Consider this

                  Especially at this time of the year, most people are aware of the fact that God loved us so much that he sent his Son (See John 3:16-17).   It is important to know that God is a giver and that he took the first step to bring us back home.   What most people do not realize, though, is how God gives.   1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”   How does God give?   He gives lavishly.   His giving is over the top and more than we could possibly imagine.                   Luke 6:38 restates that idea when it says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”   God goes not give a little bit.   He

                  When Dianna Rasing woke up on November 21, 2016, she had no idea that her life was about to change.                 While swimming laps at the Pam Am pool that morning, she noticed that the left side of her body felt numb.   As she made her way to the side of the pool, lifeguard Andrea Orobko realized that Rasing was in distress and came to her aid.   Rasing was having a stroke and without Orobko’s help she would have been in big trouble.                 One year later, Rasing went back to the pool to meet the woman who had saved her life.   She gave Orobko a big hug, a package of lifesavers and a super hero card.   Each woman said that they had thought about the other one every day since the incident and each felt that they were somehow connected to one another even though they had not officially met until that moment

                For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go to Cape Canaveral, Florida and visit the “Kennedy Space Center”.   Last week, I got my chance. For an entire day, Sara and I wandered around marvelling over rockets, spacesuits and moon rocks.   It was incredible!                 The amazing thing about the space program is that it was built entirely on hope.   When John F. Kennedy made his famous speech stating that the United States was going to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, America had put a grand total of one astronaut into space.   In fact, that historic flight by Alan Shepherd was not even an orbital mission.   All he did was go up and come back down.   In other words, NASA had no plans, no hardware and no capability to do what the president said they were going to do.   All they had was the hope that

                Recently, the Estevan Motor Speedway crowned their track champions at their annual awards banquet.   One of the interesting stories of the night was that Joey Galloway won the Modified Division without winning a race.   Instead, the key to his success was consistency.   He just kept showing up and finishing in the top five every night.   While everyone wants to be the one holding the checkered flag at the end of the race night, Galloway proved that championships are built on steady performance over the long term.                 In a world that often focuses on the spectacular, it is good to remind ourselves that success usually comes from consistently doing ordinary, everyday tasks well.   Your kids may be impressed with your family vacation to Disneyland, but their lives will be shaped by how they are treated

                The term “early adopter” is applied to those who take to new ideas very quickly.                   I am not one of those people!   When I go out for breakfast, I order the same thing every time.   I have been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan my entire life.   Green has always been my favourite colour.   When I find something that I like, I stick with it.                 Speaking of favourites, did you know that most people have a favourite method for reading and understanding scripture?   Simply stated, we look for commands.   We like passages that tell us to do or think something, or to stop doing and thinking those things.   That is why most Christians like the book of James more than Revelation.   James is easy to understand and apply, while Revelation is not.                   There is nothing wrong with having

                  I do not like waiting.   I hate having to have patience.   I do not like not knowing.   Call me a control freak, but I want to fix things and make situations better.   Unfortunately, there are lots of events that are out of my control.       What do you do in those situations?                   If you have ever been to the circus, you have probably seen the trapeze artists.   A trapeze act is made up of two performers: a flyer and a catcher.   When the flyer is in air, he or she has only one job and that is to wait.   If the flyer panics, or starts thrashing around trying to catch the catcher, it is likely that things are not going to end well.   However, if the flyer remains calm and peaceful, the catcher can reach out, grab their arms and swing them back to safety.                 Often, my

                My wife, Sara, took up painting this past summer.   In the process, she noted that to paint something accurately you must see it differently.   She grew up on a farm and has seen thousands of dugouts and sloughs, but painting one requires a different vision.   “You have to notice things you did not notice before.   You need to see how the sun glints off the surface.   You must account for the way the reeds reflect in the water.   Seeing it is one thing, but to replicate it, you must look for the small details that make the entire picture”.                 A second look is often beneficial.   It is easy to assume that we know all that there is to know.   However, when we see past our commonly held assumptions, we find beauty that we had missed previously.                 Such is the case in Nehemiah chapter nine.  

