Consider this

Last week, Oliver Edwards-Neil and Troels Hansen were flying a small airplane from Labrador to Iqaluit when the engine quit. They were able to land safely and then, before they had time to get anything out of it, the plane sank in the icy water. After spending all night on an ice floe in Hudson Straight just south of Baffin Island, they were finally rescued by a passing boat. The good news, though, was that they were wearing their survival suits at the time of the crash. “They did not land on an ice floe off of Bermuda, so it’s definitely because of their preparedness that they survived the event”, said Master Corporal Joe Arsenault, who was part of the search and rescue team. Being prepared long before the plane crashed made all the difference. In Luke 8, Jesus tells his disciples to get in a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they went, a storm broke out and things became so bad that the disciples thought that they were going to die. They woke Jesus

Over the years, I have been lots of concerts such as Sawyer Brown, Toby Keith, BNL and, maybe the best one, Keith Urban. From that list, it may sound like I am a country fan, but I am not. In fact, I am just a fan of “live music”. I really enjoy the various “Concerts for Saskatchewan” artists that come through town. I like piano recitals. I have even gone to hear jazz played live (and I generally hate jazz). There is just something about live music, regardless of the style, that is different from listening to the same song on a CD. In fact, often the concert version is not as technically well done, but there is an energy that you get when you hear a song performed live that cannot be reproduced on any recording. This past Sunday, I was reminded that the benefit of hearing something live is not limited to music. We had a guest speaker here and that meant, that for the first time in a long time, I got to sit and listen to someone present the word of God. To be honest, since I

Over the years, I have been lots of concerts such as Sawyer Brown, Toby Keith, BNL and, maybe the best one, Keith Urban. From that list, it may sound like I am a country fan, but I am not. In fact, I am just a fan of “live music”. I really enjoy the various “Concerts for Saskatchewan” artists that come through town. I like piano recitals. I have even gone to hear jazz played live (and I generally hate jazz). There is just something about live music, regardless of the style, that is different from listening to the same song on a CD. In fact, often the concert version is not as technically well done, but there is an energy that you get when you hear a song performed live that cannot be reproduced on any recording. This past Sunday, I was reminded that the benefit of hearing something live is not limited to music. We had a guest speaker here and that meant, that for the first time in a long time, I got to sit and listen to someone present the word of God. To be honest, since I

Writer Ann Lamott tells a story about a seven year old girl who got lost one day. As she ran up and down the streets of the big city where they lived, she could not find a single landmark that she recognized. Finally, a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car and they drove around until she finally saw her church building. She pointed it out to the policeman and said, "You can let me out now. This is my church and I can always find my way home from here". I have no idea whether that is a true story or not, but I like the picture it gives. The church (more accurately – not the building but the gathering of God's people) should be the place from which we can "find our way home". The church should be a place that locates us, helps us and points us in the right direction. Getting together with other Christians can also encourage us and help keep us going. Hebrews says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in th

Sara and I have recently made friends with a couple who have moved here from Germany and it has been interesting to see Canada through their eyes. Everything is different. The language, the food and even driving (You cannot go 300 km/h here as you can on the autobahn) are different. In some ways, even, our friends have become different people than they were. Living in a new country changes everything. Lately, I have been thinking that we need for a new word for “church”. One that better describes what we are about and what God wants for us. Did you know that “Kingdom” is the word that Jesus most often used when describing his people? As well, the phrases “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” are used at least 111 times in the New Testament. I like the idea of a “Kingdom” because it reminds me of some great truths. For example, obviously, a Kingdom has a King. The good news is that I am not in charge. God is the king and he is working things out in his kingdom even whe

Scott Wade, a friend of mine who preaches for the Church of Christ in Weyburn, wrote the following article. He makes such a great point that I just had to pass it on. ____ “For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:28) God was at work in the ministry of Peter and in the ministry of Paul. Are we sure about that? The Galatian churches seemed to be questioning whether or not God was at work in the ministry of Paul. This is why Paul says what he does in the above verse. God at work in a ministry dedicated to reaching Jews? Of course! But God at work in a ministry dedicated to reaching non Jews? Apparently they said “no”. Paul emphatically says “yes!” God is at work in a Jewish scholar, author of 1/3 of the New Testament, who is reaching out to Gentiles. And yes, God is at work in a Jewish fisherman who reaches out mainly to Jews. God is at work in two very di

