Council Fire

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (KJV) A. God loves us. This is only one of the Scriptures that tells us that God loves us. Not just me. He loves all of us, the whole world. He loves not just the good people, but also the bad people. Drunks, alcoholics, drug addicts, murderers, thieves . . . all sinners are loved by God. God doesn’t love the sin, but He loves the person He created. Psalm 97:10 says, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evi...

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name” Psalm 140:13a (NKJV) There are few things more painful than doing someone a kindness and having them treat it with disdain. After working in secret for weeks, Margaret, a prize-winning bead crafter, has finally finished the intricately beaded vest for her daughter, Princess. She wraps it and places it beneath their Christmas tree. When the big day arrives, Margaret can hardly wait to see Princess’s eyes brighten when she sees the vest! But when her daughter unwraps the gift, she scowls and tosses it back into the box. She says, “Here, se...

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) Isaiah 55:8, 9 has stuck out to me throughout the years. It really helps me put in perspective how great and wonderful and all-knowing God is. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (NASB) These verses have taught me not to question what happens, but t...

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV) I’ve been intrigued by the story of a Rocky Mountain Cree of the mid-1800’s, a chief named Maskepetoon. Told by many, it has become a mix of myth, legend, and truth. However, all sources mark the man with the common denominator that follows the common thread of “Peacemaker.” Maskepetoon, a renowned warrior who came to faith in Jesus, found out that personal peace could only come wh...

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:14-15 (KJV) I was about 12 when I got stricken with a very bad skin disease. I missed a few of months of school and was eventually bedridden as the disease progressed. In my little village in northern Ontario, medical facilities were scarce. My m...

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 (NIV) I will never forget my mom putting us five kids to bed early on a Saturday night because we were going to go to Sunday school the next day. My six-year-old thoughts were, “What!? Why? It was our day off from school.” A faithful man named Mr. Staley from the Oakridge Baptist Church in Vancouver had been visiting mom, explaining the Christian faith to her. He was obeying Jesus’s words from Matthew 28:19. I’m reason...

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:21 (NIV) A woman had prayed and prayed for her children to turn from their ways of addiction. She even asked the church for prayer that God would help her children stop and turn from their ways. It was for about seven years that she continued to pray, and it seemed nothing was happening. She slowly stopped coming to the church. We think she has given up on God because her...

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) It’s late afternoon. Jack, a bright all-around student, dribbles his basketball on his family’s driveway. He stops, aims at the net above the garage door, and shoots. A three pointer! There is no one to celebrate with him, so Jack whoops and dances around. A car pulls up. His friend, Dan, starts toward Jack. “Whatzup?” Jack asks in familiar slang as he continues to dribble the ball. “The debate team is meeting in a half hour. Can you come? We found out that Sohi College dropped out an...

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV) Often when we experience big tests, trusting God is not our first reaction. Then God speaks to our spirit and directs us to His Word. When more cancer was found in my system and I needed a second surgery, I was angry. Angry with the surgeon for not getting all the cancer the first time, angry that I was going back into surgery in two days and, yes, I think I was angry with God...

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) The early believers were learning how to uplift and encourage each other through the use of their individual gifts. Peter was writing to them to instruct them further in this area. This reminds me of a little girl who always wanted to help. Anything she could do for somebody, she would do it. Whether it was helping her mom with the housework, or looking after her brothers and sisters, she was always there. She didn’t...

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) Nothing in this world can give us the confidence and security that we need. Only God the Father can. Only God can do this, as He is the one who can give us His presence for eternity, wherever we go and whatever we do. Therefore, I will not fear whatever comes. I will keep my eyes on Him. I know He will lead me in the...

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.’” John 11:25 (NIV) A couple years back, about a week before Easter, a fellow musician shared with me this viewpoint on Easter Sunday. I’d like to pass it on to you. Read on . . . he said, “I don’t call it Easter Sunday anymore. I call it Resurrection Sunday. Why? Because every time I say that I’m telling whoever’s listening that Jesus is Risen—that He’s Alive!” Just by naming the day in that manner, he was testifying to eve...

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) I always liked this verse, but I never really understood it until I watched some fishermen casting their nets into the water. The men waited patiently for the right waves to come rolling in, then they would take their circular nets that had weights around the edge and, with all their strength, they would cast their nets out into the water. The word “cast” had a new meaning. They threw their nets into the waves, and they cast them away as far as they could. They let go of th...

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 (NIV) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Luke 12:25 (NIV) I often remember Feisty, a little squirrel with a notch missing on his ear, who visited our yard in northern Alberta. Our cabin was located along a migration path and, in spite of the frigid temperatures, many birds wintered there. Hundreds of pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, redpolls, gray jays, and chic...

