Consider this

                A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine, whom I will call “Shady Shane” (because that is what I always call him) and another guy won the 50/50 draw at the Bruins hockey game.   When they won, they shouted, laughed and then took off to claim their prize.                 Four nights later, Shane texted me and said, “I am in front of your house.   Meet me at the door.   I have something for you”.   When I opened the door, Shane was standing there with a card in his hand and he said, “I wanted you to have this!”   I took the card, opened it and found some money inside. Right away, I said to him, “Shady, I don’t want your money!   I will keep the card.   That is really nice, but I don’t need the cash!”   He insisted!   I argued with him a little more, but when it became clear that he was not taking the money back, I thanke

                Author Philip Yancey tells the story of a friend of his who decided to go for an evening swim in a lake near his cottage.   As the man swam along, fog enveloped the lake.   Unable to see any landmarks, the man turned around and began to swim back to shore.   Soon, though, he wondered if he was going exactly the right way, so he turned a little to his right and kept swimming.   A few minutes later, he began to panic.   He had no idea which way to go.   Swimming the wrong way in the fog and in the dark on a large lake could end badly, so, in an effort to calm himself, he floated on his back and caught his breath.   Then he began swimming again.   This went on for more than a half an hour until the man was completely lost.   He knew that the shore existed.   He knew it was real.   He just was not sure that he was ever going to f

                You are worse than you think you are.                 Most people react to that statement in one of three ways.   First, they will argue and say, “That is not true!   I am a good parent!   I give to the food bank!   I help my neighbour!   I am a good person!”   Another reaction is to make excuses such as, “If I had more time, I would do more good things!”   Lastly, they may compare themselves to others and say, “I may not be perfect, but I am better than him!”                 If they are really being honest, though, most people know that the statement is true.   Deep down, past all the things that make me look good, I know that I am too angry, too greedy, too envious, too fearful, too materialistic, too… (fill in the blank).   Even the best of us have corners of our lives that need to be swept out and cleaned up.                 It may not surprise you, then, that one of the messages of the Bible is that we are not good enough.   In fact, the theme of the entir

                Churches like things they can count:   attendance, baptisms, money.   While those numbers may give some indication of how we are doing, let me offer you another way to measure spiritual health and success.   In Colossians 4:7, Paul describes his friend Tychicus by saying that he is, “A dear brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant”.                 Tychicus was not Paul’s blood brother, but he was a brother none-the-less.   Relationships like that should be a mark of the church.   They are valuable because they allow us to practice our new life together.   When the early church is described, we find that the believers ate together, encouraged and taught one another, shared what they had, looked after each other and added in any who wanted to join them (Acts 2 and 4).   A successful church fosters deep relationships.