It will soon be the beginning of a new year. A year that will bring rejoicing and grief, laughter and tears, good times and bad. Will it also mark the year that Christ will return? No one can know, because Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or...
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7) I dreamed it was the day of resurrection. My Mother and Father came up from the grave as I had known them but with a spirit of youthfulness and anticipation. They looked about them for their own...
"So, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'" (Heb. 3:15, Heb. 4:7, Heb. 3:7,8) Sounds like hide 'n seek, doesn't it? While you were still dashing to find a great hiding spot, the person who was "it" finished counting, and...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that first we must go through the Valley Gate where the trials and tribulations are allowed to uncover the rubbish; then the Dung Gate where the rubbish can be done away with. Next comes the Fountain Gate, the...
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree; as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door." (Matthew 24:32-33) Last summer, to my regret, the fig...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that the Horse Gate not only reminds us that we are all engaged daily in spiritual warfare, but it also reminds of the soon coming of Jesus Christ! We need to be prepared for both, and we can do so by putting on...
"Time is ours," said one Maniacal Cackle Frog to the other. "We have conquered time and we know all its secrets!" The Frog and his mate had found a clock on the outdoor wall and had taken refuge behind it. They observed that the sun came up and went down again...
Why do we laugh at hell? It’s a nervous laughter! Even in our humor, there is the underlying sense that it all might be true, after all. This joke is typical: The Pope, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts, (famous as a healing fundraiser) die unexpectedly. Saint Peter...
(Gum-boots is the Australian name for knee-high, waterproof boots.) We have a little barometer that keeps on saying rain is coming but the rain does not come. We are still inside a huge drought and the barometer is telling us what we badly want to hear and we consult...
We were sitting in the hall of the local Canadian Legion, patiently awaiting the verdict of the judges. It was hard not to assimilate the tension emitted by the 15 grade 7-9 students. Each one of these young people had just made a powerful public speech, and each one...