .
He wants us to make a difference in the lives of people and continue to make a difference in our country and to not forget about what is right and important and what we need to stand up for .
I am so happy and proud to call Canada my home , and to all my friends out there who are in other countries today , may God's peace and strength and joy be with you , and I want to encourage you , too , that you have got the ability to have an impact . Where you are , with peace and joy and the faith in Jesus Christ , our world can be changed . For Him .
Have a great day , my friends . Thank you for listening today , and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right , with Danny Mac .