                When was young, I was fascinated by Evel Knievel.   In fact, my brother and I often imitated him by building ramps and jumping our bikes off them.   There was only one problem.   After each new ramp was completed, someone had to be brave enough to give it a try to prove that the jump could be done without getting hurt.   “Who is going first?” was an important question.   Once someone showed that it was not that scary, then everyone would try it, but someone had to go first.                 Now that I am older, I am even more convinced that going first is a gift.   Here are two areas where it makes a huge difference.                 Go first with your mistakes.   We live in a world where people usually clean-up or cover up.   In other words, we work hard to hide our problems and pretend that they do not exist.   Unfortunately, d

                Sadly, summer is over!   I hope that you had a great time with things like camping, boating, road trips, concerts, reunions and weddings.   Summer is made for having fun and creating memories.                   Unfortunately, memories and good times have one inherent problem. Peter describes this issue by saying, “You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…” (1 Peter 1:18).   Notice the words “perishable” and “empty”.   Peter’s point is that temporary events cannot produce lasting joy.   Even the most expensive things that you have and your most wonderful memories will fade over time and leave you feeling empty and incomplete.                 For example, I love going to concerts!   However, as soon as the band sings the last song, some of the excitement of

               She had no right to be there.   After all, this gathering was for the religious and the elite of the town and she was neither of those things.   In fact, “sinner” was the word that most people used when describing her.                 Not only was she out of place at Simon the Pharisee’s house, but she also made a spectacle of herself. First, she went to the place where Jesus was seated, fell down behind him and began crying so loudly that everyone could hear her.   Then, unbelievably, she touched Jesus!   Women of that day did not even hold their husband’s hand in public, yet she fell on Jesus and poured expensive perfume on him!   Lastly, she did the unthinkable!   She wiped his feet with her hair.   Jewish women never let their hair down in public!   It was customary for a woman to bind her hair up

                A hammer is a simple tool, but it can be used to create elaborate structures.   Smiling is a simple act, but it can change interactions between people.   A simple rhyme can help us remember information such as, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”.   Simple words can convey deep and important concepts.                   Similarly, God’s message to us is not difficult to understand.   It does, however, have an impact that goes far beyond the simple wording.   Consider these three simple, but huge, statements.                 First, Jesus is Lord.   Jesus claimed that, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18) and Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).   If Jesus really is lord, then that changes how I live, what I do and how I treat others.   Who is the Lord?   Is it you or God?   Understanding who is in change changes everything.                 Second,

                  Though his name appears only three times in the New Testament, you ought to know Epaphras.   What is said of him is not only interesting, but instructive.                   For example, Colossians 4:12-13 says, “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.   I vouch for him that he is working hard for you”.                 The first thing to notice is that Epaphras is commended for his hard work in prayer for the church.   Sadly, I must admit that I do not always give prayer the attention it deserves.   I pray at the start or the end of meetings.   I may pray before a meal.   If something really worries me, I will pray about it, but what I need to understand is that prayer is no

                   “You are in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).                 These words are somewhat surprising because Jesus said them to the religious leaders of his day.   This should be a warning to all of us.   It is easy to be mislead and not understand what God is doing around us.   Fortunately, Jesus’ diagnosis of the problem also leads us to at least a couple of the solutions.                 First, he points out that they did not know the scriptures.   This is not abnormal.   In fact, when we become involved with a religious system, or when we find ourselves surrounded by other religious people, it is easy to simply follow along and do whatever is being done.   Many times, I have heard people say, “I do not know why we do that.   It is just what my church does”.   Traditions

                Life can be difficult.   Sometimes it seems that you just about get all the puzzle pieces in place and then something comes along and shakes everything up again.   There is always another problem or something more to worry about or sort out.   For those who feel this way, the Bible offers a one-word prescription:   Rejoice!                 Let me be perfectly clear: “Rejoice” does not mean “Be fake” or “deny reality”.   Pretending that nothing is wrong will not help anything.   Rejoice, though, is a reminder to focus on your blessings and not just your problems.                 Writing from prison, where he was unfairly locked up for doing good, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.   I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).   Note that this is a command.   It is not an optional, take it or leave it, sort

                  From the moment that God told Abraham to leave his home and follow him (Genesis 12:1-3), God’s people have understood that they are on a journey.                 That being true, the essential question becomes, “How are you making that journey?”   T here are two options: You can be a tourist or you can be a pilgrim.                   Tourists leave their real life behind for a little while so that they can visit another place.   Generally, they travel in groups and do not mix much with the local people.   They hit the highlights of various regions, but they do not really experience what it is like to live in that part of the world.                 For example, in 2001 a group of us from Estevan went to Israel. Despite all that we did and saw during those two weeks, I cannot say that I know what it is like to live in Israel.   I was in