Given the propensity of computers to muck things up every so often, and their human operators even more so, I am so glad that we have a trustworthy and reliable Saviour. Both of the meditations I'm attaching today, both based on John 6 touch on the utter reliability of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am so very glad that we can have Him in our lives, if only we chose to accept Him and love Him

Trust God to look after us

Sticking with the Truth (In word and deed)

The Praises of God

As Christians, we are always torn between two polar opposites, especially when it comes to the future and to Jesus' predictions and warnings about it. Some people, like some of the folks I knew in Three Hills, Alberta, were fixated with the 'signs' of the future and trying to interpret them and second-guess what God was up to, so much so that they neglected their everyday responsibilities and the things that God had clearly told them to do. Others were uncaring and nonchalant about the whole business, acting as if life was going to continue on the same forever. "Nothing to worry about," was their adage.

Actually, Jesus charts a middle course. He wants us to be alert and aware, and especially ready, especially prepared for His coming. But He also advises us to be wise, to make the best of the time and opportunities that we have and to be faithful and diligent in the things that He clearly expects of us.

Anyway, enclosed find some of my thoughts on this most difficult subject.

Today's meditation underscores a message found all through the Scriptures, and that I have painfully discovered in my own life, namely that God is free to change our plans. It can come as a shock and a surprise, but that is precisely how He works, so really, we should expect it and even be ready for it.

I'm afraid that today's passage just reminds me of just how weak and tepid my faith is. And, this isn't even for something as 'extreme' or unusual or 'risky' as prayers for healing. One of my prayers is for the restoration and revival of the church--especially my local church--and, in this case, I fervently believe that it is God's purpose and will. And yet, even so, my prayers are pretty feeble. Now, do I need to 'walk' (figuratively, maybe) the 24 miles to Cana? Anyway, I hope your faith is stronger in this than mine.

The two meditations today and yesterday both have to do with Jesus' rather surprising, but crucial, encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well outside of Sychar, in what is now Palestine. It is surprising because proper, observant Jews normally had nothing to do with anyone of Samaritan ancestry. At best, they considered them heretics and apostates and were sometimes even at war with them. They basically 'wrote them off' as being unworthy of their attention or care. So, Jesus' action here is quite unusual. And, even more unusual, and unexpected, is for any of the Samaritan people to come to faith in Jesus Christ. But then, it raises a question for me, namely, who do we 'write off' as unworthy of our attention, whom we naively assume would not be interested in Jesus in the least. My guess is that there are myriads of people out there, just waiting for Him, and just waiting for us to help them to come to Him.

The two meditations for today and tomorrow both have to do with Jesus' rather surprising, but crucial, encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well outside of Sychar, in what is now Palestine. It is surprising because proper, observant Jews normally had nothing to do with anyone of Samaritan ancestry. At best, they considered them heretics and apostates and were sometimes even at war with them. They basically 'wrote them off' as being unworthy of their attention or care. So, Jesus' action here is quite unusual. And, even more unusual, and unexpected, is for any of the Samaritan people to come to faith in Jesus Christ. But then, it raises a question for me, namely, who do we 'write off' as unworthy of our attention, whom we naively assume would not be interested in Jesus in the least. My guess is that there are myriads of people out there, just waiting for Him, and just waiting for us to help them to come to Him.

I think that certain unnamed New Testament scholars have gotten it 'all wrong'. They see John the Baptist and Jesus being in total and absolute opposition to each other, and think that John was quite displeased, quite miffed, with the 'new way' that Jesus had adopted. To my way of thinking--at least, from my reading of the gospels--this couldn't be further from the truth. There I see a John the Baptist who was always true to his mission, which was to prepare the way for Jesus and announce Jesus to the world. In the gospels I see nothing else in John's thinking save this single-minded devotion to God's calling and to Jesus.

I pray that we, you and I, might have that same single-minded devotion, to Jesus first, and then to whatever God has called--or in calling--us to do with our lives.

The rich young ruler of Luke 18 wanted to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life (or to use the phrase of Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, to see the kingdom of heaven). It is a crucial question, but an erroneous one. It is not something that we do but that God does. It is God's gift. However, in our human psyches, and indeed in almost every religion and philosophy the world over, we want to do it ourselves. That, I think, was Nicodemus' stumbling block, as it often is for us. But, in the end, he did come around and trust God and let God take care of it . May all of us do likewise.