In Luke 5, Peter and his fishing partners, James and John, have just come in from a night of work. They are cleaning their nets and getting ready to go home after a very unsuccessful night on the water. At that moment, Jesus comes along, gets into Peter’s boat and begins to teach a crowd of people who have gathered on the shore. When he is done, Jesus turns to Peter and says, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch” (verse 4). Peter does not want to go. He reminds Jesus that it is the wrong time of day, that they have been up all night and that they had not caught anything. He is not interesting is trying again. Peter then says something that changes everything: “But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (verse 5). Peter overcomes his complaints, his circumstances, and his lack of success and decides to do what Christ asks him to whether it makes sense or not. The result is that they catch so many fish that they almost sink both boats. After s

Luke 4:14-30 says, "Jesus went to his hometown and no one listened to him because they were too familiar with him”. That is my paraphrase anyway. The line that you may know from that section says, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown” (verse 24). In other words, when things are always there, it is easy to overlook them or take them for granted. One of the biggest challenges in life (I find anyway) is to keep looking at what you have instead of what you do not have. It takes some effort to see your blessings instead of your problems. In church this week, I asked people if they could see the blessing of their friendships and their families. Then I told them that I was going to give them 30 seconds to get up and say something nice to the people around them. When I said, "Go" everyone jumped up and it was one of the nicest things I had seen in a long time! People were laughing, talking, hugging and smiling. It was not something that I had planned to do, but it was

Bob Newhart once did a comedy piece for “Mad TV” in which he played a counselor who was giving advice to a young woman. After she described her problem to him, Newhart said, “Katherine I am going to say two words to you. I want you to take them from this office and incorporate them into your life. Are you ready? Here they are… STOP IT!” Each time she told him a new problem, his answer was to yell, “Stop it!” (The video is on the internet – Google it if you need a laugh). Now, on the surface, that seems to make sense. If you are doing something that you do not want to do anymore, then just stop it. However, it usually is not that easy. After all, if we could “stop it” on our own, we probably would have already. Too often, I think that the church sounds like Bob Newhart. Someone is struggling with a problem or a sin and some well-meaning preacher or church member encourages him or her to “stop it” or to “try harder”. Again, that sounds like good advice, but it is not

Have you seen a commercial that says something like “Better TV. Better Life”? I only saw it once, but I could not believe it. I know that advertising companies are paid to make you want new things, but this was a little ridiculous. Did they really believe that someone would say, “You know what would make my life better... a 52 inch plasma TV!” That sounds crazy right? Unfortunately, in our most honest moments, we likely have to admit that we think that way sometimes. Maybe we do not dream about big TVs, but what about big houses, new cars, “hot holidays” on Caribbean beaches or big banks accounts? Now, let me make clear that, in principle, I am not against us having these things. However, my point is that they can become a problem in at least a couple of ways. First, we make a mistake when we begin to think, “I will be happy when…” (you can fill in the blank). When we think about it, we know that new TVs and more stuff cannot make us happier or make our lives better.

A friend of mine named Sam had what was possibly the most unpopular booth of all at “Showcase” (our local trade show) this year. If you were there, I guarantee that you noticed it. Candy apple booth (Yum!)… Hot tubs (Fun!)… Jewelry (Interesting)… Big screen TV and Rider game (Coo1)… Funeral planning booth (Ugh!). Sam said that it was interesting to watch people’s reactions. While some people stopped to talk to him, many either avoided eye contact or avoided the booth altogether. Some joked, “I don’t need that yet” or “I sure don’t want to talk to you”. Part of the problem, I believe, is our society’s “arms length” attitude to death and dying. Think about the old days on the farm. People used to butcher their own animals. Now we purchase meat in vacuum packs. Death is no longer a visible part of our every day life. In the past, when a loved one died, the family prepared the body and hosted the funeral. My Grandma still remembers her dad’s funeral that was held in th

