Fifty years ago, I was the manager of a country grain elevator in a small Saskatchewan town. It was a very small town, the only businesses were two grain elevators, two service stations, and a small building containing the town's café, general store and post office. Bill Alcock, an eighty year old retired farmer, lived … Continue reading Temperance
Holy Spirit
Don’t second guess your repentance
To repent is to rethink, or change your mind. In religious terms, repentance toward God means to reconsider the way you have been living, ask God to forgive you and resolve to live differently with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is a complete change in a person's way of thinking and is not … Continue reading Don’t second guess your repentance
Joy to the world
Angelic messages surrounding the birth of Jesus: To Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-19): And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto … Continue reading Joy to the world
Problem or blessing?
At 10 a.m. last Sunday morning half of our congregation was seated in the pews. The song leader rose, walked to the mike and announced the first song. Then he stood there patiently as the other half of the congregation walked in and were shown to their seats. (We don't use musical instruments in our … Continue reading Problem or blessing?
Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets
The words of the title are taken from the eleventh chapter of Numbers. Moses had complained that he was not able to bear the load of leading and caring for all the people who were with him in the wilderness. God instructed him to bring seventy elders of the people to the tabernacle and there … Continue reading Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets
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
The Logos
Why do we have four gospels? Wouldn't it be enough to tell the story once? Evidently Matthew, Mark, Luke and John didn't think so and the early church agreed that they all merited a place in the Holy Scriptures. Some skeptics have claimed to find discrepancies and disagreements in the accounts, but these all disappear … Continue reading The Logos
Is Christian humilty the same thing as stoicism or zen buddhism?
Consider the following: "Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to feel no trouble, never be fretted, or vexed, or irritated, or sore, or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when … Continue reading Is Christian humilty the same thing as stoicism or zen buddhism?
Slaying the beast within
A year and a half ago, a young man who had served a sentence for armed robbery appeared in court to explain that he had learned his lesson. He said that he had learned that he needed to stop and think before doing something and consider the consequences. "I have learned to tell the difference … Continue reading Slaying the beast within
I didn’t get the message
Way back when I was still single, some time before 1970, I was living alone in a little Saskatchewan town and running a grain elevator. Well, I wasn't completely alone — there was a cat sharing the house with me. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that there would have to … Continue reading I didn’t get the message
Flatlander Faith 