Council Fire

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11 (NIV) Have you ever been flat broke? There’ve been a few times I’ve been there, and it’s not a real enjoyable place to be. At the other end of that gamut is having more than enough, which is a whole lot more comfortable and easier to appreciate! The Apostle Paul, like most of...

“When I fall, I shall arise.” Micah 7:8b (KJV) It doesn’t take courage to run the race you know you will win. It takes courage to run the race you know you can’t win. When my daughter, Storm, was in school she joined the track team. She was small for her age and she had asthma. She would enter every event and she always came in last . . . and not just “last,” but sometimes minutes behind the winne...

“Jesus said, ‘Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ ” Matthew 19:14 (NASB) I can remember when a certain woman came to me. She was very distraught. She told me that her grandson had just been born, and she had been told to go find a priest to baptize her grandson, or else he would go to hell. I told her that, as a pas...

“The chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, the Roman Governor, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews,” but, “He said I am the King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’ ” John 19:21-22 (NKJV) When asked, “Why do you believe in the white man’s God?” by those who reject Christianity, many if not most Native/Indigenous Christians may feel a level of discomfort. Th...

“Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” Psalm 86:1 (NIV) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) The God of the Bible is a God of love, mercy and justice. I gave up trying to understand God a long time ago because His ways are far higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Both my wife and I came to know Christ in 1979...

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) When my father passed away in 2019, it was the first time in my parents’ 57 years of marriage that my mother would be alone. We had assured my father not to worry, that my four brothers and one sister and I would take care of her. We we...

“YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NIV, caps my own) Time has a way of changing things—well, not everything, but some things. One of the things that sometimes needs to change is the way we do ministry. I remember back in the early 1980s, reading some of the writings of NEFC Founder, Tom Francis, and his successor, Joseph J...

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 (NIV) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NIV) We once had trophies lined up in our house from accomplishments, and we were especially recognized and known for the sport of volleyball. One day, as I was sitting there looking at those trophies, I...

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV) Our Ladies Bible study is really bolstering my faith and how I see myself as a born-again believer. I admit the enemy was gaining in holding me down. It has been difficult these past two years as I age, and physical problems persist. Yet I r...

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struc...

“Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” Genesis 37:3-4 (KJV, clarification added) We see that Jacob practiced favoritism. This show of affection for one boy from...

“But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Jonah 1:3 (NKJV) A few years ago at our Kikino Family Bible Camp, one of our dogs was sniffing in a small white garbage bag, and his head got caught in the handle. He to...

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of diffi culty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fi re of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2 (NLT) I was watching a news report this morning about an earthquake in Asia. It wasn’t as bad as some earthquakes, but it got me thinking about the “storms” we all...

“Honor thy father and mother; which is the fi rst commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3 (KJV) The Bible is full of God’s wonderful promises for us to obey and reap His blessings. Exodus 20:12 is another scripture that instructs us to honor our parents—with a similar promise. For the most part, it was natural for me to love...

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 (KJV) I remember when I fi rst came to Jesus. I was 16 years old and didn’t have a clue of how to follow the Lord! Over the years I learned many things about living for Jesus. I want to share with you the three biggest things that have helped me grow in my walk. (...

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 40:28a (NIV) Do you ever feel tired or a little dizzy? It might have something to do with our space travels. We ride on a spinning planet, traveling over 24,000 miles each day (at the equator) at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour. At the same time, we journey around our sun for a year...

“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NKJV) How do we know if a person is fi lled with God’s Holy Spirit? What should we look for? We cannot see the way God sees, and we may not come to a proper conclusion. However, God does give us wise counsel. We are to look at the fruits of his or her life. Gala...

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NIV) I have found there are many people who are not living for today. That includes me, at times. The enemy would love for us to live either in the past or in the future. It is so easy to live in the past, and we could be living with much regret . . . “If only I did...

“For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:13-14 (NKJV) King David, who wrote this psalm, was overwhelmed by God’s awesome creation in the womb. God knew everything about David. In Psalm 139:1-12, scripture indicates that God knew everything t...

“The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19(NIV) The power was off here at our country home for a few hours this morning. No lights, no coffee, no phone charger, no Calgary News on TV (no TV!), no heat, no nothing! The obvious solution? Drive 30km to the nearest town for breakfast, hang around and wait for the...