A hundred years ago, thousands volunteered to ship out to England to fight Germany. Canada was strongly loyal to Britain, and this motivated many. Loyalty motivates people to do noble things.
One characteristic of loyalty today is its absence. Marriages suffer without it; communities crumble when industry goes elsewhere; the church weakens when it is absent. But friendships thrive when loyalty exists, and dedicated families are secure and happy. Continue reading
Peace seems impossible these days. We see a world without it on the news every night. Hatred and violence seem to rule in so many places. One conflict settles down and then another flares up overnight. Even in “peaceful” countries, people can feel a lack of it inside themselves.
Yet the New Testament speaks of peace and claims that anyone can have it. This elusive quality is not so elusive after all. Romans 5:1-4 tells us “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” then goes on to talk about experiencing tribulations. This means we can have peace even when we experience troubles. How is this possible? We find the answer in Philippians 4:6-7. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Continue reading
Recently the Toront
o Star reported that every 44th person living in Toronto is a millionaire. The city boasts the 15th highest concentration of millionaires in the world. While this is impressive to us, I wonder what the Lord would say about it? Continue reading
Tabitha is not remembered because she was raised from the dead(Acts 9). She is celebrated in this statement, “…this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did” (v36). By it she helped convert many in Joppa.
A country may have great buildings and famous attractions, but it’s not worth living in if it lacks kindness. Last year it was reported that there is an epidemic of meanness in our society. Many people seem to go out of their way to hurt and humiliate others. It was the same in ancient Israel, and it disgusted God. Through Micah He said they must learn to “do justice and to love kindness” (Mic.6:8).
Think back and remember the times in your life when people were kind to you when your behavior demonstrated you were hardly worth it. That’s what God did for us through Jesus Christ. In Titus 3:3 we’re reminded that we were once busy “spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” Then something happened that changed everything. “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared…” (v4). Kindness is what motivated God to send us a Saviour. And now we are to love kindness. “Put on a heart of compassion and kindness” (Col.3:12). Put away meanness, learn to practice kindness, and live the way Jesus did when He was in this mean old world. He was kind to people – even on the cross. It saved the world. How will you treat people this week?
– Tim Johnson
It’s the height of summer in Barrie. The temperatures are warm, many are away on vacation, barbeques are roasting away in back yards, and there’s another big festival at the waterfront. With all the bad news in the world, it’s good to have a few days to think of nicer things. The well-worn phrase is true, “the living is easy.” We Canadians put up with cold, messy weather most of the year and the living is tough. And when times are tough we learn, grow stronger, and become more patient. We think we’d like warm, easy weather all year long; but if we did we’d find ourselves weak in many ways. Continue reading