Author: Jim Cantelon

Sept 30, 2026

One of the responsibilities of pastors is to visit those of his congregation who are in hospital. I say responsibility but it’s more than that. It’s a privilege. And it’s inspiring too. Why? Because people who are sick enough to be in hospital are fully aware of their vulnerability and their need for healing. Sometimes they face inevitable death. Conversing with the dying is serious business. So often I’ve heard from the depths of a dying person’s soul. There’s no small talk, no platitudes, no discussion of the weather. Rather it’s often about choices they made that bore lifelong...

Sept 16, 2026

In the past 25 years with WOW my wife Kathy and I have not ceased to be humbled and inspired by the child-like faith of the orphans and widows to whom we minister. In our western world terms they have nothing but adversity. They are ravaged by HIV and AIDS and opportunistic afflictions like tuberculosis, blood cancers, dysentery, oral thrush, bed sores (yes, you can have excruciating bad sores from lying on the ground!), and even leprosy. And added to these physical sorrows is food insecurity. Yet, when we’re with them they laugh, sing, and dance (if able) with loud and heartfelt praise to...

Sept 2, 2026

It’s a challenge these days to lift our eyes and thoughts above the sorrows that plague our world. The recent flooding in Nepal has us all sighing and praying. At times like these (everyday times!) we can and must turn to the scriptures. There are so many encouraging passages. Here’s some excerpts from Psalm 89 (NLT): “I will sing of the LORD’S unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness … O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O LORD? … The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours … you created it all … You...

August 19, 2026

Our planet is hurting and may be angry. I’m no “Henny Penny” declaring that the sky is falling but I’m very concerned, as are you I think, about current global disasters. Here’s a summary: WILDFIRES North American conflagrations in the Northwest USA and northern Canada. Mediterranean and Europe – massive spread with severe blazes in Belgium, France, Greece, England. DROUGHT Rhine and Danube down to a trickle. Colorado River very low. Lakes Mead and Powell levels so low that the electrical power for millions of Americans is at risk. FLOODS Central USA devastated with flash flooding...

Aug 05, 2026

Maybe for the first time in our lives many if not all of western nations are feeling a new sense of vulnerability. It’s not only the rising fear of the escalation of war, with the entire Middle East on the verge, but also the hacking of water systems, and, as one recent headline put it,”the world is on fire”. The raging wildfires in Europe and North America have us all on edge. We need help, not from governments but from Above. More prayer is being prayed than ever before. We need divine intervention. We need salvation from our own warlike tendencies and from an angry planet. Indeed we need...

July 22, 2026

Most of the world (at last count 1 1/2 billion!) were watching the World Cup last week. The “beautiful game”. The world’s most popular game called “football”( which we call “soccer”). It was intriguing and almost addictive. But beyond the televised drama there were several social media posts with pics of opposing teammates in prayer huddles after the games. Added to that were personal testimonials from star players about their faith in Jesus. These were bookended by strong statements of faith from Spain’s winning manager Luis de la Fuente. He spoke boldly about his faith stating that life...

July 8, 2026

I don’t know about you but reading the Bible is a constant adventure for me. It has such depth. I sometimes feel as if I’m reading it for the first time even though it’s been my key point of reference for decades. It is history, poetry, prophecy, and “good news” all in a compilation by various writers over centuries. It has inspired countless billions of readers and continues to be the all time best seller. It is the word of God. As such it transcends mere literature and speaks to both mind and heart. It truly is “a lamp unto my feet and a light into my path”. My morality is rooted in it....

June 24, 2026

We’ve all experienced from time to time what the Spanish poet and mystic St.John of the cross referred to as “a dark night of the soul”. Or, as Psalm 23 puts it, “the valley of the shadow of death”. Darkness and despair haunt the night for countless souls. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, or so it seems. I remember as if it were yesterday a dark valley my family went through when our daughter’s husband was tragically killed in a construction accident while teaching at a university in Zambia. My immediate response as she tearfully told me via a...

June 10, 2026

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it; for his hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today...

May 27, 2026

Recently my wife Kathy and I spent a few hours with a childhood friend of hers who has been battling several serious diseases. It’s remarkable that she is yet alive but she is. Not only alive but buoyant, good humoured, and joyful. Indeed, her attitude and worldview in the face of constant vulnerability is both countercultural and truly inspiring. We went to see her, prepared to encourage her, but found ourselves as the ones encouraged. It reminded us of our visits these past 26 years to dying orphans and widows in Africa and India. We have visited and prayed for countless numbers of what...

May 13, 2026

My wife Kathy and I were in Halifax Nova Scotia recently for a national pastors’ conference. On the Sunday, we went to St. Paul’s Anglican Church just two blocks from our hotel. Founded in 1749, it is the oldest building in Halifax and the oldest place of Anglican worship in Canada. It is beautiful inside and out and has “presence”. As we worshipped, I was struck with the timeless message of the Gospel. Liturgies and non-liturgies come and go over time, but, as the scriptures say, Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. Indeed, the light is everywhere. I also reflected on our...

April 29, 2026

Like you I’m very concerned about the state of our world. From space, as we witnessed last month through the Artemis astronauts’ pictures, earth is a jewel beyond compare. Truly a “spaceship” for billions of us in the dark matter of a seemingly infinite universe. The astronauts saw no boundaries on earth, no war, no power struggles, indeed no conflict of any kind. Just beauty and peace. I wish that were true for us on the ground. We’ve never seen such turmoil. Never such human suffering. Never such evil. We need help. We need to look up. So here’s a word from King David as he praised the...