When I was a teenager, I use to watch Saturday Night Live quite often. One of the memorable skits on the show featured the character Chico Escuela. He was a retired baseball player from the Dominican Republic who used to play for the New York Mets. He had a classic line which he said often […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
Blog
Last weekend to celebrate the closing of the season bookstore that I ran I took a group of my staff out to Lone Star restaurant. While there we discovered something interesting about their waitstaff. According to our waitress, none of the staff use their real name. It’s company policy to either make up another name, or get creative and use something fun, like Thumper.
That was the name our waitress gave herself. Thumper, as in, Bambi’s Thumper.
As you celebrate the excitement and the promise of a NEW YEAR, here are some tips to help you get in the swing of things!
1. BE HOPEFUL AND LOVING: I love the hopefulness of a NEW year! It brings the chance for a do over and the opportunity to work on improving certain things: I will eat healthier, I will exercise more!! How about adding: “I will spend more time with the people I care about putting them first before work, commitments and other “good” things.”
The hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations are underway. Gifts to be bought and wrapped. Cookies to be made and decorated. Trimming the Christmas tree, stocking up on food, food, food for the endless meals and get togethers. Santa seems to be everywhere: in the stores, at the malls, on the streets. Children line up for a chance to see Santa and ask for those precious gifts that they are waiting for ALL year long.
Yet…
Where is the line to see Jesus?
Are we taking the time to tell the greatest story ever told? Teaching our children and grandchildren that a child was born in Bethlehem so very long ago?
The long-time captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Jean Beliveau, passed away last week at the age of 83. There is no professional athlete I have respected more than this man. He was grace in motion on the ice, and just as gracious off the ice. He has his name on the Stanley Cup 17 times, […]
In the New Testament Book of Hebrews, in the eleventh chapter, we have a catalogue of several Old Testament heroes of the faith. It is interesting to note that 7 of these Hall of Famers come from the Book of Genesis: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. These 7 represent a thread line […]
I’ve been challenged recently through reading a number of books about our place as God’s people in the online space. The internet has sort of taken us all by surprise. It caught us off guard and many churches – ours included – have been sluggish to utilize this powerful tool for Gods kingdom. While there […]
In the last 4 months we have been doing a Bible Study in Sunday School through the Book of Revelation. I have found it personally rewarding, but it has also been a difficult study. Trying to interpret Revelation is difficult, especially Revelation 6-18. I have read where some Bible commentators have said that when they […]
When the Apostle Paul wrote his Letter to the Philippians, he was in jail. Even though he was fettered in chains, the grace and power of the Gospel was still being ministered through the Apostle. Palace guard officials were being witnessed to by the imprisoned Paul (Phil. 1:12,17). In addition, Christian brothers and sisters, outside […]
In my early years as a Christian, I read many books on prayer by such spiritual giants as Arthur Mathews (“Born for Battle”) and E.M.Bounds (“Power Through Prayer”). I think I was naive to think that I could become an effective prayer warrior on my own by simply reading these kinds of books and just becoming more disciplined in my life.
These things are obviously helpful. But they also reveal a very individualistic way of looking at prayer, spirituality and discipleship. In the Christian Scriptures, learning to pray and practising prayer in a corporate context is also very important.