A minister was walking down the street when he came to a group of about a dozen boys between the ages of 10 and 12. The boys were gathered around an old dog. Concerned that the boys were hurting the animal, the minister went over and asked, ‘What are you doing with that dog?’ One …
Read MoreWHEN GOD CALLS YOUR NAME
Through a variety of tragic circumstances, Becky Greer lost all four of her children. The grieving mother shared how God’s presence brought her comfort in that painful time. ‘When the blooms die, plant it outside, Mom! That’s exactly what the lady at the florist said to do, and it will come back next year,’ exclaimed …
Read MoreA HOPE THAT RESTORES SHATTERED DREAMS
Shattered dreams are difficult to handle. One of the founding members of our church family came to faith in Christ through a very painful experience. She and her husband had just finished building their dream home as they were preparing for retirement, when he arose from breakfast one morning to tell her that he was …
Read MoreA TRAIL OF BROKEN PROMISES
Sometimes it is not just what you say that matters, but when you say it. Take the words I and do, for example. These two simple words are used all the time. They do not seem to matter very much. One time they really do matter is when they are used in a wedding. With …
Read MoreSHATTERING THE IDOLS IN OUR LIVES
Many would say today that we are living in a godless age, but what that means in a very narrow sense is that we are not trusting the true and the living God. The reality is that we are living in an age filled with ‘gods’ or as the Scriptures call them, ‘idols.’ Idols are …
Read MoreREACHING UP IN ORDER TO REACH OUT
Chuck Colson was a top aide to Richard Nixon, and was indicted and sent to prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up. Through that crisis he came to faith in Christ, and later began a ministry to those in prison. He has ministered to prisoners all over the world. Many years ago, he was …
Read MoreTRUTH DECAY: THE CONSEQUENCES AND CHALLENGE
Dr. Rufus Fears is a professor of classic history, and he relates that just prior to the end of the Athenian empire at the hands of the Spartans the philosophers and people of Athens had arrived at the idea that there was no absolute truth. This is currently the dominant note of our Postmodern culture. …
Read MoreSOME SUBTLE WAYS WE WITHDRAW FROM GOD
Money either is a master or a servant. How we invest our resources reveals our true values.
Read MoreBEING HELD HOSTAGE TO LIES AND THEIR OUTCOMES
The great Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, speaking of his country’s spiritual demise, …’If I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some sixty millions of our people, I could not put it more bluntly than to repeat: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why …
Read MoreA LOST GENERATION: WHAT WILL OUR RESPONSE BE?
One of the great temptations in the Christian life is to know what to do and then ignore it. Hypocrisy is always a present danger. We’re not talking about never making mistakes or falling short. Hypocrisy is an attitude of false security and an indifference toward behaving in an ethical and moral manner. Hypocrisy is …
Read MoreFINDING OUR WAY IN THE CROSSROADS OF LIFE
One of God’s great expressions of mercy toward us is to address issues in our lives. We find this right from the very beginning in the story of Cain and Abel in which Abel’s offering to God is accepted while Cain’s offering is rejected. The response of Cain is very enlightening and may give us …
Read MoreMAKING OUR WAY TOWARD WHOLENESS
William Wilberforce is primarily remembered as the British Member of Parliament that advanced the cause against slavery, and eventually saw the end to that terrible abuse of humanity. What many may not know is that Wilberforce was a devout Christian. [He] knew the God of the universe as a loving Person who had intervened in …
Read MoreLEAVING GLOOMINESS BEHIND AND LIVING IN ANTICIPATED HOPE
Why can’t we get past the quagmire of distress and despair when we are experiencing life’s great disappointments? Where does hope come from? The short answer is God, but why do we so often settle for gloom and doom? For the vast amount of time, the history of Israel and Judah were threatened or subjugated …
Read MoreGOD’S RESPONSE TO OUR MOST PAINFUL MOMENTS!
