Time is Ticking

October 14, 2026

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
-James 14:13-17 (NIV)

How important is it to commit your life to God?  If you ask me there has to be the utmost urgency and without delay!  And there must be sincerity and fullness to it, meaning when you commit your life to God you go all in or not at all!  This is also a daily task that should happen continuously!

But for a great many people for some reason, they believe following God and following Christianity is something to be done later.  If later is the case, then when?  Tomorrow?  Next week?  Next year?  Many years ago, I even heard someone tell me they’ll follow God when they’re in their old age (many years from their present age).  Now when I hear these kinds of comments it affirms the idea these people really haven’t met God yet!  If any of you are in this category or heard of people that want to delay their pursuit to following God through Jesus Christ, I just want to ask, “Who’s God here?  Is it you or really God?”  And by that, I mean, “If God is really God, don’t you think he has the power to do anything he wants?  And if God is really God, that means he has the power to end your life and the lives of everything and everyone else whenever he wants in his sovereignty!   So how can you assume you’ll live to old age or any age for that matter?  And if God is really God, then by the ontological definition and idea of God being the only supreme being (omnipotent), then isn’t God deserving of our full commitment, worship, glory, praise, majesty, honour and joy and IMMEDIATELY?”

James reminds us of our timing in the world.  Even with all our best efforts, we cannot accurately predict what will happen to us today or tomorrow.  Moreover, we may have plans, but God directs our steps (Prov. 16:9).  Verse 15 in our text today is key to making sense of our time on earth: “If it is the LORD’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 

The reality is, nothing happens without God knowing or ordaining it and we are not the author or wielder of time or our own lives.  To clarify 3.1 and 3.2 of the Westminster Confession states the following:

1. From all eternity and by the completely wise and holy purpose of his own will, God has freely and unchangeably ordained whatever happens. This ordainment does not mean, however, that God is the author of sin (he is not), that he represses the will of his created beings, or that he takes away the freedom or contingency of secondary causes. Rather, the will of created beings and the freedom and contingency of secondary causes are established by him.

2. Although God knows whatever may or can happen under all possible circumstances, he has not ordered anything because he foresaw it in the future as something which would happen under such circumstances.

Therefore, we cannot calculate how long our lives are and when we’ll die.  So, I’m imploring you, make your life count!  Make every effort in your life count!  Make pleas unto God now!  Devote your entire life unto God now because our lives are just mist that can be snuffed out at any time!

God is indeed God, the Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present and full of grace and mercy.  He is worthy of our praise, and we can only access him through Jesus!  (Jn. 14:6).  Nothing is more important than your continued, full and daily pursuit of him in Christ Jesus!  Time is ticking!  Make your lives count!

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In Comparison….

October 7, 2026

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
-Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)

Thank goodness our God is merciful and thank goodness his grace is so great (Eph. 2:7).  For someone that loves justice, I thank God for God’s grace more than any justice I can comprehend.  I share this because admittedly I’ve had rough times, and I like the idea of criminals getting what they deserve.  Growing up in rough neighbourhoods all my life, I’ve had our family vehicle stolen, my bicycle stolen, my mother was robbed, and the list goes on and on.  I’ve lost track of how many times I felt injustice hoping the criminals were apprehended and get what they deserve.

But you know what?  At one point we are all rebellious criminals when it comes to God’s ultimate order.  In our heads maybe many of us think we haven’t committed any egregious crimes, but the reality is, we have!  At some point we all probably committed one or more of these various offences to God: lied, had adulterous thoughts, became prideful, expressed unnecessary anger, became envious or jealous of others, idolized something or someone, or committed any other immoral thought, word or deed.  Isaiah 53:6 tells us all have gone astray and Romans 3:23 tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  And if God’s standards are perfect and holy (and they surely are), this also means none of us should get anything more than what we deserve – God’s holy justice!

Therefore, and at some point, this means we were all criminals!  Knowing we all committed offences against God at some point, should we think of anyone better than ourselves?  Absolutely not.

This is the how the Pharisee viewed himself in our story.  Sure, and on paper he did everything right.  Matthew 23:23 tells us that Pharisees even meticulously counted tithing tiny garden herbs like mint, dill and cumin. Our text today tells us this Pharisee even fasted twice a week.  But Jesus called the teachers of the law and Pharisees “whitewashed tombs” (Matt. 23:27) meaning they were clean on the outside but spiritually dead on the inside.  In some ways it appears the Pharisee in our text kept track of the wrongs committed by other people but failed to check his own heart.

