Consider this

            Sometimes a short verse says a lot.   A good example of that is James 3:18 which says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness”.   Those ten little words have a lot to say.             For instance, consider the words “peacemakers” and “sow”.   Both of these words are active.   We are not just to be “peacekeepers” (one who preserves something that already exists), but “peacemakers” (one who creates conditions where peaceful relationships flourish).   Now these words are important because of the difficulty of the action.   It is easier to just think about yourself and what you want, but we are called to do more than that.   We are to be people who invest in others.   With that in mind, now consider the words “raise” and “harvest”.    Both of these words imply something that is lon...

            In order to be successful in most areas of life, whether playing a game, paying your taxes, driving down the street or baking a cake, it is necessary know the rules and how things work.            That principle is on display at the start of the Exodus.     As God begins to lead his people, he makes sure that they have the “baseline knowledge” that they need.   In fact, he communicates it to them in two ways:   First he shows them and then he tells them.              The showing part is one of my favourite stories. “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites… Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.   So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and M...

              Some weeks in your life live on forever in your memory, either because they were so great or so bad.  Without going into detail, let me just say that I will remember last week for a long time, but not because it was good.  That, then, brings up an interesting question for people of faith:  “What do you do when life is hard?”                     Some people throw in the towel.  Their thinking seems to be, “I have been faithful and God has not protected me.  Therefore, either God is not there at all, or if he is there he is mean and uncaring”.  That thinking, though, rests on an assumption that God’s only purpose is to cater to our wants and desires as if he is somehow our “Holy Butler”.  What if that is wrong?  Maybe (as we see with our own kids) being “overprotective” is the worst ...

            I saw a cartoon last which in which a couple is talking to a preacher and the wife says, “If you promise that he won’t have to say anything, sing anything or give anything, Harvey is ready to become a member of the church”.   That might be funny if it was not so true.   Many people, it seems, think that their spiritual life consists of showing up, sitting through a service and then going home.   Put in your hour per week and you have been faithful.   Unfortunately, that simply does not work.              Some things in life are only learned by doing.   You can read all kinds of books about driving a car, but you will not be able to handle stopping on an icy road until you get behind the wheel and do it a few times.   You can read all the romance novels you want, but you will not know what dating is really like until you go on...

            The book of Mark is the shortest and possibly the oldest of the gospel records.   In fact, most of what Mark records can be found in Matthew, Luke or John.   However, Mark does include a few unique details and phrases.   One of the most beautiful of which can be found in his account of the resurrection.             On that Sunday morning, when the women reached Jesus’ empty tomb, they met a young man dressed in a white robe (presumably an angel) and he said, “Don’t be alarmed.   You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.   He has risen!   He is not here.   See the place where they laid him”.    Then comes one of the nicest, two word phrases in all of scripture: “But go, tell his disciples AND PETER” (Mark 16:6-7).                ...

              Jesus is in the temple courts when the religious leaders bring a woman to him and say, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.   In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.   Now what do you say?” (John 8:5).   They do this because they think that they can trap Jesus.   If he says, “She should be killed” then, not only would some of his followers be outraged, but so would the Romans who ruled the land.   They were the only ones who had the power to execute anyone.   However, if Jesus says, “Let her go”, then the Jewish people would accuse him of not following the law of God.   Jesus, though, avoids the trap by doing something completely unexpected. “Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger” (Verse 6).   People often ask, “What did he write on the ground?”, but I think that is wrong question (As an aside, we are never tol...

Moses was in a tough position.  In one ear, he had the voice of God telling him to lead the Israelites.  In the other, he could hear the whining, complaining and grumbling of a group of people who were not exactly ideal followers.  Moses was tired of being in the middle and he needed some help.          Have you ever felt like that?  Have you ever come to a place in your faith where you thought, “I can’t do this anymore”?   If so, keep reading, because Moses has a solution.       Now, if I am Moses, I know what I would do.  I would ask for some assurance that things are going to be ok.  I would ask to see God’s road map for my journey, or maybe I would want to look over his plan (in full detail).  At the very least, I would want to know, before I took one more step, how it was all going to end.   Moses, interestingly, asks for something quite different. ...