Jerusalem had been destroyed and the Jewish people carried away as captives to Babylon. There were prophets among them telling them that God was soon going to set things right, punish the horrible people of Babylon and bring them back to their own land. Jeremiah sent a letter to the Jews in Babylon, saying essentially, … Continue reading Can there be peace in Babylon?
forgiveness
Raised eyebrow Christians
I was going to write supercilious, but that's just a fancy latin word meaning raised eyebrows. So I decided to speak plain English. There was a time in my mid-twenties when I was quite sure that everyone who claimed to be born again thought they were better than anyone else. Then there came a time … Continue reading Raised eyebrow Christians
Miserable comforters are ye all
“I have been hurt more by Christians than by non-believers.” This was said, not so much as a complaint but as a simple statement of fact, by a friend with whom my wife and I were visiting the other day. This lady has many heartaches and struggles in her past and I don't doubt her … Continue reading Miserable comforters are ye all
And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment
Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus came to Bethany and was invited to a meal in the home of Simon, a man whom He had healed of leprosy. To get the full story of the event, we need to put together the accounts found in Matthew 26, Mark 14 and John 12. Lazarus, whom Jesus had … Continue reading And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment
Three cats in the house
We are two elderly people and three cats in a fairly small house, and it is winter. All five of us spend much more time inside these four walls than we would if the weather outside were more clement. This makes for some conflicts. We provide nice cushions for our cats, plus two recliners and … Continue reading Three cats in the house
Disconnected
We don't have a furnace in our mobile home. Where it once was, there is now a heat exchanger that takes heat from a hot water line that comes from our neighbour's coal-fired boiler. A furnace fan mounted above the heat exchanger sends warm air through the duct work to heat the house. A few … Continue reading Disconnected
That ye may be healed
My wife's elderly cousin has been in Saskatoon a couple of days. This morning we went into the city and Chris spent a couple of hours with her. This cousin had two sons with her first husband, then divorced him. She married again, had four daughters, then divorced again. She loves her sons; she does … Continue reading That ye may be healed
The healing power of forgiveness
There is a great peace that comes over us when God forgives our sins, a release from the load of guilt that we have been carrying and a soothing of the pangs of conscience. Yet we tend to soon forget the caveat that comes with this peace: " But if ye forgive not men their … Continue reading The healing power of forgiveness
The Father himself loves you
My father was a man with high principles and good intentions, but a short fuse. And when he blew up, he would stay angry for days while my mother and I tip-toed around to avoid further aggravating him. He was never physically violent, but the verbal abuse was just as damaging. It happened again one … Continue reading The Father himself loves you
Prayer
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). How can we know if our prayers are effectual? How can we know if they avail anything? How can we know if they are fervent enough? Daniel Whedon, in his commentary, considers that the original Greek words translated "effectual fervent prayer" denotes prayer … Continue reading Prayer