I must tell you and after reading this, we should all be alarmed because it says God will humble anyone who exalts themselves.  Being humbled is never pleasant and to be humbled by God?  That’s a terrifying idea if you ask me when you consider God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

After reading this, personally I think we should all be slow to point the finger at others to avoid being conceited (with God’s help).  I’m also warned of how tricky it is when dealing with comparing people and situations.  As with anything, we’re called to model grace and truth like Christ as much as possible (Jn. 1:17).  Moreover, thank God for his amazing grace!  We all approach God knowingly or unknowingly adorning ourselves with dirty sin like ragamuffins in view of his holiness and sovereignty and out of God’s amazing grace, as believing Christians, he gives so much more than what we deserve!  We deserve God’s terrifying wrath, but instead, Christ Jesus took it all on the cross and in return we are washed clean and able to have a right relationship with God.

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Bad Things Happen to Good People?

September 30, 2026

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
-Romans 8:22-30 (NIV)

There is goodness out there and hope in life.  You can count on it!  Our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ loves you!

But seeing how the world is, it’s quite easy to believe the world is unfair.  According to Matthew 5:45, God sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous so from that perspective it’s fair.  But for some perhaps it doesn’t sit well knowing you’re going through a lot of difficulties.  Perhaps it might be financial stresses, a health crisis, strained relationships, and so forth.  Sometimes difficulties in life happen from past mistakes or poor choices and sometimes we’re not even at fault.

Would it surprise you to hear I can confirm life is indeed unfair?  I can confidently say this because our eternal home and our eternal citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).  The very fact that while in this life there is pain, suffering, loss, confusion and dissatisfaction tells me I am unsatisfied and there must be something more.  I refuse to believe there are hardships in this life without deeper meaning.  Hardships without meaning is pure chaos and madness.  Thankfully we worship the God of order (1 Cor. 14:33).  I can also confidently say life is indeed unfair because we’ve inherited our sinful nature from Adam (Rom. 5:12) but at the same time, we’re held accountable for all our behaviours (Rom. 14:12).  And thankfully Jesus came to save us and make us righteous (Rom. 5:19).

What then can we say about the hardships and tragedies we go through?  And why does it seem like bad things happen to good people?

To be honest I love hearing this quote from RC Sproul:

“Why do bad things happen to good people?  That only happened once and He volunteered.”  Of course, RC Sproul is referencing Rom. 3:10 here meaning nobody is truly righteous on our own, except for Jesus Christ and he came to earth, was mocked, insulted, deserted, abandoned, stripped naked, beaten, tortured and ultimately was crucified! – and he did it all willingly!

If you’re going through challenges in life, please keep your head up!  Our Lord and Saviour loves you and he loves you so much that he died for you personally!  Not only that, he knows exactly what you’re  going through and you’re not alone.  Countless millions upon millions of Christians have gone through tremendous hardships in history.  Now tell me which one of God’s followers Old Testament and New Testament did not have difficult times?  Go ahead, take your time to think of even one!  You probably can’t!  In fact, our text says all of creation has been groaning until our bodies are redeemed and until we get to heaven.  And until that time the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.  The Holy Spirit does not replace our prayers but he perfects them!  Biblical lexicons tell us that while humans stumble in their weakness, the Holy Spirit prays without failure in harmony and with divine purpose.  Furthermore Rom. 5:3-5 tells us ultimately our suffering in this life produces hope and by this hope we can cling to Jesus to carry us through! 

Take heart dear Christian warriors – The LORD Jesus Christ draws near.  He is warm, compassionate, caring, merciful and worthy.  Your difficulties are temporary, but his grace and mercy are everlasting.  Also know the body of Christ (fellow believers) are there to care for you and support you!  You’re not meant to go through hardships alone!  Call upon the name of the LORD!  He is the Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord will provide).  He will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19) and reach out to your fellow Christian believers for additional support!

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What do You Want?

