Salvogesis

Peter tells us that as we obey God and the Truth, we will love one another truly and deeply. This is a result of being born again.   Grass doesn't live very long – especially during water restrictions in the summer or when it is covered by snow in some parts of this country. (That is good because it means we don't have to cut it, then.) Grass is fragile and dies. This is us. We – people – don't live very long, maybe 100 or so years. And maybe much less.  But Peter says that the Word of the Lord endures forever and that those of us who have been born again will be imperishable through the seed of that enduring Word. We will live forever.     We were like grass. Now we are like stones. As we come to Jesus, the living stone, we get built into his spiritual house. Peter says that Jesus is the stone that is rejected; he caused people to fall, but we will be built into a house around him that will stan...

Our Salvation, our inheritance is now in heaven but, in the end, it will come here. It reminds me of a 16-year-old whose dad promised her his fancy car, when she was old enough to drive. The daughter was very excited to turn 16. But even then she wasn’t ready to drive. She had to learn: take lessons, pass tests, practice driving. Even after she had turned 16 her dad was still holding the car for her until she was ready to drive. This is what it is like for us.  Maybe the resurrection was the promise that God would give us the car of our inheritance, which He is keeping in perfect condition for us in heaven’s garage until we are finally ready to receive it, drive it, care for it, love it, share it, and look after it.  From the time we are promised the car (and even from the time we turned 16) until we are able to drive it, we still need to walk; we still need to get rides from our parents and if we have older siblings or friends, our friends.  We still need to take the bus...

Heather was at Teen Camp last week. Just before that Susan, Heather and I were on holiday for a couple of weeks. We traveled through Cashe Creek, Prince George, Smithers, Quesnel, Merit, and other places. It was a lot of fun exploring our province. I was struck by how nice Smithers is. I was also struck by all the smoke with the fires going on. It was a good trip.    Our family has been on many good trips together. We went to The Salvation Army’s Boundless Celebrations in London years ago. We have visited Denmark, Susan and I have visited France, Susan and Sarah-Grace have been to Italy. We have been to Cuba as a family. We have been to the USA quite a bit – because it is so close.    We have noticed when we are traveling that many things have been accomplished by many people in all these different places. We like to stop and read plaques by the side of the road, visit museums, and look at monuments. It always strikes me when we visit the USA though that some of the ...

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.  We have been unpacking a lot of boxes lately as we have just moved to Burnaby after 8 years on the Island. Moving is a difficult time: saying goodbye to old friends even as you prepare to make new friends; trying to tie up loose ends at your current position and find out as much as you can about your new one; cleaning the house from top to bottom; and packing boxes.  This year as we moved, we moved for the first time without 2 of our 3 daughters. They have grown up. Some of their stuff is still with us; as is all of our stuff. After 8 years in one place, you collect a lot of stuff. As we packed and picked up each item we had to decide: do we want to bring this with us into our new life in our new home, in our new city. That is the same...

 When Sarah-Grace, one of my daughters, was five years old, she would ask us every night if we would read the Bible to her since at Sunday school the teacher sang with the children, “read your Bible, pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow …” She took this truth to heart her whole time growing up was faithful in reminding us to read her Bible.  Reading the Bible has also been very important to me since I was in elementary school. I personally have tried to read my Bible every day since I was ten or nine. I can’t imagine not reading my Bible regularly. It is exciting. It is transformative.  The very first doctrine of The Salvation Army states that “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.”  In Romans 1:16-17, Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...  For in the gos...

Today  is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is when we commemorate the Sunday before Jesus’ death. Jerusalem was occupied then, like it is now; now it is occupied by the Israelis, then it was occupied by the Romans. The Judeans in the first century didn’t like being occupied then any more than the Palestinians like it today. The Romans were harsh, not nearly as brutal as modern Israel, but harsh enough that the first century had their version of … (Remember the suicide bombers of the ‘70s and ‘80s?) …suicide bombers: the Sicarii (zealots), Judean terrorists / revolutionaries would walk into crowds with daggers looking for Romans to kill –. One of Jesus’ followers, Simon, was arguably a Sicarii or zealot.   Passover is the commemoration of ancient Israel’s birth as a nation. The Angel of Death passed over Egypt and the nations of Isreal and Judah were created through the Exodus. Passover, in the Roman period, was a time when many people of Judean descent descended upon Jerusalem. I ...

We have been reading through the Book of Daniel and thus far going through chapter by chapter. Therefore, if you have been to church over the previous five weeks you would have read and studied the first five and now 6 chapters with us.   The first four chapters were ultimately about King Nebuchadnezzar’s salvation and included a couple of dreams and the famous Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in the fiery furnace story. Last week there was one chapter dedicated to one of Nebuchadnezzar’s successors, King Belshazzar. We read the story of the writing on the wall and the fall of the Neo-Babylonian / Chaldean Empire. Also in Chapter 5 we are introduced to a new king – Daniel's third he served under, King Darius the Mede. Chapter 5:30-31: “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”   This is where today’s story picks up... but maybe we should have a sidebar first, before we read the chapter. I...

We had New Year’s when we were away. New Year’s is often a time of reviews or quizzes. Today I have a Bible memory quiz for us. I am going to read or recite a verse, and you tell me the reference. Let’s see how we do: 1.      For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (Jn 3:16) 2.      In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) 3.      But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) 4.      For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Ro 6:23) 5.      In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) 6.      The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Ps 23:1) 7. ...

  This has been a busy Christmas season – as are all Christmas seasons at The Salvation Army, We have had a few rookies this year- Dave, our Community Resources Director (food bank and Christmas Hampers) was brand new and so was Adam, our Kettle Coordinator, and others. Karyn, our intake worker, has had some serious health issues. The team did great pitching in, helping each other out. The need was up this year, like it seems to be every year and, of course, we have had a lot of other things to deal with this year as well   The beginning of the Christmas Season seemed a little bit like a Hallmark Christmas movie with all the drama involved: the Temporary Use Permit was a real show. We were led to believe that the area would be re-zoned and that the renewing the TUP was just ‘a matter of marching’, as the expression says.   Of course, we now know that that wasn’t true. Like on a Christmas special, it appeared that there was at least one ‘evil’ city councilor who was workin...