When we landed in Cambridge last August, Samuel had never ridden a bike without training wheels. It wasn’t a matter of ability, it was just opportunity. As far as I know there is no hereditary issue of bad balance in the family, still, this was going to be tough. We had no budget for a …
Bringing Life & Mission Into Line
...let us be aware of the need to place our lives and activities continually under the judgment of the Word of God. We cannot simply assume that we have the truth and that everything else, including our evangelization and our ethics, will just fall in line with that truth. The purpose of theology is not …
The Language of Dependence
The man, then, who refuses, or neglects to pray, who regards prayer not as a privilege, but as a wearisome and needless task, practically says, in the most unequivocal manner, I am not dependent on God; I want nothing that he can give; and therefore I will not come to him, nor ask any favor …
To Live is Christ?
What does “to live is Christ” mean? In the first-century Greco-Roman world, life was built on the concept of honour and shame. Seneca the Younger, who lived at the same time as the apostle Paul, highlights the importance of honour: “The one firm conviction from which we move to the proof of other points is …
Forever
There is a wonderful group of ladies from a church in the Scottish Highlands which has latched onto our family. One of them recently pointed us toward Psalm 111 as something she had been praying for us. It is a great Psalm. Christiane and I are reading it together as we begin each day of …
Consider the Strawberry…
My favorite thing about the strawberry is its voice. Here in New Brunswick, the rapidly-passing month of June has been doing its work of wilting the school year and ripening the strawberries. Our province is better known for its potatoes, but I would argue that our berries are second to none. There is cutthroat competition …
“Please Don’t Go to Africa and Preach the Gospel…”
Timothy Tennent is the President of Asbury Theological Seminary and Professor of World Christianity. His books and courses were helpful to us as we prepared for our workshop on the Global Church. Listen carefully to how he describes the situation in much of African Christianity: "The problem is, in terms of sheer money allocation and …
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Cardboard Fires and Colossians 3:16
You cannot cook on a cardboard fire. If you are going to cook, you need coals. I remember setting up gloriously useless cardboard fires when I was a kid. We would build a sort of cardboard city or castle, start the blaze in a corner, and enjoy the show. It was a spectacular but worthless …
How is Your Bible Reading Going?
How is your Bible reading going? We should ask each other this question. It helps because it draws out two central foundations for reading your Bible better. First, Bible reading is important, even more important than food. We will wither without hearing the words of God: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by …
How 9 Years in South Sudan Prepared Me for Step-Motherhood: Part 3
Moving into the Village When you go through training before serving overseas, you are told many things. Two of the most important are: be flexible and be an observer first. We are told these things because when entering a new system in a new country things are not going to go the way you think …
Continue reading How 9 Years in South Sudan Prepared Me for Step-Motherhood: Part 3
Too Small A Thing 