Consider this

                  The first words of the Bible are, “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1).   If that is all the Bible ever said, it would be enough.   Ultimately, spirituality comes down to, “Do you believe that there is something bigger than us and more to our lives than what we see every day?”                   The next word in that verse is important too.   It says that God “created”.   In fact, Genesis asserts that God created everything that we see around us including the heavens and the earth, light and dark, land and sea until, finally, he created humans in his own image (verse 26) “male and female” (verse 27).               ...

                In 2004, British actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman decided to ride their motorcycles from London to New York City.   They documented the entire thing and then created a show that they called “Long Way Round”.   Interestingly, the program contained very little footage detailing their ride across Europe or North America.   Instead, it focused on their struggle to cross Mongolia and eastern Russia, which was the most difficult part of their journey.   Several times, they considered quitting or skipping particularly tough sections, but then refused.   They knew that, for the journey to be complete, they had to ride all of it.   The destination was important, but so too was how they got there.   In the end, because of w...

                No one does everything that the Bible commands them to do.   This has nothing to do with being sinful (though, of course, our sinfulness does cause us to fall short at times), rather it has to do with how we interact with scripture.                 For example, Romans 16:16 says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss”.   I do not know anyone who does this.   In fact, in our day and age, uninvited kissing may get you charged with harassment.   Therefore, we have changed this command so that it includes a “holy handshake”.                 Sometimes we follow scriptural examples to the letter of the law and other times we ignor...

                If you are job hunting in the future, do not be surprised if you are asked to submit two resumes: a traditional one that lists your accomplishments and a second one that lists your failures.   To a society that spends a lot of time bragging about itself, a resume of mistakes may seem like a silly idea, but we usually learn a lot more from failure than we do from success.   As well, the ability to deal with disappointment and to adapt to unfavourable circumstances is a valuable skill-set.   Therefore, employers are wanting to hear about a person’s full range of experience, rather than just the shiny, cleaned up versions of themselves that show up on the traditional resumes.                 That sort of thinking and honestly would go a long way to helping the church as well.    Unfortunately, a quick...

              Many children’s sports teams no longer keep score during their games because they do not want to end up with “winners” and a “losers”.   While I understand what they are trying to do, the reality is that, at some point, everyone must face the fact that life is not always fair and even. Some get more and some get less.                 The question then becomes, “If God is so good, why doesn’t he make sure everyone is treated the same?   Why is life unfair?”                   I certainly do not have all the answers, but let me give you two thoughts that may help you to at least see this unfairness in a different light.                   First, things are uneven bec...

                When I was twelve years old, a story began circulating around my hometown of Moose Jaw about a group called “The Cult”.   This group had apparently sacrificed some cats in some sort of ritual and the rumour was that they were going to something even worse.   Soon, “Cult” graffiti and symbols started appearing all over town.   It was all we talked about on the playground at school.                One night during that time, I went to movie with a bunch of guys from school.   My assumption was that after the show we would all walk home together.   However, as it turned out, everyone else had something else going on, which meant that I had to walk more than a mile home, at ten o’clock at night, by myself.                 Soon, I s...

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).   I like this little prayer because it teaches us five important facts.                 First, it says that our God is a “God of hope”.   I love that description!   We do not serve a God that is out to get us or out to make our lives miserable.   We serve a God who is defined by hope.   Therefore, there is no reason to despair or give up, because anything can happen.   Nothing is hopeless if God is involved. Next, this passage tells us that Christians ought to be filled with all joy and peace.   If your Christian walk is making you miserable or negative, then you are doing something wrong.    Note the word “filled” as well.   Joy and peace are not qualities that we have in small measure.   Rather, ...