Times of crisis, disappointments, rejection, and various other sorrows invade our lives. They can cause us to ask the question; ‘If God is so loving and good, why this loss, this pain, and struggle in my life? The atheist will answer cynically that it is because there is no God. But the Christmas story is …
Read MoreMOVING FROM CONFLICT TO COMMUNITY
In his book Love in Action, Bob Moeller tells of a visit with a man who only had days to live. When we got onto the topic of his children, his expression changed from pleasant and cheerful to one of anguish and pain. ‘Bob, all my children are grown now. I had hoped that as …
Read MoreWHAT IS THE REAL BUSINESS OF OUR LIVES?
How would you describe a Christian? What are the characteristics of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ? Do we really understand God’s purpose for us as a people? Are we committed to God’s agenda for our lives, or has the business of life caused us to become caught up with the rat race? Do we …
Read MoreCAN WE EVER BE A FAMILY AGAIN?
One of the most important aspects to life is relationships. They are the most rewarding and difficult aspects of life. We become deeply invested in others, but when there is a breach in the relationship, particularly in our marriage relationship, the question comes to mind: is it possible to start over again? Are there terms …
Read MoreHOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS?
How did we get into this mess? That is a great a question in times of crisis but what is even more critical is to ask, how are we going to get out of the mess we are in? If we don’t understand the root issues of what brought us to this point, all we’ll …
Read MoreCREATED FOR A PURPOSE: God’s Design for Life
Dr. William Moorehead writes at the end of the nineteenth century: It was Jeremiah’s lot to prophesy at a time when all things in Judah were rushing down to the final and mournful catastrophe; when political excitement was at its height; when the worst passions swayed the various parties and the most fatal counsels prevailed. …
Read MoreA NEW WORLD ORDER IS COMING AND WHAT IT MEANS NOW
Charles Swindoll, tells the story of a young man and his father who farmed a little piece of land. Several times a year they would load up the old ox-drawn cart with vegetables and go into the nearest city to sell their produce. Except for their name and the patch of ground, father and son …
Read MoreTHANKSGIVING: THE HEART OF TRUE WORSHIP
C. S. Lewis reminds us that we cannot ultimately worship apart from others. God calls us into fellowship with other worshipers. The New Testament does not envisage solitary religion; some kind of regular assembly for regular worship and instruction is everywhere taken for granted in the Epistles. So we must be regular practising members of …
Read More“THE SEDUCTION OF DISTORTED IDEAS”
How do we live right in a world gone wrong? Today we are striving to “feel good.” The proper sequence is, “Be good, do good, feel good.” Feeling good is a byproduct of the right kind of life. We have unfortunately dismissed the importance of being, and doing before feeling. In his book, ‘The Spirit …
Read MoreTHE FREE FALL OF TRUTH
Thirty years ago, sociologist Reginald Bibby published his book Mosaic Madness, in which he spoke of the challenges facing our country in light of excessive individual rights and relativism. Relativism is the idea that absolute truths doesn’t exist. Canadians deserve to be nominated as ‘champions of choice. …Even if the available options are not what …
Read MoreSTANDING WHEN EVERYTHING IS SHAKING
STANDING WHEN EVERYTHING IS SHAKING What often trips us up in life’s most challenging moments is not the problems but a wrong perspective of the situation and our own inability to handle things. If anyone understood this as a close follower of Jesus, it was Peter. In his second letter, Peter is conveying something that …
Read MoreTHE UPSIDE OF DOWN
Can any good thing come out of times of disappointment, pain, suffering, misunderstanding and defeat? It all depends on how we respond to those moments. Peter, the fisherman who had followed Jesus, now in his later years is writing to believers who were suffering under persecution. He is writing to encourage them regarding the nature …
Read MoreBEYOND CRISIS MANAGEMENT TO AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
How we respond in times of difficulty reflects how God has truly worked within our lives. In the final chapter of Peter’s first letter, we see what is needed for survival and endurance in the heat of persecution and judgment. What we discover is that the church, as well as any family and nation, cannot …
Read MoreNO CROWN WITHOUT A CROSS!
There is no crown without a cross! What was true of Jesus is also true of each of us, His followers. Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, …
Read MorePREPARING FOR A COSMIC INVASION!
