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...

I was researching Christian missions recently and came across the motto of the Moravian Brethren: ”In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love”. This Czech body of believers rose to impact the world in the 18th century. Founded on the teachings of the great Bohemian (Czech) theologian Johann Huss, it predated the Protestant Reformation. Strong on Christian love and liberty it was seen as an outlier in the then Holy Roman Empire. It’s worth researching this vital church. It is alive and well today all over the world. The motto is what caught my attention. If I were...

Key Verse: Matthew 8:34 “And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” The driving out of the demons from the two demon possessed men in the region of the Gadarenes has always received a lot of comment, because it’s so spectacular. You know the story well. Jesus casts the demons into a local herd of pigs who then rush down into the Sea of Galilee and drown. But there are two things which stand out in this account. First, the response of the demoniacs was, “What do you want with us, Son of God?” You wouldn’t expect Jewish people to be...

Key Verse: Matthew 6:9 “This is how you should pray…” Jesus teaches us how to pray and I’ve often noted how simple this prayer is and how complex most of our praying seems to be in comparison. Like the pagan, Jesus says, we sometimes think we’ll be heard for our much speaking, for our babbling, for our repetitions. They use many words, as He says in verse 7; not so with Jesus. He wants us to be short with our words and direct. So He gives a prayer lesson. Just a few observations: First of all, the focus is our Father in heaven, which is the way it must always be...