On the “Discovery Channel” last night, I watched an interview with Michael Collins, the third member of the Apollo 11 crew that landed the first man on the moon (the other two members, of course, being Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin). He shared many interesting reflections about that event, but one really stood out to me. I am paraphrasing here, but Collins said, “The one thing that I really remember is how often people used the word ‘we’ when they talked to us. They did not say, ‘Wow, you Americans did it!’ Instead, they said, ‘Wow, we did it!’ There was no ‘us’ and ‘them’. The walls were gone. Everywhere we went, England, France, Spain, Mexico, people talked about what ‘we’ as human beings had accomplished. And I really enjoyed that!” Collins went on to say that, unfortunately, the “we” attitude did not last very long. Soon, people were back to thinking about themselves, the walls went back up and life went back to “normal”. I liked Collins’ picture of a world t

On Saturday, Estevan Motor Speedway held its Second Annual “Faster Pastor” race and I could not wait! I grew up going to stock car races and I go to the speedway here every chance I get. Carl and Blair Hanson had called me earlier in the week to tell me that I could drive their car and that was good news because I knew that their car was well built and fast. It was going to be a good day! When it came time to race, though, there was a problem. Due to breakdowns in the previous races, there were more ministers than cars. As speedway officials ran around trying to round up enough rides, I heard something that made me stop and think. One of the guys turned to the officials and said, “I got to drive last year and my friend here didn’t. If it comes down to us not having enough cars, I will sit out and let him drive instead”. Now, let me make clear that this guy really enjoyed racing last year. In fact, he was probably as excited about trying it again as I was. Yet, instead

As a kid, I drank many cans of “Tang” orange flavored crystals. I loved this highly sugared, fake orange juice. Oddly enough, I hated real orange juice! I could not even stand to taste a drop of it, but I would drink “Tang” by the bucketful. Now that I am older, that has completely reversed. Now I like real orange juice and I cannot even recall the last time I drank a glass of “Tang”. It is sort of strange that anyone would prefer an imitation to the real thing, but it happens all the time. In fact, it happens all the time in Spiritual things. All you have to do is spend 10 minutes watching “Christian TV” or “Televangelists” to realize that. I cannot stand most of those programs, because I constantly want to argue with what they are saying. Some of it sounds true and right, but most of it is an artificial message created to sound like the real thing. In fact, the problem is so bad that now the real message of the Bible is the one that sounds strange and odd. We have

The tour guide had taken us a few hundred feet into the “Lewis and Clark Caverns” just outside Bozeman, Montana when she stopped and said, “This is what we call ‘Decision Rock’. It is called ‘Decision Rock’ because at this point you have to decide to go on with the rest of the tour, or you have to turn back. After this rock, there are no shortcuts out of the cave. If you go on from here, you are committed to going all the way to the end”. Decision Rock made me think about our faith. At some point, each of us comes to our own “Decision Rock” where we need to decide to stop “playing church”. It is easy to go in a little way, to just stand in the entrance of faith, but at some point we all have to decide, “Am I going to go forward with God, or am I going to turn around and go back?” The reality is that we cannot stand there forever. We have to make a decision. Jesus told the church in the city of Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot. I wish you were

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you… you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:28 and 30) she must had been expecting something good! Then Gabriel says, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” (ver 32). This is not exactly the news Mary would have been expecting. In fact, it is terrible news! How was she going to explain this? In those days, an unmarried woman who was expecting a child was to be put to death! Not to mention the fact that she had to explain that this child was going to be brought by the Holy Spirit (verse 35). All of this must have left Mary thinking, “How can this be God’s plan?” She would not, however, be the first one to ask that. Think about Noah building his great big boat, for years and years (Genesis 6). Do you think that maybe some of his neighbours thought that he had lo

On Saturday, my family went to the air show in Moose Jaw and it was great! To make things even better, most of my extended family and some other friends met us there too. All told, we had approximately 20 people in our entourage. What was not so great, though, was trying to move that big group without losing people along the way. We would start walking and someone would stop to look at an airplane. Then someone else would stop to get a souvenir. A little farther along, one of us would run into someone they knew and would stand there and talk for a while. There were just a lot of things distract us. Most of the time, distractions are not a big deal. However, a story from the life of Christ teaches that some distractions are much more serious. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's fee