September 23, 2026

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 
-John 10:1-10 (NIV)

Many people approach God, and they all want different things.  Naturally the local church with its Christian people tends to be the first place they go to.   And so, people go to church wanting all kinds of various things.  Perhaps you’ve heard of some of these wants:

I want friendship

I want companionship

I want to network

I want to be entertained

I want to be happy

I want my children to have good friends

I want to be at ease

I want help with finances

I want help with groceries

I want help with rent

I want help with a job

I want to be a good person

Now God’s word as evidenced in scripture never promises any of these desires to be fulfilled.  Are these wants important?  Sure!  But the value in Jesus himself is infinitely more important!  When we examine our text Jesus makes two claims about himself.  He claims he’s the gate (verse 9) and he claims he’s the good shepherd (verse 11).  If Jesus never claimed to fulfill any of these wants and desires, then why should I turn to Jesus and why is he so important?  Because without Jesus there is no eternal life!

Keep in mind Jesus also said he is THE way, THE truth and THE life (Jn. 14:6).  What he’s saying then is there is no alternative.  By extrapolating logic from these statements, in a way he’s also promoting without him is death (the opposite of life), and this is why he’s saying he’s both the gate the good shepherd.  He is the only way to eternal life, he’s the source of eternal life and he guards life from the enemy (the devil) that wants to take it away.  And please don’t be fooled into thinking there is some kind of eternal life possible without Jesus being a part of it, being central to it and without Jesus at all.

To imagine a life without Jesus is like trying to get all the benefits without getting at the source – Jesus Christ himself and it’s impossible to get the benefits without Jesus!  If some people were honest with themselves, they would say something like, “Give me peace, give me food, give me shelter, give me protection, give me friendship and companionship, but don’t give me Jesus!”  For these people it’s clear they are not a part of God’s flock and they don’t know the voice of the good shepherd in Jesus.

I often tell myself. “The sheep hear the shepherds call and they respond!”  Those that want the benefits without Jesus do not know the voice of the shepherd and I would even say do not want the shepherd at all.  So what do you want?  Do you really want Jesus or something else?  My prayer is that you want Jesus and even at the cost of everything else, because yes, Jesus is THAT VALUABLE and infinitely worthy!

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May the LORD Bless Them

September 16, 2026

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
-Numbers 6:22-27 (NIV)

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were stuck in the middle of inhospitable land.  God had a promised land for them, but they had to go through the wilderness first.  During this time, they faced all kinds of hardships, doubts and challenges.  The long duration of being in the wilderness was a result of their unfaithfulness (Num. 14:34), but it was God’s every intention and desire for the Israelites to remain faithful.  God wanted to make his presence and providence known to the ancient Israelites every step of the way.  We see this intention from God in the passage above.

Now although we’re not the ancient Israelites and although God didn’t promise any of us the land of Cannan (the promised land), it may feel like for some of us we’re in a wilderness period.  Keep in mind the real “promised land” is heaven with Jesus Christ.  I say this because everyone is fighting a battle.  Some may have battles of depression, alcoholism, marriage/relationships, finances, lust, and the list goes on and on.  If a group of twenty people sat in a room together and if these same people, all shared personal struggle stories it would probably be a very long night.

As Christians the good news is God is with you (Heb 13:5)!  Just like the ancient Israelites going through their wilderness experience, God wants to make his presence and providence known to you.  And too often we forget that.  It may feel like we’re drudging through our wilderness time, but let’s not also forget to ask God to bless others because we’re all facing our battles.

As the LORD instructed Moses to tell Aaron and his descendants, let’s ask the LORD to bless others that need God’s blessing.  For our fellow Christian believers - Let’s ask the LORD to remind others that they belong to God (verse 24).  Let’s ask the LORD to make his gracious presence known (verse 25).   Let’s ask the LORD that through his presence, his peace will be given (verse 26) that he will protect his people and provide for his people.

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They Said What?

September 9, 2026

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
-Mark 2:13-17 (NIV)

We can’t please everyone.  The reality is we’re going to make mistakes, we’re going to mess-up, we’re going to be offended and offend others, we’re going to fall, but will you get back up and keep pressing forward in your pursuit of Jesus Christ and keep imitating him?

Moreover and whatever you do will you fix your eyes on the goal pushing on heavenward? (Phil. 3:14)

Listen it’s harder than it sounds and especially when others around you make harmful claims and accusations on you.  With that in mind, here’s the scenario:

Imagine the situation when you’re on a one-way street and at the end of the street stands Jesus with his arms stretched wide open.  He already called out to you (he chose you), you heard his voice before, you’re hearing his voice daily and you’re responding by advancing closer to him each and every day.   But before you reach him in his entirety in heaven, you’re still on that journey, walking that one-way street and on your left-side are many buildings full of angry people.  On your right-side are many buildings full of angry people.  There’s no turning back and it’s a one-way street.  You know you’re going to reach your goal eventually, but the road is long and there’s a lot of buildings to get past.  The clouds are hovering and it’s getting dark, and these angry people in the buildings to your left and right are constantly hurling insults at you, spitting at you, shouting mean and hurtful things at you and even throwing foul, awful garbage at you.  What do you do?