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) I remember years ago when we were coming up the fishing trail, bringing our well-caught deserved river salmon home. I was with my grandmother, and there were two other children who were ages seven and nine. I was nine years of age. For some reason our dogs did not go with us that night. That night we met a bear on the trail! It put...

“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:7 (NLT) As a child and teenager, I used to think that God was distant—that He created this world and left. My mom started going to a church in our community, and it was quite obvious that there was a change in her life. She shared with us that she had become a Christian. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I did see the change in her life. She wanted to know mo...

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) I took the time the other day to count the doors at our place. It took about 30 seconds to figure out that there’s 12 of them. Kind of a mundane exercise, but it got me thinking about “closed and open doors” and how God uses both kinds in our lives. The “open doors” are the opportunity ones. They can be captivating, motivating and exciting or, on the flip side, intimida...

“Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” Matthew 24:44 (KJV) Back a while ago, we were having a conversation with one of our young grandsons about Jesus Christ coming back for us. He was sitting in a big chair, looking up into the sky for a while, when all of a sudden he said, “Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming!” We said, “Where?” He pointed out the window and, at that moment, a big jet was flying over. As it passed by, he said, “Jesus left us behind.” After it had passed and d...

“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold.” Proverbs 6:30-31a (NKJV) A supermarket manager rigs his scales to make customers’ purchases appear to weigh more in order to overcharge them. God calls this “an abomination.” Some otherwise honest folks boast about cheating on their taxes by inflating their tax deductions: “Hey, we’re only working-class bums. Billionaires pay no taxes, so I hear.” But what does Scripture say about paying taxes? When the temple tax collectors come to Jesus, He honors their request and dire...

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 (KJV) A while back I was driving along during the evening. My headlights started dimming down, and the truck started to hesitate. We were still quite a way from home. The lights kept dimming down, and the truck would slow down. Every now and then we had to stop, and it seemed like the battery was draining. Finally, we got home, and I realized what had happened. The day before I was working on the truck alternator, changing the brushes. So, I checked it and...

“Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay.” James 5:12b (KJV) It’s hard for me to say “No.” When I say “No” I feel guilty. I feel like I have to make excuses and explain why I can’t do something, and I need to apologize. When the minister of our church said he wanted to paint his house and needed volunteers to help him, I volunteered to help. I had expected about a dozen church members to show up, but I was the only one. His house was a small two-bedroom house. We started painting, and then he received a ca...

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Scripture teaches us that no man has ever seen God. The only person to ever come close to seeing God that I read about in the Bible is Moses. And he only saw the back of God, not His face. God told Moses specifically how to approach Him. God said, “Stand in the cleft of the rock” and “you will see my back, but my face must not be seen” (Exodus 33:17-23). God told Moses in that encounter that no one had ever seen Him and...

“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ ” Luke 23:42-43 (NIV) I remember visiting a home where the husband was dying from cancer. I asked if it was okay for me to go and see him in his room. The wife agreed. I entered the room, and you could tell that he did not have many days left. I asked him if he knew Jesus Christ, and he said he did not know. I told him who Jesus is, and that He is prepar...

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I like my truck—it’s a blue 2007 4x4 Chevrolet Avalanche. There’s a bit of rust, a few years and a few miles on it, but it runs good and gets me around. When I’m cruising at normal speed on a flat highway, the 5.3-liter motor runs easily on four cylinders (using less gas). That’s great as long as I’m not hauling a heavy load, trying to climb a steep hill, pulling a big old flat-deck trailer, trying to pass a semi-trailer—or all of the above (at t...

“Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ‘Bring them to me,’ he said.” Matthew 14:16-18a (NIV) We used to have Sunday school in our home back when we lived in Cormorant, MB. We had people from all ages attend. This one day, there were families from our community, and a lot of out-of-town families, too. We used to feed the people who would come from out of town, but this day everyone decided to stay. We knew how much food we had...

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) I grew up near Williams Lake, B.C., on a small reserve called Sugar Cane. I have many sweet memories of playing in the beautiful surroundings of my childhood home. When I started attending the Day School on the...

“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” Luke 6:40 (NIV) Everyone always says, “My mom’s fry bread is the best.” I think back to when I would say the same thing. I can remember when I asked my mom to teach me how to make fry bread. She told my wife and me to grab a bowl, and she told us the ingredients: flour, water, oil, salt, baking powder . . . and two handfuls of love! She told us to mix them together and try not to knead it too much. We would e...