Do you believe that we are living in the End times? Whenever I ask that question to Christians, most of them state unequivocally; absolutely. What they mean is that this world is coming to an end as we know it. A new world order is about to come upon us from beyond this earthly planet. …
Read MoreSWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE
When one of my friends went to Acapulco, Mexico on a vacation with his wife, Jim and Doreen had just arrived and parked at the beach. While Doreen grabbed her book to read, Jim raced off to the water to body surf. He was having a great time with the 5-foot waves crashing upon him, …
Read MoreKNOCKED DOWN, BUT NOT OUT!
How often in life do we feel great pressure, perplexity, and persecution? We are knocked down by all kinds of adverse situations that come our way. The apostle Paul certainly experienced many challenging and painful moments in his earthly life. He suffered much in bringing the gospel to others. We read something of his experiences …
Read MoreTEFLON LIVING IN A MUD-SLINGING WORLD
In his Lives of the Caesars, Suetonius (a Roman writer and secretary to Hadrian) was one of the first pagan writers to mention Christianity. But the context was hardly positive: believers are mentioned only as ‘a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.’ This charge of superstition was perhaps the most serious, …
Read MoreBRING IT ON: FIGHTING FAIRLY
We are living in a day in which people don’t know how to work out their differences. This is especially true in their most meaningful relationships. In a day and age where relationships are struggling, the most challenging but rewarding relationship is the marriage relationship. It is the foundation of our society. It’s a place …
Read MoreCLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN OF INJUSTICE
Scaling Mount Everest is a major accomplishment and it takes much preparation and the need for experienced guides to take you through to the top. It is a very dangerous and difficult enterprise and many experienced climbers have lost their lives in the attempt. A record-holding Sherpa climber recently halted his attempt to scale Mount …
Read MoreSWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS!
How can we live a life that will help destroy the image that being a follower of Jesus is an evil thing, especially when the institutional church has often failed, sinned and abused people?
Read MoreLIVING LIKE A ROCK STAR
Over the past few weeks, we have been reminded again of the incredible tensions that seem to be continually boiling over in the Middle East, and at the center of the tension is a city called Jerusalem. It’s ironic that the city itself speaks of peace, for that is what ‘shalom’ means. Yet this city …
Read MoreWHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE…
Victor Frankl endured a Nazi concentration camp in the Second World War. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, he writes about a fellow prisoner who had lost hope. This man shared a dream in which a voice told him that he could wish for something and it would be answered. He related to Frankl, …
Read MoreSINGING HER PRAISE: THE QUALITIES OF A WISE LIFE
In the book of Ruth, we have the amazing story of one young woman’s devotion to the God of Israel and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth leaves her homeland, forsaking family, and the gods of the Moabites to follow Naomi back to the land of Israel. The way she serves Naomi, her mother-in-law, and forsaking all …
Read MoreTHE COSMIC STRUGGLE: HOPE IN DISTRESSING TIMES
In ‘Rumors Of Another World, Philip Yancey tells of ‘a short story by the Spanish writer Carmen Corde. Corde tells of a young woman who gives birth to a blind son. ‘I do not want my child to know that he is blind!’ she informs family and neighbors, forbidding anyone to use telltale words such …
Read MoreLIFE SPRINGS FORTH: FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE!
Covid has changed the way we live. It has focused our attention on limitations, restrictions, and the reality of our mortality. Every day we hear of people whose lives have been taken by Covid. It has been a defining moment in the life of our planet, and for some its impact will alter their earthly …
Read MoreWHO’S TO BLAME: A QUESTION OF JUSTICE?
If destroying the greatest good is an expression of the greatest evil, then what happened on ‘Good Friday,’ is the ultimate expression of evil. The question begs to be asked, who is responsible for this evil? In other words, who is to blame? When we look at the crucifixion of Jesus the question naturally arises …
Read MorePEACE REJECTED: THE PAINFUL JOURNEY TO WHOLENESS
A longing for peace and a struggle for freedom is the history of human existence. To think that we can attain both peace and freedom apart from God by attaining self-autonomy will not produce the goal of either peace or freedom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in ‘Cost of Discipleship,’ related that “The demand for absolute liberty brings …
Read MoreTHE CRITICAL ROLE MORALITY HAS IN LEADERSHIP
We are living in a day where how one lives is not considered critical in their ability to be an effective leader. However, that has not always been the thinking in the past, and certainly not in the thinking of the wisdom literature. A person’s moral life has a huge impact on how they will …
Read MoreSUBMISSION: THE TRUE STRENGTH OF CHARACTER
It’s easy to do the right thing when you agree, but what happens when doing the right thing is difficult? or disagreeable to your values? What does it mean to be a conscientious objector?
Read MoreFINDING OUR WAY HOME: Finding the path to successful living.
In a time where evil is all around us, the first step in addressing it may be closer to us than we realize. Where can safety and help be found to live a life that gives us success in navigating past many of life’s dangers and pitfalls. Biblical wisdom helps us discover the source and the path toward living successfully in a broken world.
Read MoreRENEWING OUR STRENGTH: OVERCOMING WEARINESS AND DISCOURAGEMENT
So many people are finding that the Covid restrictions is creating a deep sense of weariness. Is there a way to find renewal in such a time as this?
Read MoreTHE CONTROL ISSUE: THE EFFECTS OF SELF-CONTROL ON OUR SELVES AND OTHERS
Successful and happy people all have one characteristic in common. They are able to control themselves.
Self-control is critical to a person’s well being and their ability to mentor and help others. This aspect of our lives will help us become better parents, employers and mentors of those we are responsible for.
WHAT’S YOUR PRICE: FINDING THE RIGHT COURSE IN FINANCES AND RELATIONSHIPS.
Some people say that for a certain price people are willing to do things that they might not otherwise consider. This suggests that everybody has a price, but that it may not always be about money. People are willing to make incredible sacrifices for people they value or ideas that are more important to them …
Read MoreTAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
When we discover the exceptional nature of the greatest renewable resource it has the capacity to transform our relationships and our life.
Read MoreTHE FIRES OF CONFLICT
Wisdom is a social skill that enriches human relationships. With greater means to communicate than ever before, we are struggling with meaningful human relationships. Reckless words are the fuel that ignite powerful social unheaval that affects both people’s livelihood and life. There is a course of action that empowers people in having meaningful relationships.
Read MoreWHO IS INFLUENCING YOU?
We are both being influenced and influencing others. Being aware of who is influencing you is critical to living a healthy lifestyle.
Read MoreMOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH
“For the announcement of Jesus’ birth shows that wonderful things come in surprising packages. God does not always do things the way we would do them.”[i] That is an understatement. God often does surprising things and chooses surprising people to accomplish His purposes. Think about the first Christmas season. Rather than take the capital by …
Read MoreLIVING A LEGACY
We can experience joy despite Covid while dealing with social isolation.
Read MoreRELATIONSHIPS IN TIMES OF RESTRICTION
We are living in a challenging moment in the history of our country. Provincially, we had our Premier share that in order to try and curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus, social gatherings are restricted for the next three weeks. So, how can we build healthy relationships which are critical to our spiritual, emotional …
Read MoreTHE GREAT RESET
How many have ever felt like you would love a do over? A new beginning in life? How many would love to hit the reset button? Unfortunately, we can’t go back in time; but we can change our future by allowing God to set a new course for our lives. When we yield to Him, …
Read MoreSHORT-CUTS THAT LEAD TO DEAD ENDS
Years ago, on a trip to Southern Saskatchewan; we were traveling across country looking at maps. For all the younger crowd, this was before G.P.S. Patty, my wife pointed out that we had probably missed our connecting highway, but I was convinced that if we had, we were on a short-cut and would tie into …
Read MoreSERVING GOD AND COUNTRY!
People from around the world are watching with deep interest what will happen on November 03, 2020 during the U.S. federal election. Our exposure, as Canadians, to the U.S. primarily comes through the various American outlets that are so accessible to us, and have deeply influenced our own culture in subtle and not so subtle …
Read MoreTRAPPED IN A GOLDEN CAGE!
In Gordon MacDonald’s book, ‘Ordering Your Private World,’ he shares the struggles of a businessman before surrendering his life to Christ and reordering his priorities to reflect what the bible would call wisdom. As this business writes: Several years ago I was at a point of great frustration in my life. Although I had a …
Read MoreRETURNING TO LOVE
Years ago, I read about a pastor who was called to a troubled church. To accept the invitation would mean a significant salary cut. But he said yes anyway. He needed further income, so he began looking for a part-time job. The state mental institution was in his new community, so he approached the directors …
Read MoreA NEW SONG!
Joy seems to be in short supply these days. Problems, challenges, and difficulties are all around. There are many joy robbers these days. The problem is that when we lose a sense of joy we succumb to fear, doubt, and unbelief. But what do we mean by joy? Is it an only an emotion? Or …
Read MoreARE YOU REALLY LISTENING?
Who is shaping our viewpoint? Who is shaping how we think and feel, which in turn leads to actions on our part? Let us reflect on how our thinking and emotions are influenced and lead to actions that have consequences. In James Emery White’s book, ‘A Mind for God,’ he identifies the challenges that we …
Read MoreWILL THE REAL YOU PLEASE STAND UP!
A few years ago, Patty and I and some friends had the privilege to travel to Boston where we vacationed, saw amazing historical sights and attended baseball games at Fenway Park, a historic and iconic baseball venue. One of the things we did was take the Fenway tour and walked upon the Green Monster, a …
Read MoreWHAT MUSIC ARE YOU DANCING TOO?
Will Durant once wrote: “From barbarism to civilization requires a century; from civilization to barbarism needs but a day.” It’s easier to destroy than to build a meaningful life. The drama of history is played out along the frontiers of great belief systems as they ebb and flow. …The conflict of our day is theism …
Read MoreWRITING YOUR OWN EULOGY
The word ‘eulogy’ means to speak well or praise someone. We generally ‘eulogize’ those who have just recently passed away at a memorial service, but we can also speak well of people at special times. What do people say about you? What will they say when your end has come? What are you communicating to …
Read MoreTHE WISDOM OF EMBRACING AND LETTING GO
John Wesley grew up in a world of rapid change, very much like ours in some respects and very different in others. The whole way of work was changing in eighteenth-century England. Revolutions in smelting, spinning, and distilling created whole new industries. …Personal health and cleanliness were deplorable. The plague, smallpox, and countless diseases we …
Read MoreTHE INTEGRITY OF WISDOM
“A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: ‘I have circled the block ten times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. Forgive …
Read MoreWISDOM’S EFFECT IN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
G. Campbell Morgan was one of a hundred and fifty young men who sought entrance into the Wesleyan ministry in 1888. He had passed his written exam but faced the test of giving a trial sermon in front of a panel. When the results were released, Morgan’s name was among the hundred and five who …
Read MoreWISDOM’S IMPACT ON RELATIONSHIPS
While Andrea, my daughter was driving her daughter Ariella to skating practice, she noticed on Monday, many police vehicles in the Village Mall parking lot. Just then she received a distressful call from her close friend, that she wanted our church to pray for one of her friends who had been viciously attacked. This friend’s …
Read MoreBetween Caesar and God
Historian and author, Alan Axelrod in this book, ‘Little Known Wars of Great and Lasting Impact’ writes: “Simon ben Kosba believed himself descended from the house of David… At the time of Hadrian’s decrees [Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, who reigned from 117-139 A. D]; Rabbi Akiva, who is celebrated in the Talmud as the ‘Head …
Read MoreHealthy Communication
Can you imagine a person who assumes responsibility for a nation and within a few days destroys the majority of what he is responsible for? That’s the story of Rehoboam, whose father Solomon had passed the torch of leadership to him. We discover that what we say and how we say it, can change not …
Read MoreBlue Prints for a Healthy Marriage
