Salvogesis

Do you ever get the idea that God is trying to tell you something? There might be something He is trying to teach me about Exodus 17:1-7. In a span of a couple of days, we read Exodus 17 in our family devotions, it was the text at a service we went to at the Gospel Hall, it showed up in my personal devotions, and was referenced in the lectionary when I was looking for texts to preach on the other week. With all of these hints I thought I should spend some time reflecting on this passage this week; so that is what we are doing today. And, if I had any lingering doubts this morning, 7 years ago today I saw in my Facebook memories that I congratulated a friend on preaching a great sermon on these exact verses!    The people are grumbling about God to Moses in Chapter 17 because they have nothing to drink. And In Chapter 16, they were grumbling about God to Moses because they had nothing to eat – Is God a waiter to bring them food and drink? Or is God the cook and Moses the waiter and

This poster means very much to me. It was given to me by Remi, a colleague here at The Salvation Army. Remi has taught me much about Nuu-Chah-Nulth culture, tradition, government, and some vocabulary (if only I can remember the words!); he is a friend! On Ash Wednesday this year, the Tseshaht First Nation released the preliminary findings about the  residential school that was on their territory.  It is very sad. Everyday since, as before, as I enter my office and as I sit at my desk, I see the painting by Roy Henry Vickers with the words 'Haalapi Hawit' (Creator) written underneath.  'Haalapi Hawit' (Creator) went to the cross for us. The tears in this picture remind me how sad He must be for the way we have treated each other in residential schools and elsewhere and how sad He must be at the way we continue to treat each other today.  'Haalapi Hawit' (Creator) died and rose again so that we could be reconciled to 'Haalapi Hawit' (Creator) and to one an

Matthew 18:15-20 is an important pericope. The context of Jesus’ words here is very important. It follows Jesus’ encouragement to us that he will leave even the many who are doing well enough to help out the one who isn’t, and it precedes his encouragement to forgive people forever and for always. Matthew 18:15-20 talks about the church and how we are to get along with each other and it can also be extended to how we should operate in the world at large.   Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister [ adelphos : fellow Christian] sins, [ hamartanō : misses the mark] go and point out their fault, [ elencho : help them feel conviction] just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” Paraphrase: If someone does something wrong by accident or design, kindly help them see their error in private. If they understand and are willing to chat, the matter is solved.   Believe it or not, you will probably have a disagreement with someone sometime. Believe it or not, you