Here in Lloydminster it is a cloudy, overcast, threatening day, but thanks be to God, that our moods and actions--like salamanders and frogs--do not have to be determined by the present weather conditions. The two meditations I'm including today both seem to relate to the theme of 'the long haul.' In other words, what sustains or motivates us when the toil is long and tedious and no ends seems to be in sight.

In today's passage, Jesus advises us to keep at our assigned task--whatever that might be--to be diligent and faithful in it, and not allow our attention or our efforts to be sidetracked by anything else.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can get rather depressed or disillusioned because positive results seem quite elusive and infrequent and problems never ending. Hopefully these two meditations will be of help to all of us.

Here in Lloydminster it is a cloudy, overcast, threatening day, but thanks be to God, that our moods and actions--like salamanders and frogs--do not have to be determined by the present weather conditions. The two meditations I'm including today both seem to relate to the theme of 'the long haul.' In other words, what sustains or motivates us when the toil is long and tedious and no ends seems to be in sight.

Here, the Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of the wider picture, the end result, which should help to motivate and sustain us.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can get rather depressed or disillusioned because positive results seem quite elusive and infrequent and problems never ending. Hopefully these two meditations will be of help to all of us.

Here we are continuing in our journey through John's Gospel, looking at the first steps in Jesus' brand-new ministry. It is interesting to note, and challenging to say the least, how Jesus, even at this initial stage of His ministry, was able to inspire people's confidence and trust--in John the Baptist and Andrew in the earlier passage, in Philip and Nathanael in yesterday's reading, and in Mary and the servants in today's passage. It really begs the question for myself: just how confident am I in Jesus and His care and love? And, just how far am I willing to trust Him? Mary basically gave Him carte blanche to Jesus to do whatever He wanted. Am I willing to do the same? A good question, probably for all of us.

Here we are continuing in our journey through John's Gospel, looking at the first steps in Jesus' brand-new ministry. It is interesting to note, and challenging to say the least, how Jesus, even at this initial stage of His ministry, was able to inspire people's confidence and trust--in John the Baptist and Andrew in the earlier passage, in Philip and Nathanael in today's reading, and in Mary and the servants in tomorrow's passage. It really begs the question for myself: just how confident am I in Jesus and His care and love? And, just how far am I willing to trust Him? Mary basically gave Him carte blanche to Jesus to do whatever He wanted. Am I willing to do the same? A good question, probably for all of us.

These two meditations feature John the Baptist quite prominently. He is, by anyone's standards, a rather remarkable person. He had a strong sense of God's calling and God's purpose, and simply would not be sidetracked from carrying them out, especially when it came to preparing the way for the Messiah and introducing Him to others. For me, he is a great inspiration and example, simply to try to prepare the way for Jesus to come into people's lives and situations, and to introduce Him to others when and however possible. It is quite a challenge, yes, but one that God will most certainly assist us with.

These two meditations feature John the Baptist quite prominently. He is, by anyone's standards, a rather remarkable person. He had a strong sense of God's calling and God's purpose, and simply would not be sidetracked from carrying them out, especially when it came to preparing the way for the Messiah and introducing Him to others. For me, he is a great inspiration and example, simply to try to prepare the way for Jesus to come into people's lives and situations, and to introduce Him to others when and however possible. It is quite a challenge, yes, but one that God will most certainly assist us with.

Today's Scripture passage, the Prologue to John's Gospel, John 1:1-18, is so familiar that we might be inclined to conclude that it has nothing to say to us and therefore skip over it. However, what struck me this morning so forcibly was just how far, in His great love and mercy, God was willing to go--to sacrifice the joys and glory of heaven to take on our flesh, our existence, and become one of us--to share all that it means to be human, just because of His love for us. Wow.

What is the purpose of life? What is its meaning? These are questions that I wrestled with endless during my teens and early twenties, and I know that they are questions that many people wrestle with even today. In this, the philosopher who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes is very much a 'man for our times.' I would therefore invite you to explore his thoughts--and mine as well--as we ponder these most important questions.