“God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.” (Ephesians 1:22)One Spring evening, I was jogging home alone along my street when all of a sudden, an owl grabbed my hair bun and disappeared. To my shock and dismay, I screamed and looked behind me to find the owl in a nearby tree. This was not the first time I had come against a bird flying near my head, and so as with other bird encounters, I decided to run for it… worst mistake…

Nearly every Christian I’ve met desires to have an effective prayer life. Many, however, don’t realize that the Bible outlines several things that will actually cause our prayers to be unanswered. In order to pray effectively, we must avoid the following things: 1. Wrong motives “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” – James 4:3

Just in a month, my sister is getting married, and our family is “all hands on deck” to make that day special for her and her fiancé! From the tiny decoration details, to ceremony timeline, it has been encouraging to see my sister and fiancé, and respective families being in agreement on important matters as they tie the knot. Without such intentional agreement, no decision would be made for the day, and for those of us helping, we wouldn’t be able to act on their behalf to get things done.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.- 1 Peter 2:12 People might ask, “How do I keep my conduct in such a way that others will see my good deeds and glorify God?”I believe it starts with prayer.

The greatest commandment in the Bible is to, “…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself…” (Matthew 22:36-38). You would think that these commands from Jesus would be clear enough for husbands to love their wives out of the overflow and empowerment of the first commandment.

It seemed so insignificant.  As parents of 2 preschoolers, along with a baby who just celebrated her first birthday, we were involved in a new church plant without a program for children.  What did I know about starting a Kids Ministry for our church?  Sure, I had a few years of Bible College training but more than that, I trusted God’s Word was true and powerful enough to bring life to every age.  So I said yes.  Yes, I’ll serve You, Jesus, by serving the children with all my heart, soul and might.

It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting on my bed. A few inches from me sat my Bible, but opening it was the last thing I wanted to do.  I was 15 years old, and as I had often done throughout my teen years, I was bemoaning the fact that I was fatherless.  At that point in my life, I was having trouble keeping my grades up and I was extremely shy, so making friends had been difficult.  I would think, “if only my Dad was still alive, things would have been different for me.

Have you ever owned a counterfeit? A fake designer watch, imitation brand name handbag, replica headphones, or maybe even a pair of knockoff sneakers that were way too cheap to be true. Whether by mistake or by choice, the satisfaction that a counterfeit brings is usually short-lived, and disappointment ensues once you have the chance to compare it to the real thing.

“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” (Colossians 1:3)This week we embark on 24/7 prayer for our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services. Prayer – something we know is a necessity for every Christian and sadly many of us feel we do not do enough of it. Why? It could be that we are busy with family activities, work has too many deadlines, sheer laziness, procrastination, or mere forgetfulness. Whatever the reason may be, our lack of prayer reveals our deeper misunderstanding of who we are, who God is and what prayer is for. 

We Canadians are pretty savvy consumers. We often pride ourselves on the ability to spot what’s fake. Fake newsIt’s everywhere, and it’s becoming increasingly harder to cut through the noise to get to the truth. As a whole, we are becoming more skeptical and even cynical. We may have been fooled in the past, but now we consult our ever-present smartphones to fact check nearly everything.

“How do you do it? How do you manage to oversee leadership development at church, while finding time to work at your family’s coffee shop, spend time with family, and remain content and not go crazy?”These are some of the the questions I get asked lately. Looking outside in, I suppose it’s a common question for us pastors and leaders.

“So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshipped on the far side of The river (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God. If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve – and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshipped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.” – Joshua 24:14-15 (Message)

When Pastor Dave started our latest series “Closer”, he put on the front page of the Jan/Feb guide: “God is closer than you think.” This is one of the most important things you must think when thinking about God.E. M. Bounds writing on prayer says, “God is everywhere, watching, superintending, overseeing, governing everything in the highest interest of man… He is not an absentee God…

What does it mean to worship God? For many Christians the term worship is related to the time spent at church making music and singing songs directed at God in praise. This is definitely a very important part of why Christians gather corporately all around the world every week, to worship God our redeemer in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24).

I enjoy animated movies and a recent 3D film that intrigued me is The Emoji Movie.  Go back a decade and emoji would not ring a bell in most people’s minds, but the widespread adoption of text and picture messaging led Oxford Dictionaries to make “emoji” the 2015 Word of the Year!What really caught my attention from the plot of the movie was the main character – Gene, a “meh” emoji.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. — Psalm 63:6-8 Growing up, I had a lot of fear in my life – fear of the dark, fear of failing, fear of danger, fear of having a broken family, fear of scary images, fear of what other people thought of me… the list could go on.

A healthy pursuit is when someone has your best interests in mind.  While in bible school during my late teens, I was involved in a women’s singing group that ministered in various local churches on the weekends, as well as travelling on a 10-day road trip ministering to churches in northern BC.  I had just begun dating Dave prior to this trip commitment and was wrestling with the thoughts of him losing interest in our newly formed relationship while I was away.