The Bible is filled with ideas. Some ideas are beautiful, others are challenging, some give us comfort, others bring a deep fear. But Christianity is so much bigger than ideas. I hope our journey through the Gospel of Matthew can convince you of that. We may be tempted to think that Jesus is all about … Read more
Just as our bodies need food, so our souls need spiritual food. Without it, we will become malnourished and very weak. We will be open to every temptation and we will not be able to do the work God calls us to do. So, where do we find this spiritual food? In the Holy Bible, … Read more
We are called by Christ to be disciples. A disciple not only knows or believes in the Rabbi’s teaching, but follows it. As Christians we follow the teaching of Jesus. Jesus’ words to his disciples in the 14th chapter of Luke are striking. He tells his disciples to count the cost of following their master … Read more
One of the hardest truths for some people is to accept is that there is absolutely nothing we can do to win our salvation. No matter how generous you can be or how honest or compassionate anyone can be, for sure it is never enough. God the Almighty is Holy and His standard is perfect. … Read more
Last month my Bethel Banner article dealt with Jesus words at the end of Matthew 6. Today we are going to look at the verses that precede it. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples not to worry. These verses echoed through my mind on our recent LAMP VBS Trip to Cat Lake, Ontario. Since … Read more
Mammonaholic? What’s that? What’s Mammon in the first place? We usually think of Mammon as “riches,” and that’s quite true. However, Mammon is much broader than that. Mammon is the misuse of God’s good creation through prideful expressions of power, prestige and possessions. In essence, Mammon is the power of Satan in and among us. … Read more
In the midst of the Lord’s prayer are these familiar words. “Give us this day our daily bread.” They remind us that we are dependent on God for everything and He is the giver of every blessing. “Every good gift and perfect gift is from above and came down from the Father of Light”. James … Read more
Jesus spoke often of the “Kingdom of God”. One of the most famous verses about the kingdom is in Matthew where Jesus says “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. In this section, Jesus is telling the people not to worry about the daily … Read more
We are so easily insulted. We take offense at the smallest of things. We use the word “hurt” for our feelings as much as we do for bodily injury. Our automatic response to being insulted, offended or hurt is almost always self-defense. We must defend our pride. We must not let them get the upper … Read more
The cause is worthy and we must succeed. The enemy is powerful and enjoys a great numerical advantage. We hold the key to victory which no one can take away, yet we often succumb to the enemy, key in hand, without ever using it. I appeal to you today to join the resistance. Who are we resisting? … Read more