faith Archives - Page 2 of 6

Bonhoeffer, 1944

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words around 1944 while he was imprisoned by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. He would later be executed as a traitor against the Nazi regime. “During these years the Church has fought for self‑preservation as though it were an end in itself, and has thereby lost its chance to speak a…

Roses and Wildflowers

Jesus set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers he has created are lovely. The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realized that if every tiny flower wanted…

Bernard Ramm on Science and Fear

Out of the many people with whom I would like to spend some time, I think I would have enjoyed sitting down for an afternoon of conversation with Bernard Ramm. Ramm, the Baptist theologian who wrote much on such topics as hermeneutics, and apologetics, would have been an interesting person with whom to have a visit, for…

Hope

Hope is what gets us through difficult times. Depression is the result when we face challenging circumstances without hope. Hope is not about knowing for sure that a good result is ahead; it is about having a reasonable faith that a good result is ahead. There are a variety of approaches to faith, but…

Best of Times or Worst of Times

“Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.” – Art Buchwald Calgary’s unemployment rate reached 7.9% in February, the highest it has been in 20 years. For many workers in Calgary, these are the worst of times. Many have moved to other cities where the unemployment…

Wouldn’t That Be Somethin’?

In 1998, Wayne Watson published a song called “Wouldn’t That Be Somethin’?” One portion of this song has captured my imagination for 18 years. The premise of the song is that the author is imagining what it would have been like to be a friend of Jesus when he was walking upon the earth. He…

Fork in the Road

“Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.” Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT) “There’s a fork in the road but you never take it.”[1] It may depend upon our perspective or it may depend upon our character,…

After the Fight

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But…

Help Me Believe – More

What do the father in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, a blogger in Calgary, several pastors in Calgary, some seminary professors, Karl Barth, Anselm, and Francis Schaeffer[1] have in common? They all have stated, “Lord, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” It is normal to need this kind of…

Help Me Believe

Chapter nine of the Gospel of Mark speaks of a father who brought his son to Jesus to be healed. The man makes one of the most honest statements in the whole Bible. Jesus tells this man that “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father of the boy says, “I do believe,…