“Lewis and Clark Caverns” is a huge limestone cave just outside of Bozeman, Montana. When we were there recently, a tour guide told us this story. When the cave was being developed for tourists, the government sent the “Civilian Conservation Corps” (CCC) to do the work. The CCC did not pay very well, so one young man came up with a plan to supplement his income. One Friday night, instead of leaving with his co-workers, this young man stayed in the cave. He planned to come out of his hiding place, collect some limestone, take it to town and sell it to the tourists. The only problem was that his candle, his only source of light, did not last as long as he had hoped. When it went out, he found himself in such darkness that he could not find his way out. In fact, he could not move at all. When his co-workers returned on Monday morning, they found the man still in the cave. Three days of being in total d

A while ago, I saw a couple of deer heads mounted on a wall. That is not that notable in this part of the world, but this pair was unique, because their horns were intertwined. Two bucks had been fighting and headbutting one another when they got their horns so tangled up that they could not free themselves. In fact, they were so strongly caught that one of the deer eventually died and then, finally, a hunter shot the other one. The mount on the wall was done in such a way so that those two bucks are still stuck together. Now, think about this: Had those two not been fighting or trying to prove that they were the strongest, they may still be alive today. However, because they decided to try to beat each other down, both of them ended up dead. In Galatians 5:26 comes to mind here. It says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another”. I am told that the word that is translated “provoki

A huge crack of thunder woke me up at 3:30 this morning. It was then that I realized that it was raining very hard. Several more flashes of lightening and a couple of more huge thunder rolls later, I realized something else: my youngest daughter was in bed with us. She does not like storms and when the thunder woke her up, she came to our room. After unsuccessfully trying to convince her to go back to her own bed, my wife, Sara, decided to left her crawl in beside her. When lightening lit up the sky again, my daughter jumped over Sara so that she could sleep between us and that is when I woke up. Now, we generally don’t let our kids sleep in our bed. In fact, I think it has happened only a handful of times, but there was something nice about it this time. The storm had not changed. In fact, if anything, it had become worse, but there was my daughter, no longer scared, sleeping like a baby between her parents. It mad

Life after death has always fascinated humankind. For example, “Christian Book Distributors”, an online bookstore, has more than 2813 books on its website that have to do with heaven, hell or life after death. From the Egyptians with their pyramids and mummies, to all the movies and books that our culture produces, we want to know what is to come. 1 Corinthians 15 gives us some answers, sort of anyway. In this chapter, we are told that life after death is real (verses 20-28). We are assured that our physical death will not be the end of us and that our Spirits will live on. “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (verses 51-52). Now, the Bible does not answer all our questions about death. For example, it never tells us where heaven will be, what our new heavenly bodies

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day made one huge mistake: one that is still being made. See if you can spot it in this passage about Jesus’ crucifixion. “In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others’, they said, ‘but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (Mark 15:31-32) Did you see it? The mistake is found in the phrase, “Let this Christ… come down… that we may see and believe”. The old phrase says that “seeing is believing” and that is exactly what the people of Christ’s day demanded. They wanted proof. They wanted to “see” before they “believed”. Unfortunately, God’s kingdom does not work that way. In fact, the Spiritual order is “believe and then see”. In John 11, when Jesus raises his friend Lazarus

When my girls were little, we forced them to read for at least 15 minutes every night. In fact, it was part of their homework for school. At the time, they did not necessarily like to read, because, like any new skill, it was difficult. If we had let them, they probably would have skipped their reading times altogether. Strangely enough, now that they are older, I often find my girls curled up on their beds reading! What happened there? How did reading go from something that we had to force them to do, to being something that they freely choose to do? Well, they found out how much fun reading is and how they can benefit from it. In short, they discovered the “joy of reading”. There is a tremendous difference in reading because you are forced to and reading because you want to and that difference has to do with “motivation”. They have stopped “reading” and have become “readers”. I believe that the

If you know anything from Psalm 118, if may be this verse, “This is the Day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (verse 24). I don’t know about you, but I sometimes need a reminder to “rejoice”. It can become very easy to focus on the things that are wrong or stressful in my life and sometimes I forget to see the good things. I have ruined many good days simply because I have not had the right focus. The question then is, “How do I rejoice in this day?” The rest of Psalm 118 gives us some good ideas. The first thing to notice is the phrase “Give thanks” (verse 1). Over the last few years, I have come to believe that thankfulness (or the lack thereof) is a “Spiritual indicator”. It shows that we know who is in charge and that we trust God to provide what we need. Next, the Psalm reminds us “His (God’s) love endures forever”. We need to get that picture in our mind because that is what God is like. He loves us forever. Verse 3 then says, “In my anguish

