Consider this

So, I turned 40 this past weekend! When I moved to Estevan 19 years ago, I remember looking at the guys who had a career, two or three kids and a minivan and thinking, “Wow, those guys are old!” Thinking about it now, they must have been in their early thirties at the time! They were just young pups really. Generally speaking, Sara and I do not make a big deal about birthdays. It seems a little odd to celebrate the fact that you were born on a certain day, doesn’t it? I mean, it is not like you had a choice in the matter. Nor is it really very special or unique (Everyone on the planet was born, so what is to celebrate?). We have parties for our kids, but she and I generally just get cards and a few small gifts. I figure that birthdays are not a big deal after the age of twenty or so. However, I did think a little more about this one and the big thought that went through my mind was, “If I live to be eighty, then I am already half dead!” I know that is not the happiest tho...

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…” (Ephesians 2:1-2a). Wow! That is strong language and it is a tough lesson to teach these days. In fact, it is almost impossible to talk about “right” and “wrong” in a world that hardly even believes those things exist anymore. We have been raised in a time that says, “You can do anything you want, as long as it does not hurt someone else”. “Sin” is even harder to talk about. As one writer states, “The only place most people see the word sin anymore is on a desert menu” (think “Sinful chocolate cake”). It is difficult to convince us that we are “sinners” in need of anything from God. Yet, what if that is true? What if our actions have separated us from God to the point that we are “Spiritually dead” (both now and in eternity)? What if we wanted to change that situation? How would we do that? Here, from this same passage, is the answer: “But beca...

“Alberta gambling revenue expected to outstrip oilsands royalties”. That was the headline on a CBC news story last week. The Minster in charge of Gambling explained that, “Alberta has a relatively young population and we have the highest wages in the country so there is more disposable income”. Think about that for a moment. They have the highest wages in the country and yet record numbers of people are gambling in an effort to try to get more. It is no secret that blessings can become problems when we misuse them or pay an inordinate amount of attention to them. Drugs, for example, can be medicinal and have helped to prolong our lifespan, but they can also be abused. Similarly, sex was created by God to be a beautiful thing between a husband and wife, yet our culture’s obsession with all things sexual has turned it into a problem for some and something that is considered “dirty” in general. In the same way, money can be used well or it can be badly misused. No one would arg...