Sometimes God seems far away Have you noticed that even when we’ve made the decision to put our trust fully in God, there are still times when things go wrong and God seems far away? Remember the last time the storm rolled in and hit you head on. Maybe it was a frightening doctor’s report, a lost [...]
I was out in the village yesterday, sitting on a mat on the floor of the church structure, when the young man who was teaching started reading from the book of Matthew. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn [...]
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. - 2 Thessalonians 3:5 I spent almost two decades in Asia where haggling for a good price was a sport. I loved the thrill of going back and forth with the shopkeeper until I wore them down and I was walking away with a [...]
You’ve probably read the story of Hannah in the Bible (see 1 Samuel chapter 1). Hannah was a woman who struggled with perseverance not only physically, but emotionally as well. The Bible tells us God had closed her womb. Her husband Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah, who in turn had several children. This meant that [...]
Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians I love the book of Philippians! It is full of encouragement and exhortation for our daily lives. What makes it such an exceptional epistle, in my view, is that when Paul wrote this letter it was from his prison cell where conditions were dismal and he was deprived [...]
Read 1 Samuel chapter 1 so that you can better follow this story. Some background to Hannah's story Hannah was in a polygamous marriage. Her husband, Elkanah, had two wives, although Hannah was his favourite. However, in a society that valued a woman’s ability to bear children almost above all else, Hannah was childless. This [...]
I live on the Prairies in a little town in Ellendale, North Dakota, USA. Winter can be a brutal season with biting cold winds that slap you in the face at 50mph. But, whenever I see flocks of snow geese heading northward towards the Canadian tundra, I know that spring is on the heels of [...]
Read the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, John the Baptist's parents (Luke 1) Elizabeth was a relative of Mary's, but was many years older than her. She had never had a child, the greatest desire of her heart, in an age when there was a social stigma attached to infertility. We know that she and [...]
