Throughout the Bible there is a promise of rest for the people of God, typified by the seventh day when God rested from His labours. The Bible tells us that after Joshua led the people of God into the promised land they had rest from all their enemies round about (Joshua 23:1). However, the book … Continue reading Restless Christians
conversion
Verla’s first prayer
Verla didn’t know what to think when a group of Mennonites came to sing for her husband. Neither did they for that matter; they did not know the people in this house. However, someone had suggested they sing for this dying man and so they did. Verla and the children stayed in another room until … Continue reading Verla’s first prayer
Time is NOT on my side
Minister Isaac Akinyombo of Nigeria, while preaching in a Canadian congregation, told the story of a lady in his country that got converted and wanted to be part of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. There was a little problem, however: she intended to dance at her mother's funeral and she was told that … Continue reading Time is NOT on my side
Conversion
In recent years we have been hearing a teaching that goes something like this: the new birth can happen in an instant, but conversion is the work of a lifetime. This bizarre statement has left me puzzled about how one can reconcile it with the Scriptures. In Acts 15:3, we are told that as Paul … Continue reading Conversion
The impossibility of the missionary’s task
We have this delightful mythology of the middle class white Christian who goes to some “dark heathen land” to preach the gospel and finds people who respond to the message with enthusiasm. He reports large numbers of conversions and baptisms, he establishes churches and all is wonderful. This mythology is fed by missionary hymns and … Continue reading The impossibility of the missionary’s task
Beware of empty religion
A universalist preacher, a gifted speaker, was holding meetings in a certain town and many came to hear him. At the close of the last meeting he asked if they wished him to come back every week to hold services. No one responded. Finally he asked if anyone objected to him coming back. Again there … Continue reading Beware of empty religion
Where have all the doctrines gone?
There were three churches in the town where I grew up. The doctrinal position of each was well understood and inflexible; none of them would have been considered evangelical. About the time I began high school, an itinerant evangelist held meetings in a rented hall and people’s hearts were sufficiently stirred that a Baptist congregation … Continue reading Where have all the doctrines gone?
Christian celebrities
Can someone please tell me how it is a validation of the saving grace of Jesus Christ to extol well-known public figures who are Christians as testimonial evidence? What does it do to the public’s perception of Christianity when these people stumble? It’s not that it is impossible for people in the public eye, such … Continue reading Christian celebrities
Why do young people today look so weird?
I remember when duck tail haircuts were all the rage among teenage boys. I even remember wearing a duck tail. For readers younger than 65, a duck tail required hair long enough to be combed straight back and then parted vertically down the back of the head. It required a lot of Brylcreem to keep … Continue reading Why do young people today look so weird?
Heat: physical and spiritual
We are sweltering in a heat wave here, with temperatures up to 32° with a humidex of 35°. (That translates into 90° & 95° for those still using Fahrenheit.) I realize that many readers might even consider those temperatures cool for this time of year. But I live in Saskatchewan where we haven't had a … Continue reading Heat: physical and spiritual
Flatlander Faith 