The Reality of Joy

The question that Paul seems to be trying to answer for most of this passage of scripture is, how Jewish do you have to be to be a Christian?  It was the question of whether or not Christians had to follow all of the Jewish regulations and guidelines was an ongoing debate throughout the New…

Oops is not Enough

Is it enough to acknowledge that you made a mistake if you aren’t willing to make it right? That doesn’t seem all that helpful. Before we left for our vacation, I contacted my cell phone provider, asking them to put a roaming package on my phone. It’s a good package, and I often use it when…

The Power of a Word

The power of a word. Recently, while travelling in Columbia, Angela and I had the opportunity to visit several cultural sites.  And I noticed their history displays spoke about the church coming to Columbia to evangelize the indigenous people.  Interesting.  In Canada, it is usually said that the church’s mission was to convert the indigenous…

The Unity of Love

The Unity of Love If nothing else, you need to love the sixties and seventies for their awesome sense of style. The band was “The Brotherhood of Man,” the year was 1970, and the message of the song was spelled out in its title “United we stand, divided we fall.” Interesting tidbit about the song,…

The Snowflake Crown

I thought it was a joke, but apparently not.Have you seen the newly updated crown on the Canadian Coat of Arms? It was just unveiled last week. It looks like an illustration from a fairy tale or a possible Disney offering, “The Snowflake King.”In an effort to modernize the design, and perhaps in an attempt…

Citizens of Heaven

Live as Citizens of Heaven Can you remember the last time you received a letter?  A letter, not an email but a letter? And not a letter from the CRA or your bank, but a personal letter. A letter from a friend, delivered in an envelope, with a stamp by Canada Post? Seriously, have you…

The Truth about Toasters.

Does the name Alan MacMasters ring a bell? It should. He invented the electric toaster.  It’s true.  He has been named as the inventor of the toaster in more than a dozen books.  Wikipedia credits him with the invention, along with articles published worldwide.  He was kind of a hero in his native Scotland, and…

Flattered or Offended

I didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. A while back, I received an e-mail from a preacher asking for my forgiveness.  And I wasn’t sure that he had done anything to me that I could forgive him for. Apparently, he had preached some of my messages and had passed them off as his…

Say What?

I was sitting in my office annex the other day and was listening to folks use Canada's third official language as they ordered double-doubles, triple singles and four-by-fours.  Which begs the question: is a coffee with four creams and four sugars still a coffee, or is it liquid candy? But again, I digress. As I…

Who’s Responsible?

A recent news story headline caught my attention the other day. It read, “Syphilis cases in babies skyrocket in Canada amid health-care failures.”And it made me go, hmmm?The article seemed to imply that the reason syphilis cases in babies were skyrocketing in Canada was our failing healthcare system.There was a time that escalating syphilis cases…