Here are two stories that made the news this week. First: A motorist in Montreal came across a car that had gone into the ditch and rolled. Fearing that someone was seriously injured, the passerby stopped his car and got out to offer assistance. When he did that, four people emerged from the rolled vehicle, ran up to the highway and stole his car. Second: On April 26, 2008, the Western Oregon women’s softball team was playing against Central Washington University. During the course of the game, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hit the first homerun of her college career. She was so excited that she missed touching first base, so her coach yelled for her to turn around. As Sara turned to go back, she blew out her right knee. Crying, she tried to crawl back to the base. Her teammates came to help her, but the umpires informed them that if they touched her, she would be called out. They also told them that if they

The church in the city of Corinth was a mess. People were fighting with one another. Some were taking others to court. Sin and dissension had crept in so far that they could not even agree on what their worship times should look like. They even fought during a friendly meal that they called “The love feast” (ironic huh?). It is no wonder then that as we read the letters that we call 1 and 2 Corinthians, we see the apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, trying to sort out one issue after another. The surprising part, though, is the problem that Paul deals with first. In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians chapter one, the name of Jesus is used ten times. In these verses, Paul reminds them that they have been “called by Christ” (verse 2) and they have received “grace” and “mercy” from Christ (verses 3 and 4). He underlines the fact that Jesus is the one who will keep them “strong to the end” and that he is the one who m

Over the years, people have often compared the Bible to a map or an instruction book, because it is something that gives you information and tells you how to get home. While I understand that, I have two problems with those analogies. First, maps and instruction books are boring! You only use them when you are lost or in trouble and you do not use them every day. Secondly, the Bible never calls itself a “map” or an “instruction book”. It does, however, give us some other, much more useful, pictures. 1. The Bible is a Light. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Lights are powerful. They allow us to see and understand what is around us and, strangely enough, they give us courage! My Grandparents used to live about four blocks from our house and the quickest way to get there was to cut through a cemetery. I was never scared of the cemetery in the daytime, but nighttime was a differ

It was supposed to be a day to remember and it was, for all the wrong reasons. Two 10-year-old best friends convinced their dads to take them to a soccer game at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The big attraction was soccer star David Beckham. The boys talked about the day, dreamt about it and even made a sign for Beckham. After the game, Beckham walked over to where the two boys were sitting, removed his jersey and threw it over the fence to them. Eric Kerr’s son was holding the sign and Wilfred Ho’s son who caught the jersey. That is where the trouble started. The Kerrs claim that Beckham saw the sign and intended their boy to have the jersey. The Hos claim that their son caught it, so it belongs to him. On April 10, the Hos received a letter from the Kerrs’ attorney demanding the return of the shirt. In turn, the Hos attorney responded that they were the rightful owners and that they were not giving the shir

My oldest daughter was just finishing swimming lessons when I walked up to the windows at the pool. Out on the diving board was a little boy, maybe 5 years old and he looked nervous. His instructor was in the water below the diving board encouraging him to jump. The long line of kids who were waiting for their turn on the diving board were telling him to jump. However, the little boy just stood there shaking. Over the years, I have seen many people in the same position in regards to their faith. They have read and studied themselves into the position where they have a decision to make. They have to decide whether to “jump” or not. Part of the problem here is that logic can only take you so far. I can argue for God’s existence from lots of different things, but I cannot prove that he exists. At least not in terms of being able to show him to you right now. At some point, the message of the gospel requires a leap of faith.

