Immediately after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he disappeared into the wilderness and fasted for forty days. Then Satan came to him and offered to let Jesus rule all the kingdoms of the world if he would acknowledge Satan as supreme. “Just bow down and worship me and you can govern the world … Continue reading Principalities and Powers
Faith and life
The Mennonite service ethic
Protestant work ethic is a termed coined by German sociologist Max Weber in 1905 in his book Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus (The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism). The gist of Weber’s thinking is summarized thusly in Wikipedia: “Calvinist theologians taught that only those who were predestined to be saved … Continue reading The Mennonite service ethic
Evidence of roots that go deep
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay We can read the Bible in a superficial way, looking for heart-warming stories or good moral guidelines, but if our roots are shallow a storm or drought might be enough to topple our faith. When we go deeper, seeking to know God through His Word and through prayer, our roots will grow … Continue reading Evidence of roots that go deep
A time of transition
Someone has suggested that Adam turned to Eve as they were leaving the Garden of Eden and said "My dear, we are in a time of transition." Probably not, but it would have been appropriate and the world has been in a continual time of transition ever since. Our happiness, our peace of mind, and … Continue reading A time of transition
The Myth of the Good Christian
To all my fellow believers in the saving blood of Jesus Christ. I believe we have a problem. At least most of us do. For sure I do. The problem is that we want to be good Christians. So we mine the Scriptures for clues about how we should conduct ourselves. What we should do; … Continue reading The Myth of the Good Christian
Let your roots go deep
Image by Peggy Choucair from Pixabay Here on the dry plains of Saskatchewan we haven’t had any significant rain for six weeks. The grass has turned brown; it’s not dead, but it’s not growing either. The trees are green and show no sign of stress. The difference? Grass roots are shallow and depend on surface moisture provided by … Continue reading Let your roots go deep
The farmer and the salesman
Once upon a time there were two Bible study groups, one led by a farmer and the other by a salesman. Both groups studied the same portions of Scripture, but the discussions were not at all the same. The farmer spent his days alone, driving a tractor up and down the fields or repairing the … Continue reading The farmer and the salesman
Simple and Complete – God’s plan for the church
Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the whole world has lain in wickedness. All mankind is by nature inclined to choose darkness rather than light, to obey Satan, the god of this world, rather than the Creator. Therefore God has from the beginning called people to come out of the kingdom … Continue reading Simple and Complete – God’s plan for the church
Leadership in the church
Three words are commonly used in the New Testament to describe leaders in the church: diakonos (servant or minister), episkopos (overseer or bishop) and presbuteros (elder). A careful reading shows that these words do not denote different offices in the church, but different areas of responsibility for the same person. Neither is there any sense … Continue reading Leadership in the church
Meekness
Meekness rhymes with weakness; modern English dictionaries defines it with words that sound like weakness. That is not what the Bible means by meekness. Meekness is a strength of character that is neither an inherited personality trait nor the work of the human will, but solely a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is an … Continue reading Meekness