Now here’s the answer:

You keep pressing forward with your heart, head, eyes and vision fixated on Jesus Christ!  Do not stop pressing forward.  Do not stop every time an insult or hurtful comment lands.  Every time a discouraging comment gets to you, do not stop and hurl insults back.  When a piece of trash smacks you in the face, do not pick it up, look to the left, look to the right, find the person that threw it and hurl it back at them.  Just keep pressing forward to Jesus Christ, one step at a time, one day at a time.  Answer his call!  You may make mistakes along the way, but answer his call!

Why you ask?  Because the more we turn our head to the left and right and the more we stop, we forget where we’re going and our obedience and joy becomes faded.  Instead focus on what God is doing and he’s calling you to be obedient!

Now when we look at our text, do you think Jesus didn’t have his naysayers?  Do you think he didn’t have his fair share of doubters and people against him?  Did he ever slow down and stop?  To all of this the answer is a resounding NO!  Even the “trusted people” in the community and the “experts” were against him (the teachers of the law in verse 16).  They tried to bring Jesus down and point out he was eating with and spending significant time with tax collectors and sinners.  That didn’t look good in their eyes.  We know from Luke 19:10 that Jesus came to seek and save the lost and this is why he was with the various people and making disciples in verses 13 and 14.  But after the “experts” in society tried to ensnare him, did you hear Jesus’ response?  He didn’t stop to entertain put downs or throw insults back.  He doubled-down on his mission and being obedient to God the Father in verse 17.  He reinstated what he was meant to do and carried it through.  And that’s what we should all continually do!

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Standing Before God

September 2, 2026

8 “Would you discredit my justice?
    Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
    and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
    and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
    look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them,
    crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
    shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
    that your own right hand can save you.
-Job 40:7-14 (NIV)

In this imperfect world with imperfect people, I believe we all want a sense of love, mercy, justice and fairness.  Recently I had a talk with someone, and I was asked about how I came to Christian faith.  I gave a condensed version at the time and my story involved a lot of questioning, but ultimately God came to me and granted me the gift of faith (Eph 2:8).  At the time and in my quest searching for deeper meaning in life, I told the person, “I refused to believe there is no meaning for all the pain, suffering, loss and hardships in life.”  If there were no meaning for such tragic moments in everyone’s life, then life itself would be meaningless – and I refuse to believe that!

I’m glad every answer that we need (not every answer that we want) is found in the God-Man in Jesus Christ!  There is nobody more loving, more merciful, more just and fairer!  Whatever sense of justice, fairness and even equality was met and surpassed with his self-sacrificial love as displayed by his work on the cross! But still and when we go through the loss of a loved one, when we see someone suffer, when we get struck with financial hardships, etc., they’re difficult to go through.

In the case of Job and when Job went through tremendous hardships, his friends turned their backs on him, he lost his children, his wife strongly opposed his views, he lost financial worth, he lost his health and, in my opinion, it was all for God’s glory!  And when given the opportunity God revealed to Job just who God really is!  In our text today God asked Job several questions that Job couldn’t answer at all.  Sometimes we’re fooled to believe we have all the answers in the world, and we’re misguided at best if we ever believe we have a higher sense of morality, justice, love, equality, equity, etc., than God.

I tell you - I thank God that I’m not God!  I wouldn’t want that massive responsibility of ultimate power, ultimate holiness combined with ultimate grace, ultimate justice, etc., and let’s not forget ultimate sovereignty!  And the other thing I want to share is this:  Thank God Jesus was brought to earth to take my tremendous rebellion, pride, wickedness, arrogance, selfishness, etc., with him to the cross and out of his even more tremendous love!  Furthermore, I’ve come to realize I have the privilege of sitting at the foot of God’s throne, rather than try to usurp myself above it.

….in case you’re wondering what happened to Job?  Let’s also not forget that in the end, all that Job had was multiplied exponentially (Job 42:12-17), not because Job earned it, but because God is faithful, sovereign, holy, just and merciful!

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