Author: Jim Cantelon

I’m not sure any of us can fathom the suffering of the Ukrainian people. The horrors of constant bombing and loss of life, to say nothing of the looming loss of hope, must be truly overwhelming. Yet they refuse to give up. Even in Mariupol, where we’re told that a thousand or more are trapped in a massive steel factory now in the bullseye of targeted Russian missiles, there is defiance. One wonders where these courageous people have found such determination. Perhaps we’re seeing the polarities of the human spirit. On the one hand a demonic drive to seek, kill, and destroy. On the other hand,...

As the war in Ukraine continues we’ve all been horrified at the wholesale killing of civilians. This on top of over 4 million refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries (some even to Mexico!) has confronted our world with man’s inhumanity to man. The raw underbelly of humankind has been laid bare. The Bible calls this “sin”, a word rarely if ever used in our modern world. It says,”All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. That “glory” is our created wonder under God’s design,”in his image”. We’ve been created for everlasting life “ruling and reigning” with the Lord in “new heavens...

UKRAINE ORPHAN RESCUE⁠ ⁠ The war in Ukraine has the world in uproar. We’re all deeply moved by the suffering and heroism of the Ukrainian people. Upwards of 4 million have fled to neighbouring countries, with over 1.5 million of them children, including many orphans ( some not even knowing their fathers have been killed). ⁠ ⁠ WOW “works” for orphans and widows. We need to be engaged in the care of these little Ukrainians. ⁠ ⁠ We have connected with a network of western Ukrainian and eastern Polish churches who have converted their buildings into refugee centres. They are bussing as many as possible...

I think we’ve all heard of the law of unintended consequences. In the ongoing agony of Ukraine that law is beginning to emerge. “Putin’s war” as it’s being called,  has certainly not gone the way he apparently thought it would. Not only did he not conquer Ukraine in two days but after two weeks the war is becoming a war of attrition where no one wins. Then he miscalculated the Ukrainian strength of heart. A courageous president and people, woefully untrained for battle, are proving to be heroes of magnitude. Indeed historians will write books one day about Ukraine’s resilience and Putin’s...

I don’t think any of us would have imagined the state of our world these past few days. Yes, we might have anticipated raging wild fires (more in California), floods (East Australia inundated), famines (Yemen and Tigray), and ongoing regional conflicts (Sudan and Ethiopia), but who would have thought we’d see Putin savagely ravaging Ukraine with almost universal push-back from the world? As I write President Biden is about to give his first State of the Union address. Undoubtedly, we’ll hear “The State of our union us strong”, but that has got to be a relative statement. Our world is fraught. Jesus...

The world seems weary and wary of Russia these days. Whether it’s sabre rattling on the borders of Ukraine or getting away with it again in ongoing Olympic doping scandals one gets the impression that Russia is both schoolyard bully and obnoxious neighbor. At the same time we’re aware of the interdependence the nations of the world share, especially that between Russia and Europe. Not only will all regions (even the world at large) suffer catastrophic damage to life, property, and economy in all out war, but untold sorrow may descend for decades to come. We don’t want this. We fear it. Our hope...

When reading about the soap opera of 10 Downing Street in London one might despair or yield to cynicism. Draconian (yet necessary) Covid laws mandated by the UK government were flouted by the very ones who imposed them. While everyday citizens were avoiding social contact, suffering the loss of loved ones whom they had not been allowed to visit in Covid wards, and dealing with the deteriorating impact of isolation, the prime minister’s office was partying. Little wonder there is a dim view of leadership in Britain. As I write the backlash and the flurry is unabated. Perhaps we should not...

I was recently informed by our WOW champion ministry in India that the daily Covid infection rate has topped 3 million. This shocking news seems to run against the news from the rest of the world (the West at least) that the Omicron variant is on the wane. Indeed, the EU,UK, and Canada are reported to be using the “endemic” word lately. They are ready to accept that Covid is here to stay and the world must switch from crisis to management  mode. People will continue to contract the virus but sooner than later more may be suffering, even dying, from the collapse of the economy. This shift in...

2022 has arrived but this new year carries a huge load from last year. We thought in 2021 that we might be seeing the end of the Covid pandemic. We were making progress, slowly but surely, and then the Omicron variant hit us with a wallop. Its growth is not just exponential, it’s explosive. In the first few days of January we’re reading reports that we are on the verge of unprecedented numbers of infections. The computer modelling of pandemic prevalence seems almost science fictional. In the iconic words of that ancient bard “Henny Penny” the sky is falling! We’re in this together. What’s more...

Have you noticed that the Gospel is alive and well at Christmas? It’s the only time if the year when we hear the story of the Incarnation sung in pretty much every retail outlet in our western world. I was in Canadian Tire the other day and heard “ Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace, Hail the Son of righteousness, Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in his wings. Mild He lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth…” This is profoundly the gospel message, the theology of salvation. I love the carols. Take...