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READY: What Jesus says about being his family at the end of the age.

  Whether you are a Christian or not, you have to admit that there is a lot of crazy stuff happening in our post-pandemic world: war, inflation, political unrest, and social tensions, and there is no shortage of conspiracy theories and conflicting warnings of impending doom and gloom.   Even so, as a Christian, I believe there is still great hope.  This moment in history certainly hasn't taken God by surprise.  It is all part of the bigger story of God's promise and plan to unite all things in Jesus Christ.  Yet, how my fellow Christians react to these things in so many different and contradictory ways often makes our times even more confusing.  Instead of a united force of hope, the church seems just as divided as the world around us.  How can anyone discern the best response when so many voices, divisions, and opposing opinions are being touted around as gospel truth?   What is the heart of Christ and his will for his people in these d...
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Handling God's Word Properly

  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15   We live in confusing times.  In our society, we are daily bombarded with information that claims to be accurate through television, radio, the internet, billboards, newspapers, magazines and more.  Throw in some  misinformation and a few conspiracy theroies and the 'information overload' is not only overwhelming but down right confusing.  The popular notion that truth is subjective, fluid, and ever-changing from situation to situation is an attractive concept when we are faced with so many claims of 'truth'.   Simply put, most people choose their truth from a buffet of 'true' claims that are often in stark contradiction of each other.  It is in the middle of this chaos that the followers of Jesus preach Jesus' claim that he is the way, the truth and the life. (...

Why Do Church As Family?

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.    -   Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV What is the big purpose of your earthly life now that you belong to Jesus Christ?  The New Testament reveals that God's explicit will for your life involves serving Christ by pursuing his way of life and joining him in making disciples.  All of which brings glory to his name. (Col 2:6-8, 5:17, Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:6-8) How are you going to do this? Well, that's the million-dollar questi...

The Gospel Is Attractive: By Charlotte E. Craig

I am grateful for the insights and gift of words God has blessed Charlotte with and the blessing she is to our family.   This short piece from her Instagram feed is a helpful reminder of the kind of 'countercultural' movement that characterized the early churches and turned the Roman Empire upside down.  There is s a great need for believers and churches to return to the way of Christ and his Apostles.       Something that has always struck me about the personhood of Jesus is how countercultural He is. Love your enemies. Forgive those who hurt you. Submit to governing authorities. Align yourself with the poor and oppressed. These are only a few of the controversial, yet beautiful teachings of Jesus. As followers of Christ, these are principles that we are called to mimic in our own lives. Yet, I find more and more that the focus of modern Western Christianity is to simply make being a Christian “look cool.” Not only does this come across a...

Not Today Satan!

Dear Lucifer, I know you want me to be worried about what's happening in our country.  I know you want me to join in the protest but quite frankly, vaccines and mandates do not threaten my freedom because my freedom is not dependent on hanging on to my personal rights.  I know you want me to feel like I'm losing control of my life but even under pandemic mandates I never lost control of my life.  The truth is I  gave it over to Jesus a long time ago so that it wouldn't be about me being in control anymore.  My sinful nature and stubborn independence are my worst enemies.  I know you want me to be afraid but I have no fear of dying from COVID nor of taking vaccines.  I'm not afraid over where things are going in our country either because    my God is way bigger than COVID and way better than the political agendas of both the left and the right.   The God I serve gave up his rights to hang with sinners and show them the way.  My...

The Gospel Has Two Shoes

  The Gospel has two shoes.  The church reformers of the sixteenth century were right when they insisted that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.   Yet the good news of the gospel is not only that we are saved by grace, but also that we are called by grace into Christ's plan for his church.  The pattern of teaching throughout the New Testament often referred to as 'the faith' or 'sound doctrine', lays out the basics for both our salvation and  for fulfilling our calling.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV) Christian faith is not merely mental assent to the facts about Jesus.   Just agreeing with the great truths of the gospel; is som...

Wearing a Mask for the Sake of the Gospel?

This week the city of Toronto, in response to COVID-19, made wearing a mask mandatory in any public building, no sooner did the bylaw go into effect and there were people protesting their rights and refusing to wear a mask.  This seems to be the typical response of a number of people, many of whom are Christians.  I can sympathize with the concerns about government restrictions yet I wonder if our response is really any different from those who have no knowledge of Christ.    I've been studying Luke chapter twenty and looking closely at how Jesus responds to the religious authorities who oppose him which has raised a couple of important questions:    How should followers of Jesus respond to the authorities in this world?   And how are we responding to God’s authority in our lives? The question the spies bring to Jesus in Luke 20:20-26 is meant to be an impossible question.  Should we pay taxes to Caesar?  (This question is very...