Just three years ago today, a "John Doe" (as the judge described him) committed the worst murder spree in the history of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when he drove a van down Yonge Street, killing ten people and injuring sixteen others. It …( read more )

Many of us are wearing masks these days, and there are a lot of different styles and patterns to choose from — ranging from disposable ones to designer looks. Sometimes, it's hard to recognize people when they're wearing their masks. Just …( read more )

"God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars." – Martin Luther I once viewed the Word of God as simply a system of laws and rules to obey. At least, that's what I absorbed …( read more )

If ever there were a time when we need to approach the throne of grace, it's now! The whole world has been turned upside down. We need God. We need His peace. We need His strength. There is no one else to turn to. Prayer is a gift from …( read more )

Someone who wants to walk on a path in the dark certainly needs a flashlight in order to avoid tripping or stumbling, for in being so equipped, an accident can be prevented. God's Word to the believer fulfills the same function: it is a …( read more )

The other day, a friend forgot something and immediately said, "I guess I'm having a 'senior's moment'". As we age, our memories start to fail, and we can't recall even recent events as easily as before. Some years ago, when I reached …( read more )

As I grabbed my ringing telephone, I heard my daughter saying that Frank was in the greenhouse. Dropping the receiver, I made a dash out of the house, arrived at the greenhouse, and confirmed that Frank had indeed broken in and was …( read more )

Towing a caravan in the remote parts of the Welsh countryside, combined with fans blowing onto the windscreen, resulted in a distinct film of the outside dust attached to the inside of the windscreen — not that it is that noticeable in …( read more )

I was typing a message of consolation to a fellow believer on my cell phone and was just about finished, when my two-year-old great-grandson came running in, jumped on my lap, and proceeded to give me a big hug and kiss. What happened …( read more )

As I opened the front curtains one morning, I noticed a woman walking by with her large dog. I live in the "no pet" area; I was not happy. Then he decided to use my flower bed for his bathroom. That did it. I threw open the front door. …( read more )

Several years ago, I received the following anecdote from a clergyman and saved it: There is a monastery whose members gather around a new candidate and ask, "Why do you want to join?" Candidates may say things like "I am seeking peace", …( read more )

We moved into the house that we are living in now just over three years ago and we saw that there were smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in various places throughout the house. Due to the fact that our minds were totally set …( read more )

We are amazed at all of the technology that has come into use in the past fifteen years, and we wonder what might be discovered, developed, and revealed within the next very few years. God created the cosmos with all of the possibilities …( read more )

My parents were very close, in love all their married lives, and it showed. They also had great faith, and that showed as well. At age 65, my dad was killed. A few weeks after his funeral, I asked my mum how she could keep going. With …( read more )

Early in my life, after graduating as a deaconess, I made Canadian church work my career, serving in Grande Prairie and Red Deer in Alberta, and in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where I started Flora House. I was even sent to Newfoundland to help …( read more )

Today's Scriptures bring back memories of a time when a dear friend turned against me and complained to other members of the church. I felt shocked, betrayed, and abandoned by someone I had trusted. Nonetheless, the personal pain that I …( read more )

I recall preaching on the above verse at the anniversary of a church that had closed years and years before. Each year, there was an anniversary service to honour the prairie pioneers who had built the church and built up the faith in the …( read more )

In the news, commentators announced that this year's fee for a thirty-second commercial during Super Bowl XLIX (49) will be four and a half million dollars. I thought to myself, *What if I, as an emissary for God, were awarded the …( read more )

My daughter keeps a small vial of lip balm on the bathroom counter. She leaves it there so that she will remember to use it frequently. Otherwise, especially during the winter months, her lips become dry, sore, and cracked, creating a …( read more )

As a piano teacher, my job involves training students to work less. That's hard work for them! It sounds like a contradiction, but it's not. For example, overworking arm muscles interferes with finger development. The student must "make …( read more )

I have been writing for the PresbyCan Daily Devotional since January, 1999, when I first was led by the Spirit to put words onto paper (via the computer). I still have a copy of that first devotional and the four responses that I …( read more )

I was busy at my job, laminating No Smoking signs and marvelling at what a wonderful invention the lamination process was, when the following Scripture popped into my mind. Once a document is laminated, nothing can separate the plastic …( read more )

For the past few years, my youngest son and I have helped teach summer Sunday school. As we were leaving church a few weeks ago, we ran into the organizer, and my son offered to help again this year. We briefly discussed what would be …( read more )

Once a challenge, technology has almost relegated them to the annals of history. Mastering a road atlas is taxing. The more territory it covers, the less detail there is present and the more jumbled the highways, interstates, and cities …( read more )

When Eugene Peterson wrote about Psalm 89 in his book of daily devotions, Praying with the Psalms, he shared: The psalm as a whole is a study in proportions. The jagged intensity of the complaint (vv. 38-51) is set in an expansive …( read more )

When I was a boy, most churches still had two services on Sunday. An hour before the evening service, which was usually of an evangelistic nature, the members of the Open Air Band would gather in one of their designated … (read more)

"I am the master of my unspoken words, and a slave to those that should have remained unspoken." This unknown writer must have felt exactly the same way as I did: guilty. Have you ever said something that you were … (read more)

When we replaced the shingles on our roof several years ago, we were dismayed to discover that the new batch was defective. Day by day, we watched as bits of coloured grit rolled off the roof and into our eavestroughs. … (read more)

We don't usually get much snow in the corner of Canada where we live, but sometimes we really get it. That happened in January, when over a period of several days, we received successive dumps of snow, accompanied by a … (read more)

We've approached a time of bustle — shopping, baking, holiday greetings, and home for Christmas. Why? Why are we celebrating Christmas? How would the average person answer that question? Tradition? Family? Love for hearth and home? Let's go back to … (read more)

As I gazed out the window of the aircraft, I could see the snow-covered landscape below. Mountains robed in splendour stretched for miles on end. Suddenly, though, I realized that I was seeing not one but two scenes. The snowy … (read more)

"Everything was meaningless!" These cynical words in Ecclesiastes erupted from an aging man as he reflected on the tragic mistakes he had made earlier in life. He had determined to find meaning somewhere "under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:3) — somewhere … (read more)

Life can feel like a thrilling roller-coaster ride. A day can be filled with "scream-provoking" or "fear-filled" moments that overwhelm us by their intensity, or they can be mere side-show distractions that draw our attention and keep our mind focused … (read more)