“Must I be carried to the skies on flow’ry beds of ease?” asked Isaac Watts many years ago. Well, nowadays that seems to be exactly what we expect Christian life to be like. Is it any wonder that so many folks find Christian life to be boring and unfulfilling? Jesus didn’t promise “flow’ry beds of … Continue reading This is war
“They feared the LORD and served their own gods”
The title comes from 2 Kings 17:33 and describes the people of Samaria during the time of their subjection to the king of Assyria. We shake our heads in disbelief, wondering how those long ago people could have been so blind. What were they thinking? Let’s take a closer look; who was the LORD and … Continue reading “They feared the LORD and served their own gods”
Thomas Jefferson’s Miscalculation
When the War of 1812 began, the US government assumed that the Canadian colonies to the north would quickly grasp the opportunity to throw off British colonial rule and become part of the USA. Thomas Jefferson declared that Canada could be acquired simply by marching North. It probably seemed a logical assumption. The colonies of … Continue reading Thomas Jefferson’s Miscalculation
Father Goose
I was working outside this afternoon, putting our water hoses away for the season and listening to the chatter of Canada geese from a pond about a half mile away. I couldn’t see the pond from ground level, there is a railway line between here and there that is built up high enough to block … Continue reading Father Goose
How Thomas Edison invented himself out of a job
Thomas Edison was almost a Canadian. The Edison family originally lived in New Jersey but came to Nova Scotia, Canada as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American Revolution. A later generation moved to Vienna, Ontario and were involved in the War of 1812 in defending Canada against attempted invasions from the USA. … Continue reading How Thomas Edison invented himself out of a job
Evangelical hubris
[The following paragraphs are quoted from Less Than Conquerors: How Evangelicals Entered the Twentieth Century, by Douglas W. Frank, copyright 1986 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.] I suspect that the wildfire growth of premillennialism in the decades after the Civil War really represented a bold move on the part of evangelicals to recapture their … Continue reading Evangelical hubris
Evils of the Dispensational Viewpoint
[The following paragraphs are quoted from The Reign of Christ by Charles Ewing Brown, copyright 1948 by the Gospel Trumpet Company.] This view ministers to spiritual pride. People who vaunt themselves on understanding the dispensations often look down with contempt on other Christians, charging them with ignorance and incompetence in properly dividing the Bible. If … Continue reading Evils of the Dispensational Viewpoint
Dispensationalism Begins to Unravel
My new Christian friends said that they believed the Bible spoke of only one return of our Lord, at the time of the resurrection and the last judgement. I was shocked at first, but then those niggling little doubts grew louder and louder. Isn’t that what the Scriptures appear to say, after all? “And this … Continue reading Dispensationalism Begins to Unravel
Thanksgiving
The book of Leviticus describes three major festivals for which every adult male was to be present in Jerusalem. The first was the Passover, observed the fourteenth day of the first month, roughly equivalent to April in the Julian calendar. This was a celebration of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Grain was seeded in … Continue reading Thanksgiving
My Introduction to Bible Prophecy
One Sunday in the fall of 1971, it was announced to the congregation of the Mennonite Church in Carman, Manitoba that bishop D.D. Klassen would be leading a Bible study on prophecy over the winter months. I was a new Christian and of course I wanted to learn more about the Bible. Thus, each Wednesday … Continue reading My Introduction to Bible Prophecy
