Author: Jim Cantelon

Without doubt Jesus captured the essence of the prophetic message of the Old Testament when he responded to a young lawyer’s inquiry: what does God expect of us? Jesus said, “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31). First of all, Jesus declares there is one God. This was/is light to the idolatrous nations surrounding Israel whose gods were numerous....

I visited recently with a friend who’s recovering from open heart surgery. He received 5(!) bypasses. This procedure was called “beating heart surgery” which means the surgeons operated while the heart continued to beat. Truly amazing. As we talked, our conversation turned to mutual friends who are going through health crises: battles with Parkinson’s, dementia, kidney failure, diabetes, arthritis, hearing loss etc, etc. We agreed that we’re all vulnerable regardless of age and that we are, indeed, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). But we also remarked on human resilience and...

I was talking with an old friend who is/was also a pastor. Both of us have been in the ministry for over 50 years. We were discussing the common themes we have dealt with in the lives of our congregants. We referred to issues like domestic conflicts, loss of employment, illness, encroaching death from disease, concern about sons and daughters, spiritual needs, etc, etc. But underlying all these we agreed that for everyone, including ourselves, life brings burdens. Indeed, as the saying goes,” life happens”. Sometimes life breaks us. I could give so many examples of the brokenness I’ve encountered...

In the gospel of Mark there is an interesting anecdote about children. Let me quote my comments on this passage from my book, Cantelon’s Casual Commentary: Jesus had a high view of [children], as he did of women…Mark tells us about Jesus and the little children. He mentions that Jesus and the disciples were “in the house”. He doesn’t tell us whose it was or where it was. Regardless, a crowd gathered and began to press in with their children hoping Jesus “would place his hands on them” in order to bless them. The guard-dog disciples tried to push them back, but Jesus, “indignant” at his disciples...

As I write there is an ongoing search for missing children and adults in the aftermath of the horrific floods in Texas. We’re all shocked and saddened by the loss of life, especially the little girls who were swept away from their idyllic summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. It’s hard to comprehend how a river can rise 26 feet in only 45 minutes, from a meander to a torrent. It’s a grim reminder of the irresistible forces of nature that can suddenly overtake us. At times like this there is the predictable call for “thoughts and prayers”. And rightly so. It’s an indication of the...

As I write our world is fraught. None of us has lived on the cusp of international disaster before. This is new and it is scary. I turn to scripture for guidance and comfort and the following stands out: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust… Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge...

I’ve been connecting recently with an old friend who has just gone through a serious medical crisis and surgery. As we’ve conversed it has struck me again that in the midst of ongoing global dramas, both geopolitical and environmental, there are daily stresses suffered by all of us personally. Most relate to health and some to random accidents but all have impact. Suddenly we may be in a hospital bed surrounded by medical personnel and concerned family members and the vulnerabilities of life take centre stage. We’re thrown physically, emotionally, and spiritually, face to face with our mortality....

I’ve been asked over the past 25 years why we do what we do with WOW. The short answer is that it’s clear from scripture that we should care for orphans and widows in their distress. The long answer is that one hears and obeys the Lord’s calling to service over one’s entire lifetime. Sometimes that “hearing and calling” comes via an “epiphany”. In a book I’m currently writing, I reference the Apostle Paul’s conversion from Saul, the rabidly anti-christian rabbi, to Paul, the first missionary to the Gentiles and author of most of the New Testament’s theology: “Blinded by the intense heavenly...

We’ve just celebrated Mother’s Day and have, no doubt, emailed, texted, and/or had lunch with the women who brought us into the world and became our first educators. We’ve “praised them with great praise”, which is more than mere sentiment. It expresses the deep roots of life’s meaning. There’s almost something mystical about “mother’s love”. It seems to have remarkable, sustaining power. Again and again, we hear testimonies from people both famous and not so famous declaring the massive life-long impact of their mothers upon their lives. They sometimes seem almost divine in their presence....

As is always the case WOW’s ministry on the ground in Africa is awash in adversity. From drought, crop failure, electrical grid “load shedding” (up to 18hrs a day without electricity!) and the grind of endemic poverty, to recent USAID funding withdrawal, our champions and their impoverished, diseased volunteers and communities are hard pressed to find hope. The most pressing of these urgencies is the USAID abandonment of the anti-retro-viral (ARV) programs that have literally saved millions of Africans and Indians from death these past 20 years. Former US President George W. Bush initiated his...

Jonathan Haidt, author of the culture challenging book, “The Anxious Generation” was interviewed recently by Katty Kay of the BBC about the negative influence of smart phones on children. It’s an insightful and revealing interview (worth googling). He observes the various downsides of smartphones, one of them being that they are providing refuge of a sort for parents “over parenting” in what’s seen as an increasingly dangerous world. Parents don’t want to allow their kids out into that danger. They’d rather see them alone in house with their phones. Says Haidt, “We’re not going to restore trust...

The new year has come. Who knew we’d see 2025? I remember the prophets of doom warning that the 21st century might never come to pass. Now we’ve already lived a quarter century in this millennium. And, even though there are crises of magnitude everywhere, our world is still turning and there is hope. Nevertheless many of us saw/see room for improvement in our personal lives. Thus the ubiquitous “new years resolutions”, great intentions that soon are lost as we pick up where we left off in 2024. Perhaps the proven words of the book of Proverbs might encourage us: Trust in the Lord with all your...