I wrote my last blog post shortly after reading Hillbilly Elegy* by J.D. Vance. The book is a very personal memoir which incorporates sociological insights into the roots of poverty among the Scots-Irish people of the Appalachian region, the hillbillies. As J.D. Vance writes, the poverty of a large swath of black people in the … Continue reading Hillbilly connection?
Faith and life
Recipe for poverty
A home with a revolving set of parents A home where parents scream at each other and at the children A home where parents throw things at each other and at the children A home where parents have no interest in what children are learning in school, or whether they are learning anything at all … Continue reading Recipe for poverty
Discord among brethren
Many people today, including some Christians, are seeking salvation of the body to the detriment of both their spiritual and physical health. They are drawn to Seers who have been gifted with special enlightenment about medical problems. Armed with such knowledge, which is only granted to a select few, these people believe they see things … Continue reading Discord among brethren
What’s wrong with the world?
A few years before the First World War a British newspaper published an article bearing the above title. Shortly thereafter the following letter to the editor appeared: “Dear Sir: Regarding your article 'What's Wrong with the World?' I am. Yours truly,” ― G.K. Chesterton Chesterton later expanded on that thought, saying: "In one sense, and that … Continue reading What’s wrong with the world?
Remedy for election fever
There is an election in Canada today; I will not vote. I am a citizen, I am qualified to vote, but I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of God and that citizenship is much more precious to me. There has been a lot of anger, a lot of divisive emotions stirred by this … Continue reading Remedy for election fever
A Christian admonition from 600 years ago
[Barbe means beard. It came to be applied to the person wearing the beard, becoming a term of affection for an uncle and then became the term which Anabaptists in France and Italy used for their ministers. Pragela, a valley in the Alps west of Turin and near the French border was home to a … Continue reading A Christian admonition from 600 years ago
The race of life
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Jesus said: “but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22 Something in me would like to think that He meant:All you have to do is sit tightAnd everything will turn out right. But I believe what He really meant was:Keep on running with all your mightUntil you cross the … Continue reading The race of life
The kingdom of God
The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom with spiritual citizens and a spiritual king. When a person repents of living in the ways of the world and is born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, that person becomes part of the kingdom of God. Such a person, though still living in this … Continue reading The kingdom of God
“Finders keepers” would have been the wrong choice
[First posted November 14, 2013] Noah Muroff, an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, and his wife Esther went shopping online for a desk for the study in their home and found a cherry wood executive desk that they were able to buy for $150. When they got it home, they found it would not fit through the door … Continue reading “Finders keepers” would have been the wrong choice
The importance of French
One of our ministers visited in Côte d’Ivoire and was invited to preach the sermon in a Sunday worship service. He spoke in English, the missionary translated to French and a local brother translated to the local language. Someone might ask, “Why didn’t the missionary learn the local language?” The answer to that is another … Continue reading The importance of French
Flatlander Faith 