Feasting on Christmas Day has a long and noble tradition and one is at risk of being branded a heretic if he suggests it might not be necessary. Noble in that first sentence is meant to be taken literally – for many centuries it was only the nobility and the rich who could afford to … Continue reading Boxing Day musings
Jesus
Bean counters – part 2
André was a big man, six feet tall and weighing over 300 pounds. He had had a painful childhood, much of it spent in an orphanage, but in the orphanage he learned how to cook. This was the one marketable skill that he carried into adult life and he discovered that there were mining camps … Continue reading Bean counters – part 2
Lonely people
We had dinner the other day with a man, his newest girlfriend, his mother and his youngest son. This man works hard, is very well paid, and is using his money to try to fix his broken relationships. When he was a young man he married and two sons were born to him. He and … Continue reading Lonely people
Is there any hope?
So many people want to save humanity. What do we need to be saved from? Who really knows? Is it the one who talks the loudest? Why does that person tell us it is a crime to allow those who disagrees with him to talk about their ideas? Is there any hope? The Bible tells … Continue reading Is there any hope?
A living faith
I CAN NEITHER TEACH NOR LIVE BY THE FAITH OF OTHERS. I MUST LIVE BY MY OWN FAITH AS THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD HAS TAUGHT ME THROUGH HIS WORD. -MENNO SIMONS THE TITLE ITSELF (MENNONITES) HAS NO SAVING POWER, IT'S VALUE LIES ONLY IN THE FACT THAT MENNO'S TEACHING IS ENTIRELY IN ACCORD WITH … Continue reading A living faith
A parable about a parable
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. The words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 13:45-46 Renowned investigative reporter Ernest Digger has just returned from a trip to the Middle … Continue reading A parable about a parable
Jesus as agent provocateur
Doesn’t it appear that Jesus deliberately did things that he knew would provoke the Pharisees to reveal their lack of compassion? Jesus healed many people of their blindness; in some cases he touched their eyes, in other cases there was no physical contact, he simply declared them healed and they were. Why then did he … Continue reading Jesus as agent provocateur
Are we like oxen?
(My father broke land with oxen when he homesteaded in southern Saskatchewan a little more than 100 years ago.) Exodus 32:9 - And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people. Stiffnecked was originally used to describe oxen who would not lower their heads to permit … Continue reading Are we like oxen?
Blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Well, I have tried to keep myself pure. I read the Bible every day and hardly ever miss a church service. I have been married to the same woman for almost 47 years; it's been at least 45 years since the last time I … Continue reading Blessed are the pure in heart
Saved through childbearing
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety (1 Timothy 2:14-15). These are Christmas verses. Here is why. In verse 14 and the first part of verse 15, the Apostle Paul … Continue reading Saved through childbearing
Flatlander Faith 