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 wa...

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 ...

This has been a tough week or two. I am so thankful for DHQ and THQ support. These past couple of weeks we have been working on budgets. I am so thankful for Oxana, who works at headquarters, she has been doing an amazing job coordinating our budget because – as you may know – it is more complicated than ever before as we may be officially folding the Bread of Life into The Salvation Army and we have a new contract with BC Housing to provide a shelter for 25 people in the Bread of Life building and we have a lot of renovations, and we still have all of our other departments to budget for, as well.   We have also had a risk management assessment this week – this is an audit of sorts – and I am sure we have a lot to work on when we receive the completed report. All this work will actually be a good head start because this coming year we will need to be accredited because of our shelter – I am very thankful for all the help Terri Thompson from THQ is offering through this process. ...

The Beatitudes, which we are looking at today, is Jesus’ introduction to his most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon He tells us that we are now citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and, as such, we will interact with the world in a whole new way, even while we are still living and working in Canada or wherever we happen to be.   The word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin word for blessing which makes sense since each line of the beatitudes begins with, ‘blessed is so and so…” Now, of course, the word ‘blessed’ can mean ‘happy’, ‘at peace’, ‘experiencing well-being’ or even ‘saved’. This is what is available to us even here and now as Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.   This is important: By ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, we don’t mean what it will be like ‘when you die and go to heaven’; this passage speaks very clearly that these blessing occur here on earth. It says the meek will inherit the earth (v. 5) and further on in this sermon Jesus speaks about marria...

I can remember when I was in my late teens: I was a janitor. I worked in a lot of high security buildings and so I needed a high security rating. One of the reasons I needed the extra special RCMP clearance was because one of the buildings I was asked to cover when regular janitor was away was the CSIS building   When I first had my RCMP clearance done, it was quite something. I was just a teenager and in my interview they asked me what I did twenty years ago, I responded ‘nothing’ – ‘I’m only 18. I thought it was funny – the police officer interviewing me didn’t. They asked me how come I haven’t held a job for 5 years or more – I reminded them that I am only 18 and smiled – they didn’t. This interview went on for an hour or so and then they fingerprinted me and also interviewed two of my friends for character  references , one by telephone and one in person. In speaking with them afterwards, it was really quite an in-depth interview and because of this I really began to have ...

Romans 8:24 “…Hope that is seen is no hope at all; who hopes for what they already have?” We have just had Christmas. Many children (and adults) hope for gifts. Many of us hope that family will be able to visit us over the holidays or that we will be able to visit them. Officers often hope for a day or two off on boxing day or shortly thereafter. We also hope that we will raise enough funds on the kettles; we hope that we will be able to provide for the communities for which we are responsible. In the myriad things we do at Christmas time and all year long we hope that we are able to provide comfort and support for those in need. Hope is what drives us. Hope is what helps us continue. Hope is what gives us strength. I know there were a few days during the Christmas campaign where I myself was very down. I was not all that hopeful. First I was sick, then life and circumstances arose and I was so down that people could tell just from my body language and my voice as I spoke in normal c...