A consistent factor in the Christian biographies that I have read is a habit of regular, extended times of prayer. But this does not come easily. Most of us wish we lived closer to this ideal but more often find ourselves falling short of lofty goals. In The Christian in Complete Armour, William Gurnall (1616-1679) …
Category: Bible & Theology
Sing to God, For my Sake
I spent of lot of Sundays in 2019 preaching from Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (ESV) Christiane and I were visiting churches with the Global Church workshop …
You Are Not Erased
At the beginning of Willa Cather’s wonderful novel My Antonia, the young Jim Burden is pulled away from the life he has always known. His parents have both died and we join him on a train from Virginia to live with his grandparents in Nebraska. As Jim watches out the window, he finds that the “only …
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 …
Triumphing Over Them
There were obvious signs as Jesus died that his death was an event of massive proportion. Darkness fell like a curtain over the land. The curtain of the temple split from top to bottom, and the earth began to shake itself apart. These signs make it easier for us to see that the events of …
Christus Cadaver
As part of the Apostle’s Creed, we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ who was “crucified, dead and buried” but very rarely do we simply say: Jesus died. There is almost always a qualifying statement immediately attached. Jesus died for our sins. Jesus died and rose again. Jesus died to set His people free. Jesus died, …
