All Articles By
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AssortedRuin and restoration and our part
When the world falls into spiritual darkness and all you see around you is chaos and misery, what then? Isaiah, in chapter 24, spoke of…
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People we should knowThat cloud of witnesses….
Mina and Marco in Egypt Open Doors is a non-denominational mission working in over 60 countries where Christianity is socially or legally discouraged or oppressed….
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Church historyThere was a man: Ulrich Zwingli
“Many men are like unto sausages: Whatever you stuff them with, that they will bear in them.” – Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). “Start children…
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Book excerptsEdith Cavell: a brave guide
Some 150 years ago, on December 4, 1865, English woman Edith Cavell was born. And 100 years ago, on October 12, 1915, during the First…
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Amazing stories from times pastCarried
Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have…
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AssortedThat which bubbles up to the surface
The Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul, (1939-2017), is quoted as saying: “… laughter is precisely the kind of thing that will always confound scientists because it…
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Dying WellMoth and rust resolutions
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for…
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AssortedLearning
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” – Psalm 119:71 Is it possible that something bad can…
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AssortedYea, all things
come not by chance but by His fatherly hand – Lord’s Day 10 ***** The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision…
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AssortedSliver Mustard’s journey
Perhaps as many as a million people lived in Noah’s Grove. A thriving community, it had begun small but had grown over decades and centuries….
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Recent ArticlesThe Way
Jesus told his disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)…
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Amazing stories from times pastOn conmen and other masters of deceit
God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices (Eccl. 7:29) There are vagabonds and there are villains; there are crooks and there…
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Recent ArticlesThe “Watchmaker argument”
Two hundred years ago a bishop, by the name of William Paley, wrote a book in which he used a watch to illustrate how clear…
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People we should knowWibrandis Rosenblatt: “Bride of the Reformation”
In Your presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:9-11) ***** I can vividly recall how, as a child, I visited people with my father….
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Being the ChurchWise and Innocent
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” – Matt. 10:16…
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People we should knowChang Shen: grace to persevere
Like as the armèd knight Appointed to the field With Thy Word will I fight And faith shall be my shield. Anne Askew (1521-1546) *****…
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AssortedOn the Truth, and the cost of lies
“Remember: one lie does not cost you one truth but the Truth” – Hebbel **** It seems that truth is bendable – it has become elastic during…
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Amazing stories from times pastHis eyes are darker than wine, and his TEETH WHITER THAN MILK – Gen. 49:12
There are a number of references in the Bible to teeth. The word “teeth” is used on a number of occasions: to indicate blessing, as…
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AssortedThe quickening
“The great mass of this bleary-eyed world can see nothing of the ineffable glories of Immanuel. He stands before them without form or comeliness, a…
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EvangelismThat I may declare it boldly
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…
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AssortedOutward appearance over against the heart
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not…
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Amazing stories from times pastThe Parable of Ryker and Samwell
“As water reflects the face, so one’s heart reflects the man.” Prov. 27:1 ***** Luke rightly says that out of the abundance of the heart…
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AssortedUnless the Lord builds the house
“…but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” – Matt….
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AssortedWords and Phrases: a little road trip quiz
When you travel out for your holidays this summer and are stuck in traffic with a carful of fidgety teenagers, or are snugly ensconced in…
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Amazing stories from times pastRev. Alfred Sadd (1909-1942): a great man, and a faint shadow
The December 8, 1942 issue of The Times, the British daily newspaper based in London, published a small but complimentary obituary/article on the death of…
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Amazing stories from times pastFour days in the life of Albert Tenfold
What you’ll find below is a Reformed Perspective tradition that started back in the winter of 1991 – 31 years ago! Each year since then,…
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Dying WellCome, sweet death, Come blessed rest!
Last week, while working in the backyard, I chanced to speak with one of our neighbors. There is only a wire fence separating our properties…
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NewsNancy Pelosi steals communion
A man, given a handsome offer by his king for a piece of property he owned, refused to sell. It was not that the man…
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AssortedThe words a father speaks
The words a father speaks to his children in the privacy of the home are not overheard at the time, but, as in the whispering…
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AssortedFraud and Truth
Fraud is defined as wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. And insurance fraud is a deliberate deception perpetrated against…
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AssortedAll’s well with the Earth
“I’m so glad that my parents never experienced such a time as this, such a time of uncertainty.” “I’m so glad they did not have…
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AssortedSuffer Annie Spence
The smooth money resting in John’s calloused hand equaled his small plot of land; a few acres lay on a roughened palm. It had only…
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ParentingA Tale of Two Fathers
“…even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He…
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AssortedA matter of seeing: decay and delights to consider
Some years back we rented a little island cottage north of Kingston, Ontario, sight unseen, for the first week of July. The fact that in…
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AssortedThe devil’s foothold
Three demons perched on the edge of a big-city skyscraper. They often met at this particular pinnacle at the close of a day swapping stories…
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People we should knowBetsie, the watchmaker’s daughter
“But I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” – Matthew 5:44. ***** Extraordinary stories of extraordinary men and women…
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AssortedWoven Together
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the…
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Recent ArticlesRepent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out
New Year’s resolutions – we all make them and then we all break them. Perhaps praying the first part of the Proverbs 30:8 prayer is…
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Letter WritingHow letters mingle souls
“Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls, For thus, friends absent speak. – John Donne (1572-1631) When my father courted my mother, he wrote her…
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Amazing stories from times pastArchbishop Ussher and being fully known
It is a very special thing to be known, to have someone look at you and understand you and love you simultaneously. My father lost…
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Amazing stories from times pastThe Son of the Clothmaker – a slice of the English Reformation
During the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), Maurice Abbot, a clothmaker in Guildford, Surrey, England, and his wife Alice, became committed Protestants. And during their…
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Amazing stories from times pastThe Good Hanoverian (Luke 10:29-37)
There is a remarkable anecdote about George III of England, that king with whom most people are acquainted through the 1994 movie The Madness of…
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AssortedVindication and the spider
There are nearly 40,000 different kinds of them around the world. Some can catch frogs, rabbits and even birds with their strong poisons and fangs….