Four year old Suzie had just been told the story of ‘Snow White’ for the first time in her life. She could hardly wait to get home from nursery school to tell her mommy. With wide-eyed excitement, she retold the fairy tale to her mother that afternoon. After relating how Prince Charming had arrived on …
Read MoreHope in Depression
Kids have more money today than ever before. They are also exposed to more advertising than ever… As a result, children as young as 18 months can identify various name brands, and their desires influence how adults spend billions of dollars. Psychiatrist Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New …
Read MoreParental Wisdom
“If it was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started with something called labor.”[i] Gary Thomas in his book, Sacred Parenting shares about an amazing couple, John and Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams lived during a time when allowing your children to travel overseas to accompany their father on an important …
Read MoreThe Path of Faith
Which road to take, which path to follow? Choices determine destinies. This is the time of year where many young people are graduating from school, and feel some pressure to make significant decisions. Which school to attend for further training, which career to pursue, which job opportunity to take. For those who are indecisive and …
Read MoreThe Spirit Filled Life
Sitting at the back of a newly opened church in Toronto in the early 1890’s, a young man heard the great missionary statesman, A. J. Gordon deliver his famous lectures on the Holy Spirit in Missions. Before the series ended the young listener, Rowland Bingham, was praying that the Spirit would call him to serve …
Read MoreThe Disciplined Life
Who are our heroes? Who are the people we look up to and try to be like? In our world today we see some young people trying to be like their favorite sports icon or maybe it’s someone they think is cool. The mentor may be a parent who they respect and are trying to …
Read MoreA Sincere Faith
John Gresham Machen was born on July 28, 1881, in Baltimore, Maryland, the second of three sons born to Arthur and Mary [known as Minnie]. …His parents were committed Christians. Minnie, with whom Gresham always had a special bond, had an especially significant influence on the boy’s upbringing. It was on her knee that he …
Read MoreSpeaking the Truth
Francis Schaeffer, tells the story of John Cage, an American composer who believes that the universe is impersonal by nature and that it originated only through pure chance. In an attempt to live consistently with his personal philosophy, Cage composed all of his music by various means of chance. He created sounds by tossing coins …
Read MoreThe Generous Life
So many people have communicated their deep appreciation for the streaming of the services into their homes. What most of you are unaware of is how this all came about just prior to this time where we could not gather and hold services in our facility. As a church leadership we had been discussing developing …
Read MoreHope Beyond The Grave
“On February 27th, 1991 Ruth Dillow was at her home in Kansas when the phone rang. It was bad news from the Pentagon. Her son, Private First-Class Clayton Carpenter, had stepped on a landmine in the Persian Gulf War and was dead. It was an awful, sickening reality to learn that her son would never …
Read MoreA REWARDING LIFE
The story of Samson is a window into the nature of how God’s purposes and callings are still accomplished despite the impact of sin in a person’s life. Samson’s background is amazing. His was a miracle birth, as he was born to a woman who was unable to have children, but God intervened. Then the …
Read MoreFreedom in Forgiveness
Author Max Lucado retells the story of human tragedy. “Rebecca Thompson fell twice from the Fremont Canyon Bridge. She died both times. The first fall broke her heart; the second broke her neck. She was only eighteen years of age when she and her eleven-year-old sister were abducted by a pair of hoodlums near a …
Read MoreThe Mounting Storm: Tension and Response
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian before and during the Nazi regime in Germany. At first, he scoffed at the idea that Hitler would ever come to power, and then when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Bonhoeffer did all he could to stand up to the evil that the Nazi’s were perpetrating against …
Read MoreWisdom in Chaos: When Life Comes Crashing in!
“On October 19, 1918; D. W. Sutherland, acting mayor of the city of Kelowna, B. C. created the following public notice: “Notice is hereby given that, in order to prevent the spread of Spanish Influenza, all Schools, public and private, Churches, Theatres, Moving Picture Halls, Pool Rooms and other places of amusement, and Lodge …
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