Can someone please tell me how it is a validation of the saving grace of Jesus Christ to extol well-known public figures who are Christians as testimonial evidence? What does it do to the public’s perception of Christianity when these people stumble? It’s not that it is impossible for people in the public eye, such … Continue reading Christian celebrities
Author: Bob Goodnough
Appointed to be read in churches
The above notation appears on the title page of the Bible translation known in the USA as the King James Version and almost everywhere else as the Authorized Version. The words are an introduction to one of the goals of the translators — they wanted this to be the best possible translation for reading aloud. … Continue reading Appointed to be read in churches
Cancer Centre
My wife had her first visit at the Cancer Centre yesterday. Now isn't that a scary way of starting a conversation? The visit really wasn't so scary. Let me start at the beginning. Four months ago Chris decided that the tiredness she felt after a day's work had to be due to something more than … Continue reading Cancer Centre
Relevant to what?
Relevant to what? Everybody talking about the decline of Christianity in the Western world says that it is because the faith preached over the pulpit is no longer relevant to our society. What they cannot agree on is in what way it is no longer relevant. For over a century now, many churches have struggled … Continue reading Relevant to what?
A light shining in the darkness
In 1671 there arose a severe persecution of the Mennonites in Switzerland, causing many to flee the country. Brethren in the Netherlands came to their aid and gave them refuge. In all, about 700 persons, among them some very aged, fled Switzerland. They were destitute, their lands and properties having been seized by the Swiss … Continue reading A light shining in the darkness
Circling the wagons is not an option
The Western movies of my boyhood often contained a scene where Indians attacked a wagon train of settlers. The settlers would draw their wagons onto a circle to form a protective wall, then try to fend off the attackers with rifle fire. This would go on until the ammunition was gone and their doom appeared … Continue reading Circling the wagons is not an option
Do it yourself customer service
A resident in a nearby home for seniors, let's call him Frank, gets around fairly well in a wheelchair. However, Frank has limited strength on one side, so he also has an electric wheelchair that he sometimes uses. Recently he discovered that a small spring assembly from one of the front wheels was missing. Presumably … Continue reading Do it yourself customer service
Power outage
We were moving from one farm house to another, with the help of friends. I hurried to connect the kitchen stove so my wife could bake a pizza for our helpers. This was in the day when kitchen stoves did not plug into the wall, but the wires from the stove had to be individually … Continue reading Power outage
Dementia
There are things that I wish that I would have understood better when my parents were suffering with dementia. Above all, I wish I could have understood that even though their personalities had changed and their memories seemed to be gone, the father and mother that I had once known were still there, though unable … Continue reading Dementia
Anorexia of the soul
I once knew a Christian lady whose husband was self-centred, domineering and prone to uncontrolled fits of rage. She, on the other hand, was unselfish, capable and self-controlled. At some point she developed an interest in fasting. After a time it became apparent to brothers and sisters in the faith that she had become extremely … Continue reading Anorexia of the soul
