At the start of a regional Missionary Study Class, I asked for all missionaries present to show their hands. There were a few who did. I chose to begin with this exercise to set the stage for re-defining the term “missionary” from a biblical perspective. What is a...
September 2018 Edition
Starting Well, Finishing Well
“And behold I am coming quickly, and my reward is with Me to give to every one according to his work.” Revelations 20:11 I remember as a young boy, the thrill I had every September as I looked forward to the approaching school year. It was not that I despised the summer, it was my […]
Christ Our Forerunner
C.H. Macintosh said “There are two grand facts which characterize Christianity, and mark it off from all that had gone before; and these are, first, man glorified in heaven; and secondly, God dwelling in man on the earth.” One result of Christ Glorified is the truth of the forerunner, a word found only once in […]
Choice Gleanings’ Enduring Appeal
Choice Gleanings will enter its 79th year when it brings out its 2019 edition this fall. Inspired by his parents’ calendar from the Netherlands, William Pell’s desire to produce a daily devotional calendar was initially met with skepticism and discouragement. But he went ahead with it anyways and launched “Remembrancer” 1 in 1940 with an […]
In The School of God
Every phase of life is a new beginning and a learning step in God’s School. These include our school days, our career, and choosing a life partner. The last phase is death. As we begin our physical lives as a baby, we also begin our spiritual lives as babes the day we accept Christ as […]
Stewards: Filial, Faithful, & Fruitful Servants
As a young boy, my family attended a local church where they would annually have a “stewardship Sunday” – where stewardship meant how much money you would give to God for the coming year. It seems they missed the point. God has already given all that we have (not just money) and we are to […]
Daniel’s Story
The declaration, “Your son won’t live through the night” stung like an arrow piercing our very souls. I had a healthy pregnancy – or so I thought. No one detected a heart murmur and definitely not a fatal one. How could this be? As Jay and I listened to the Emergency Room doctor’s excruciatingly painful […]
Bringing Faith & Science Together
As a scientist and convinced Christian, I frequently encounter people who presuppose that everything can be explained by natural causes. This naturalistic view is especially common among my scientific colleagues. From this a whole set of conclusions follow, which are often assumed without checking the evidence. So, the objectivity which many scientists claim is not […]
REPORT: Downtown Outreach Bible Chapel in Ottawa, Ontario Canada
In 2013, I had the opportunity to visit Downtown Outreach Bible Chapel (DOBC); an assembly established in 2010 by evangelist, Layton Kerr. Layton is part of Open Air Campaigners, a non-denominational gospel-centered ministry whose motto is “Preaching Christ by all Means Everywhere.” One Friday in June, several of us met for prayer in a homeless […]
What is the difference between the rapture and the second coming?
Since three nouns used for Christ’s coming can either refer to the rapture (His descent to the air for His church) or to the second coming (His return to earth with His church), the verse’s context is vital to our understanding. The first word is parousia (G3952) meaning “presence,” signifying both the Lord’s arrival and […]