To be a disciple

The Great Commission tells Christians to make disciples from all nations. In practice though, it seems many evangelical efforts have thought it sufficient to get a profession of faith from new believers, to make converts. That’s only a beginning. If I stop at being converted, I am not sufficiently rooted and grounded in the faith … Continue reading To be a disciple

Lord of All

By divine appointment, Peter was called to initiate the propagation of the gospel to the Gentiles. The divine nature of the appointment was unmistakable to both Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius was the captain, or centurion of a band of 100 soldiers, a century. In the Roman army, six centuries made a cohort and ten cohorts … Continue reading Lord of All

Silence like cancer

The fire, the wind, the earthquake beat upon the mountain like hammer blows. Elijah knew God did not speak like that. After all was silent, he heard a gentle voice. It was so soft that he could not discern the words; he went to the mouth of the cave to hear better. God spoke to … Continue reading Silence like cancer

The second coming – of Karl Marx

Perhaps the best way to describe Karl Marx’s ideology is to call it the atheistic version of John Nelson Darby’s millennial doctrine. Marx foresaw a time of class warfare causing chaos and upheavals (a great tribulation) before a worldwide reign of peace (the millennium). Marxism delivered on the great tribulation, historians estimate the deaths caused … Continue reading The second coming – of Karl Marx

My home and native land

I am Canadian by birth. I am part of this country and its people; this country and its people are part of me. The history and culture of Canada are an integral part of who I am. I have lived and worked in five of Canada’s ten provinces and visited three more; I am at … Continue reading My home and native land

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. We often focus on harvest and food on this day. This year we have been getting a little rain and snow every week that interrupts harvest, then it warms up and dries up and harvest resumes till the next precipitation.  So our congregation is delaying our thanksgiving supper for … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving

Seeking peace

I am a perfectionist. What that means is that most of the time my own imperfections are all but invisible to me while other people's imperfections are highly visible.  Then, every once in a while I get to see how far I am from what I intended to be. That makes me realize that I … Continue reading Seeking peace

Saved: for what?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20 My natural tendency is to think that I have been delivered from the power of sin and death so that I, and my family, may one day have a home in heaven. … Continue reading Saved: for what?

Love is for giving

Love is the first-mentioned characteristic of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is given to us freely and abundantly, as long as we keep on giving it away, freely and abundantly. But if we feel that smiles, thank you’s and kind words are too precious to be squandered unless we receive them first from … Continue reading Love is for giving

What does the future hold?

“We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday and prepare our schools for what no one knows yet.” - Margaret Mead In a world that is changing in bewildering ways and at bewildering speed, a statement like the above appears at first glance to make … Continue reading What does the future hold?