InsightForLivingCanada

Understanding Our Troubled Times

Don’t you just sometimes shake your head and wonder, What on earth is happening in the world?

Over the course of my lifetime, I have witnessed numerous changes in the broader culture. Unfortunately, not all have been for good.

If Christians hope to make an impact in this world, it’s imperative that we first understand it. So let’s take a look at three especially troubling changes that I see happening around us.

Why Methuselah Lived so Long

I have on my desk an actual letter from Mrs. Anne Farley of Portland, Oregon. It says, “Dear Mr. Callaway, I enjoyed meeting you at camp this summer and I enjoyed listening to you speak, but I could not help noticing when I read your book that you look a lot older in real life than you do in your picture. Also you are quite bald and your hair is turning gray. Why do you think some people age so fast?”

Hope Transfusion

Do you need a hope transfusion? Like those bloodthirsty mosquitoes in the middle of a hot summer day in Winnipeg, often the rigors and disappointments of life can suck the hope right out of us.

Hoping for Home

If you have ever travelled abroad, you know the feeling of being the foreigner.

My first experience with this happened while I was in the military and we were about to step onto Japanese soil. The company commander called all of us down below. And he said, “I want all of you men to remember that for the first time in your life you are the foreigner. This isn’t your culture, your country, your language, or your people. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you.”

In Spite of Evidence

One night a few years ago I was working on a Salvation Army street van. It was about 1:30 a.m. and very cold. An old man approached us for a coffee. We knew him quite well as he regularly visited us after the bars closed. As he approached, tension rose among the volunteers. We braced ourselves knowing that he would likely be drunk, and rude. He would bother the female volunteers with perverted comments, and generally make everyone quite uncomfortable. This particular night was different though.

The Spirit's Sword

In recent decades, opposition to Christian views and values have come from more sources and become increasingly accepted.

Differing non-Christian ideologies dressed up as truth are more prevalent in our society now than ever. The result is a clash with biblical truth to which Christians have responded in a variety of ways.

One approach is that of isolation from the battle. These folks say, in effect, “The world is going to hell anyway. It is prophesied in Scripture. There is no point fighting it. Hope the rapture is soon and hang in there as best you can till then.”

When Tragedy Hits...Where Does Faith Fit In?

“Mr. Dobson, you’ve been asking about your wife. We’re here to tell you your wife did not survive the crash, neither did your mother.”

My operating room stretcher was surrounded by a team of critical care surgeons and staff. I managed to respond, “I wish you knew these two wonderful women. They’re the most important women in my life. If my mom was here, she’d want to know if it had been you that died tonight, where would you spend eternity? I have the confidence that they are in heaven right now with Jesus.”