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above . . . ” Colossians 3:1 (NKJV) The old trapper I was visiting mentioned “drops from a plane.” I began to ask some questions of this man who had spent many years on a trapline north of Ft. Chipewyan, Alb. He explained that it was difficult to take enough supplies to last for the duration of the winter and spring trapping seasons, so supplies were ordered whenever they ran low. Communication to the store was by two-way radio. People at the store would wrap up the order—things like flour, sugar, tea and lard...

“And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” Mark 10:49-50 (KJV) Life is unfair and hard at times. Unforeseen events, pain and tragedy seem to confront us. Events can prevent us from continual spiritual growth and happiness in our Christian life. Blind Bartimaeus begged daily in order to survive. During this time in history, such disabilities were often considered a death sentence. As a result, Bartimaeus was likely hopeless and brok...

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!’ ” Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT) The Bible is not clear as to the author of the book of Lamentations but, regardless of who wrote it, it appears to be someone who was in deep distress, particularly over the fact that Jerusalem was being destroyed by the Babylonians. Imagine having your country and people in ruin! It is a terrible loss and the person who wrote this boo...

“Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” 1 Peter 1:2 (NIV) When the Lord first called me to His work, I was so excited and ready to go about sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. But then things happened to destroy all that. I felt shame. There were people relying on me, but I had come up way short of everyone’s expectations— most of all Jesus, who gave up all things for me. I felt like an outcast...

“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Revelation 3:2 (KJV) In Revelation 3, Jesus gave the church in Sardis a warning to repent and turn back to God. It sounds as if most of the believers in the church had become spiritually weak. But there is hope! . . . although death is mentioned, the possibility for renewal remains. Some people have a life motto. My own motto is the title of this devotional. In our little village, language is what kept our people intact. That was a big part...

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) I was thinking about the different ways we do things. For us coffee drinkers, we seem to have a wide variance in the way we like our coffee. The coffee chain I gravitate to has four sizes of coffee: S, M, L and XL . . . three kinds of coffee to choose from: regular, dark roast and...

“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.” Numbers 22:31 (NIV) This story of Balaam, the donkey, and the angel (Numbers 22) reminds me that God knows best and prevents many things from happening that we do not know about. On a cold morning, my family and I were preparing to leave our Saskatchewan home for Manitoba. My van started, but there was no heat, so we ended up staying home. Soon I started having chest pains. I called my daught...

“You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s womb, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this, I have no doubt.” Psalm 139:13-14 (CEV) As a child I had difficulty in seeing value in my life. I looked at other people and compared myself to them. When I didn’t think I measured up (which usually happened), I would look down on myself, thinking I was less than them. That whole thought pattern followed me into my adult years. It took a long time before I realiz...

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Romans 1:20a. (NIV) Do you ever regret the choices you’ve made? Do you wonder if God exists and, if so, why you are in such a mess? Has a self-proclaimed Christian ever wounded you or led you astray? My faith turned to rubble in 1990. I sifted through broken dreams and shattered trust, trying to find a solid foothold, but I kept slipping on fear, anger, confusion and shame. I lay on the floor cr...

“Fear not, for I am with you.” Isaiah 41:10a (NKJV) The phrase “Fear not” appears in the Bible many times, more than any other phrase. It is strange that God has to remind us constantly not to be afraid. The Almighty God of the Universe loves us, and yet we are constantly afraid of a thousand things that might or might not happen. We need constant assurance that God loves us and is watching over us. When my children were small, I would often hold them on my lap and read the Bible to them. We lived on a farm in Oklah...

“Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling, there shall be no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your tent.” Psalm 91:9-10 (MEV) Because of my early life experiences, I carried fear into my adult life. As a young Christian, I did not realize that the enemy would use these fears against me. Often when alone, I would hear someone walking in the other room and, at night, I would see ugly faces in the windows. However, it was the evil presence I could feel around me that scared me t...

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (NIV) Sending us to Sunday school that first year prompted my mom to celebrate Christmas—something I didn’t remember doing before. As she decorated the small tree, I asked her who God is. Her reply was simple, and something I have never forgotten. “God is someone who will never let you down. He will always be there for you.” She had been raised in the Catholic faith and sent to residential school. For her to know that and trust God was trul...

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) I’m saying “good-bye” to a gospel musician friend of mine today. We’ll be singing a few songs at his wake, and then the funeral is tomorrow. I’m really going to miss the guy! I’ll remember him as one who lived his life victoriously. Attending a funeral brings to mind our own mortality—something that most of us try to avoid thinking about until the harsh reality of it slaps us in the face. Like the milk carton in your fridge, you and I have an “exp...