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Amazing stories from times pastCrying, “Abba! Father!”
I have a friend in a nursing home whom I visit regularly. Her name is Dinah and she is a widow. We met her through…
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Amazing stories from times past30 days of April
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die… ****…
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Recent ArticlesOn the Trinity: Augustine, the American Revolution, and my Jehovah’s Witness friend
I have a friend in a nursing home whom I visit regularly. Her name is Dinah and she is a widow. We met her through…
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Church historyWhen the Word of God is not preached
Half-truths, little tidbits of information used for one’s own interpretation and advantage, can be harmful, even damnable. Zeal without knowledge can be destructive, extremely destructive….
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Book excerpts
Edith Cavell: a brave guide
Some 150 years ago, on December 4, 1865, English woman Edith Cavell was born. And 100 years ago, on October 12, 1915, during the First…
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AssortedForming Adam
For Geoffrey Thomas, my tall friend in Wales, who related an anecdote and gave me the idea. ***** In the craft of sewing, things are…
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AssortedThe boy that drove the plow
“If God spare my life, ere many years pass, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture than thou…
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AssortedI Have A Son Seven Years Old; He is to me full dear…
This a short story about World War II, the immigrant experience…and much more Chapter 1. The teacher Perhaps it is true that one’s conscience is…
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AssortedHe who has ears, let him hear
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into…
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HistoryQuestioning daycare and preschool: how young is too young?
In this twenty-first century, more and more children are being relegated to daycare or other institutions that look after them for a great many hours…
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AssortedHenry VIII’s reformation, Big Bird, and the end coming to us all
Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh or “Come, sweet death, come, blessed rest” is a melody Johann Sebastian Bach composed in the 1700s. Through this wonderfully…
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AssortedRemembering the head nurse and other people
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. (Ps. 143:5) ***** Hope deferred, Proverbs…
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HistoryCharles Darwin’s grave mistake
One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, on April 19, 1882, a seventy-three-year-old man died at home in his bed. He was surrounded by his wife…
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AssortedCome now, let us reason together
They say that the optimist sees the glass half full, the pessimist sees the glass half empty, and that the alchemist sees the glass completely…
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Culture ClashesBruce Jenner & Micklewhite: Adult problems lurk amongst the picture books
It was a beautiful day. The temperature had soared to eighty degrees plus and one of our daughters and four of our grandchildren were over…
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Church historyMacarius: great works vs. grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because…
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AssortedSong of Songs (A Christine Farenhorst Christmas story)
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a…
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Book excerptsThe Reformation comes to Strasbourg
This past year we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and with the focus on Luther, but also other big names like Calvin, Knox…
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AssortedWhat are we to make of gambling?
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses….
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ParentingOn reading together
It used to be, a generation and a half or so ago, that reading out loud was family entertainment. My own childhood memories – although…
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Assorted“Did God answer her prayer?“
To my dear niece and namesake: First of all, thanks for your letter. It’s great to hear from a niece. The pages you wrote were…
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Assorted
That cloud of witnesses….
Mina and Marco in Egypt Open Doors is a non-denominational mission working in over 60 countries where Christianity is socially or legally discouraged or oppressed….
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AssortedGo to the ant, you sluggard…
“Go to the ant, you sluggard consider its ways, and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provision in…
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AssortedTo be known
It is a good thing to be known, that is to say, to be familiarly recognized. When someone greets you by your first name and…
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AssortedOn being separated
“For this reason the Father loves Me because I lay down my life in order that I may take it up again. No one has…
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Evangelism“And behold, I come quickly” – the dying need to hear the gospel
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let…
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AssortedAfterward…
Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe (1…
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AssortedIf only for this life we have hope in Christ…
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of…
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AssortedThe Gift: an allegory of sorts
“Why do you always have that small string wrapped around the top button of your sweater, father?” The father smiled at his son. “Have I never…
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People we should knowJacobus Arminius: professed the confessions even as he opposed them
The baby, baptized Jacob Harmenszoon, lay contentedly in his mother’s arms. Warmth, food and love sheltered his small physical being. Even though his father was…
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Religion – Roman CatholicJorge’s Heresy
People might not think they know Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina. As a matter of fact, when asked, most will probably say they’ve never heard…
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AssortedChoice words – a queen’s folly
“The gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.” – Prov. 18:8 ***** There is an old adage which says,…
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Christian educationRating books for the school library
Having just reviewed Escape From the Killing Fields (by Nancy Moyer) for the senior section of our Christian School Library, I thought it would be…