• The world is a mess. • Most of the mess was caused by people who thought they were mending it. • We are no wiser than they were. • We are not good people. • We can’t mend the world because it is made up of people just like us. • We need to … Continue reading The world is a mess
A faith worth dying for
Many of the Old Testament prophets died for the things they said. They were speaking the truth that God had revealed to them by His Spirit and the leaders of the people could not stand to hear that truth. So they killed the messengers of God thinking that would bring them peace. The Jewish leaders … Continue reading A faith worth dying for
The origins of the Waldensians
One thing that is clear is that there were Waldenses before Peter Waldo, thus it cannot be said that he founded the Waldensian movement, or church. Waldenses, Vaudois in French, means “people of the valleys,” referring to the valleys in the Alps which form the border between France and Italy. Peter Waldo, Pierre de Vaux … Continue reading The origins of the Waldensians
The Works of Antichrist
[From a Waldensian writing dating from the year 1120. The historical belief of the Anabaptist-Waldensian-Mennonite faith is that Antichrist refers to a counterfeit of Christ.] The first is that he perverts the worship properly due to God alone, by giving it to Antichrist himself and to his works, to the poor creature, rational or non … Continue reading The Works of Antichrist
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
Why I am a member of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
I was looking for a home—a family. An inner longing was pushing me to search for a church where there would be truth and warmth. Sometimes in my mind I thought I had found it, but that inner longing told me—No, this isn’t what you need. I met many good people along the way, picked … Continue reading Why I am a member of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
Quotes on life and writing
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it. -J. M. Barrie My little notebooks were beginnings — they were the ground into which … Continue reading Quotes on life and writing
You don’t know the wind
The title comes from a line in an art book published 25 years ago, titled If you’re not from the prairie . . . The art is by Henry Ripplinger and the poetic text by David Bouchard. Together they evoke childhood in rural Saskatchewan just as I remember it. Another line in the book says … Continue reading You don’t know the wind
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
Just open it and read
[First posted June 13, 2014] What is the best way to read the Bible? Just open it up and start reading. It’s that simple. I quit attending church when I left home. I had heard all the old familiar Bible stories that are taught in Sunday School. I had also absorbed a lot of contradictory teachings … Continue reading Just open it and read
Flatlander Faith 