Consider this

            My office has south facing windows that allow light to shine in on a big bookshelf that is behind my desk.   Some of my books have been sitting on that shelf since June 4, 1990, the day that I moved to Estevan.               Last week I grabbed an old college textbook off that shelf and noticed that while the front cover of the book was still the same bright and brilliant red that it was when it was first published, the spine was almost white.   In fact, the colour had faded so much that the title was barely visible.   Now this change did not come quickly. Had I taken that book off the shelf after a week, you would not have been able to see any difference at all.   After a year or two, you may have started to notice some fading.   However, after twenty-five years of the sun shining on it almost every day, the change is obvious.   Exposure over a long period of time has an effect.             I believe that is one of the reasons that Timothy was told to stay with the ch

            Misao Okawa, the world’s oldest person, celebrated her 117 th birthday last week.   When asked for her thoughts about living that long, Okawa replied, “It seemed rather short!”             That should not be surprising though.   James 4:14 says, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”.   Job tells us that we are like flowers that spring up and then wither away, or like shadows that do not endure (Job 14:2).   The fact is that whether we live to be 27, 77, or 117 years old, our lives seem to pass very quickly.               In light of this, some people try to make the most of their time by doing whatever makes them happy right now.   In that case, “Live your best life” usually translates into “Think mostly about yourself”.     However, scripture presents a different option.   It says, “Since time is short, why not spent it helping others?”             Paul demonstrated this alternate attitude to the Corinthian church when he said, “I will sp

            Talking about spiritual things does not make one spiritual.   That is one of the points that Jesus makes in the story that we call “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37).             The story goes that a man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he is beaten, robbed and left for dead at the side of the road.   Soon, a priest comes upon the scene.   Now remember that this is a “parable”.   It is a story that is told to make a point, so that fact that Jesus chooses to say that a priest is the first on the scene is significant.   Priests knew the scriptures and talked about them a great deal.   However, this priest does nothing to help the man.               Next, a Levite comes down the road.   Levites were helpers in the temple at Jerusalem.   They spent their days doing religious things and talking about God.   However, the Levite did nothing to help the man.             Finally, a man from Samaria comes by, sees the man and helps him.   He puts bandages on his