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Uncle Brendan and Aunt Nancy.

  My uncle Brendan is my dad Wayne’s middle brother. When I was just a kid, he married my aunt Nancy. They lived together in London, Ontario. They never had any kids, but we would drive up there from Markham and visit them occasionally. One thing that stands out in my memory is the breakfast that they would cook us when we visited. My grandmother who passed away in 2019 also lived in London, as well as my uncle Ron, and my aunt Shelly. Brendan and Nancy would make the best breakfast with eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast, and I remember there being so much. They also shared the Catholic faith with me in a special way. I grew up Roman Catholic but I was a nominal Christian and I didn’t get born again until I was 21.   Being born again isn’t really a Catholic thing, Catholics believe you are born again at baptism, but my conversion at 21 just made me appreciate my faith in a deeper way. I still have conversations with my aunt Nancy about my faith, and I remember her telling me one...
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Leave Your Sins Behind This New Year.

  What is the greatest gift you can give yourself this new year or better yet what is the greatest gift you can receive? I believe it’s the gift of repentance. What causes regret in your life? Is it broken relationships, a failed marriage, anger, unforgiveness? God provides a remedy for all of these things which are caused by sin, and that is repentance. We all want to feel the joy in life, we all want to feel happiness, but the more we sin and live a sinful lifestyle, we feel we have to cover up our sins in order to feel a sense of peace. But true peace comes from not living any way we want to live, but by living a holy life, in fellowship with the Father.   I encourage you to start this new year by being honest with yourself, if you have relationships that are broken, if you have sinned gravely, repent, if you don’t you will take all these sins with you not just into the new year with you, but you will take them with you when you die. This is what the bible refers to when it...

The Parable of the Ten Virgins.

 Matthew 25:1-13 I have discovered a remarkable interpretation of this parable that I would like to share with you. The story in the Bible goes like this:    “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.   2  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.   3  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.   4  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.   5  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6  “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7  “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.   8  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy som...

The Value and Meaning in Life.

  I have been thinking about goals, and what motivates me to accomplish things in my life. I can say that there are times when I can feel like I have no purpose, no direction and no motivation. 💡The reason why I might feel that I have no goals is because sometimes with depression nothing interests me.  Finding direction can lead me to set specific goals for my life, and the desire to achieve those goals can create motivation to accomplish them.  It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can always find something that gives your life meaning and purpose.  When you find yourself motivated to set out and do something, the  meaning  that comes from accomplishing those goals will create motivation to create  new goals  and carry you forwards to accomplish  new things. Sometimes our fear prevents us from setting out to accomplish our goals because we can fear failure, and what other people think of us,  or we may no longer care about reachi...

Why Christians must show Mutual Concern for One another.

  Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. Psalm 142:4. Christians in the church should have mutual concern for one another, this is what it means to be part of the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:25. It’s takes good pastoral leadership to foster this sense of concern, and where it is missing, individuals who are suffering in the church are overlooked and not supported. Every believer needs support and encouragement, but when this is missing, the church divides and loses it power and testimony. Christians live like the world, and become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when nobody is supporting them outside the church. I used to belong to an evangelical church which had great leadership, and something called small groups. This church felt like a family and I had people who shared my Christian walk with me when I was not in the church building. I have been attending a different denomination that doesn’t hav...

The Power of Death.

  Hebrews 2:14-18 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Death is real, and if you are not a Christian, the Bible says that the devil holds you in slavery to the fear of death. It also says that Satan holds the power of death. While it is true that Jesus Christ conquered death, he also delivered us from the power of death that Satan holds. What is implied here is that he also delivered us from the ...

The Biblical Meaning of “Life in the Spirit.”

  “Life in the Spirit” is an example that the Apostle Paul gives in the book of Romans starting in chapter 5 and going through to chapter 8. He begins by telling us we are justified by faith (5:1), and have gained access by faith into the grace of God (5:2). We have been delivered from God’s wrath (5:9) and we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son (5:10). He goes on to explain that through Adam all die (5:12), and that the free Gift of God brings justification and righteousness to the believing sinner (5:15-17).   Through our conversion we are baptized into Christ and into his death, which frees us from the law and makes us dead to sin (6:2-4). He explains that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are given new life in Christ (6:4). Our old unregenerate self was crucified with Christ so that our body of sin might be done away with (6:5-6). Because we have died to sin, we now submit ourselves to God being that we are now under grace, not the law (6:8-1...