Have you ever experienced “Jet lag”? I have, once, on a trip to Israel . Our plane left Toronto at 6 am and, after 14 hours in the air, we landed just outside Tel Aviv at around 8 am their time. I had not slept on the plane (I did not want to miss anything) and so when we got on the tour bus that morning I was tired! One of my most vivid memories of that first day is simply trying to force my eyes open. As the bus rocked slowly back and forth down the road, the nice, warm sun shone in the window. To make matters worse, my friend Bill was sound asleep and snoring loudly. The first day of that trip was a bit of a blur for a while. It is hard to stay awake and alert when everything around you is encouraging you to relax and sleep through the important stuff. Unfortunately, I sometimes find myself going through life as if I am sitting on that bus. I am on the journey of a lifetime and yet I can hardly stay awake. My day

Old things can be valuable (no, I am not just saying that because I am starting to “get up there”). Take, for example, the old idea of “God’s grace”. By definition, “Grace” is “unmerited favor” or “unearned kindness” and it is one of the words that the New Testament writers frequently use when describing God. John 1:16 tells us that, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another”. A short list of those blessings would include things like forgiveness, salvation, new life, repentance, God’s love and Christ himself. In various scriptures, those concepts are tied to the word “grace”. Recovering that old concept of “God’s grace” changes how we see him. Our God is not out to get us, or exclude us. In fact, God’s gracious disposition is one of the best blessings that we have. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The “if” in that sentence could be translated “beca

When trying to understand a concept, sometimes a comparison or a visual can be very helpful. The inspired writers of the New Testament used that technique a great deal, especially when talking about the people of God. For example, Paul says that we are the “family” or the “household of God” (1 Timothy 3:15). A household in those days included everyone; mother, father, children, aunts, uncles, cousins and even those who worked for the family. It was a broad and inclusive idea. Everyone had a place and everyone belonged. Continuing that idea of belonging is the concept that we are “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12-20). Just as in our physical bodies, each part contributes to the whole and makes things better. In God’s kingdom, there are no unnecessary parts. Everyone has a place. Other word pictures stress the closeness that we have with God and his son. Revelation 19:7-9 tells us that we are “the bride of Christ

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows…Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9). This passage is often quoted to teach the importance of focusing on spiritual things, but I believe that these verses teach other lessons as well. For example, notice that effort is often required before the reward is seen. Oddly, many people seem to think that blessings should come without requiring anything from them beforehand. In reality, it does not work that way. In marriage counseling, couples are often told to “act as if you are in love”. Why? Well, when each person takes responsibility to “Go first” and to treat the other with love, then that attitude will likely grow in the relationship. However, if both sit back and wait for the other to treat them well, nothing good happens. This “Go first” principle applies in any rela

The Bible college I attended had a “Sunday morning dress code” (Guys had to wear a shirt and tie and the girls had to wear dresses or skirts). Considering the range of backgrounds and opinions about what constituted “acceptable attire”, the dress code was appropriate and necessary. Did you know that the Bible specifies a “Christian dress code” that applies, not just to Sunday morning, but every day of the week? As you may suspect, this dress code does not have to do with physical clothing. Instead, it is focused on our attitudes, actions and how we represent Christ. A quick tour through the New Testament yields an entire list of things that are to “Put on”. That list includes things like: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God, prayer, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love and a quiet spirit (see Ephesians 6:11-17; Colossians 3:12-14; 1 Peter 2-4). Fo

Here is a strange question for you: If Jesus dropped by and told you to do some very specific things, would you do them? I do not know what your response would be (I mean after you woke up from passing out at the sight of Jesus), but I do know this: The first time Jesus was here, he heard lots of excuses. Just for interest’s sake, I made an “Excuses tour” of gospels last week and noted every excuse that people used in order to get out of doing what they were asked to do. Some said that it was too difficult (Mark 10: 17-22). Others said that they would do it later (Luke 9:57-62). Others said “yes”, but later found reasons not to bother (Luke 14:16-20). One decided that his business was more important than listening to God (Luke 12:13-21). Still others wanted “just a little more proof” that Jesus was the Son of God (Mark 15:29-32). I could fill this whole article with excuses. Then John records that, “Many of his disciple

In grade 10, my high school basketball team won the city championship and it was a big deal. They had a big reception for us. We all got championship medals. Our picture was in the paper. In fact, our picture still hangs in the gym at Peacock High School in Moose Jaw . Now, guess how minutes I played in that championship game. The answer is “none”. I did not play a second (I was in grade 10 in a school of 800 + kids so I was not anywhere near being the best player), but I still got the medal. I celebrated on the court after the game. I can say that I was on the winning team. My teammates did all the work, but I was part of it. Believe it or not, that story is a good starting point for understanding the message of the Bible. Read these verses and see if you see the correlation. “He himself (Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteo