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
Bible
Heart Health
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities have been telling us that elderly people are most in danger from the virus. Mortality counts appear to bear that out. However, studies of the data are refining that message, showing that heart health is the critical factor in whether or not one survives an attack … Continue reading Heart Health
Are you a deist or a theist?
If you are a deist, you believe: - that there must be a higher power because this complex world could not just have happened; - that there are moral lessons in the Bible that will help us to find happiness; - that the Bible as a whole is mysterious and confusing and better left alone; … Continue reading Are you a deist or a theist?
Getting from survival to revival
I trust that most of us have coped well during this time of enforced hibernation. Now spring has come, nature is alive once more and we want to be too. What now? Do we go back to the way things were before our hibernation? Is that even possible? What is normal going to look like … Continue reading Getting from survival to revival
Written in the earth
An interesting detail in the account of the woman taken in adultery told in chapter 8 of the gospel of John is that it is twice mentioned that Jesus wrote on the ground. This appears to have some connection with the fact that the woman’s accusers left one by one, from the oldest to the … Continue reading Written in the earth
The dark side of the Protestant work ethic
In 1905 German sociologist published what many called the most important sociological work of the 20th century: Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus. The book was later translated into English and published in 1930 as: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. His thesis was that because of the teaching of predestination, … Continue reading The dark side of the Protestant work ethic
A time of testing
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; namely, five lords … Continue reading A time of testing
The Pride of Man
Fifty-five years ago I bought Gordon Lightfoot's first LP record. Most of the songs were ones he wrote. One, The Pride of Man, was written by Hamilton Camp. The song is based on Biblical prophecies of the fall of Babylon. Every stanza ends with the line “Oh God, the pride of man, broken in the … Continue reading The Pride of Man
Pray for all God’s children
There is an epidemic sweeping the world that no one dares mention. Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher and theologian, wrote The Technological Society in 1964. In the book he describes how technology has supplanted the church and the Bible as the ultimate source of truth. Efficiency has become the sole moral absolute. There is no … Continue reading Pray for all God’s children
The pen of the wise
I begin every day by meeting God, first in His Word, then in prayer. My French Bible is on a shelf just above the computer monitor. Most often I read and hear gentle reminders of things I know, but which are always in need of reinforcement. The strength I receive from this quiet time helps … Continue reading The pen of the wise
Flatlander Faith 