On Tuesday, newspapers around the world, including the Barrie Examiner, reported the opening of a new museum exhibition in Jerusalem of some ancient clay tablets written by Jews who were taken to Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Most Christians are very much aware of the Biblical accounts of their 70-year stay, as written by prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Apparently the hand-sized clay tablets were discovered in modern-day Iraq several years ago and have been carefully examined by archaeologists. Continue reading
Thought of the Week
Comforts of the Rich
Jesus was pretty hard on the rich. He sent the wealthy young ruler away feeling low (Mt.19:22). You’ll remember what He said about camels and the eye of a needle (v24). And in Luke 6:24 he warned, “Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.”
Since the New Testament later reveals that there were wealthy Christians we understand that it is not a sin to be rich. But the pursuit of wealth brings many troubles. In Jesus’ day the rich were generally ruthless, uncaring people; this is what Jesus spoke against. Continue reading
Blessed Are You When Men Hate You
This week the world once again witnessed the twisted combination of religion and hatred. Innocent lives were lost and many others felt threatened. The immediate reaction of the world was defiance.
Jesus warned us that we would sometimes be hated. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the son of Man.” (Lk.6:22) Hatred isn’t always violent; it can manifest itself by insults and giving people the cold shoulder. Nobody likes to be hated; we all want people to like us. But we can’t control what other people do. Sometimes hatred happens because people lump us together in their minds with abusive religions that have hurt them, or maybe people are simply afraid of what they don’t understand. Whatever the reasons, we need to expect that people will occasionally hate us. Continue reading
Blessed are the Poor
When Jesus first made this statement, the poor must have laughed. What blessing could possible come from poverty? In first century Judea, poverty was common. Jesus also mentioned hungry people, and those who mourn. Loss of life easily happened from manual labour accidents, disease and war. Families were left to face extreme hardships.
Poverty is still with us, even here in Canada. Stats Canada says there are about 3.2 million people living with low incomes, including 634,000 children. That’s roughly 10% of all Canadians. I’m sure poverty was much higher in Jesus’ day.
The Lord didn’t say the answer to poverty was simply to feed people, although He did do plenty of that. In Luke 6:20-21, He said the poor would be blessed because they could have the kingdom of heaven. Likewise the hungry would be satisfied, but not just with food. Sometimes people with great possessions can feel poor in spirit, hungry for deeper things to make life worthwhile, and certainly nobody is exempt from “weeping” over inevitable losses. There is more than one way to be poor.
The poor are blessed when they turn to Jesus and find forgiveness, acceptance, love, depth of spirit, and new lives to live. They gain the ability to laugh again in a hard world; to be satisfied deep inside instead of trying to buy it with money; and feel the solid ground on which to build a better life.
The poor and hungry need our help. But they need the real blessings that can only come from facing poverty of the soul. This is our work as His people.
– Tim Johnson
Families Count
We crave family this time of year. Many drive long distances to be with them. Turkey dinners are carefully laid out for relatives. Even broken families wish for better times and may attempt reconciliation. Loneliness can be profound when one has little family left. Some people have so much family to visit, they become exhausted.
Scripture applauds good families. In Joseph and Mary’s family we see a glimpse of togetherness during a special time. Luke 2:41-52 tells us how their extended family traveled together to Jerusalem for Passover. This would have been a happy time for each of them. When the 12-year old Jesus went missing, they assumed he was somewhere nearby with relatives. We can safely let down our guard around family. Continue reading