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Saturday Selections – Jan. 4, 2025

"Are you Christian?" (3 min) In this "sermon jam" Paul Washer challenges his listeners to really examine their lives. Why Christians should be the most pessimistic and least pessimistic people on Earth One thing that sets Christianity apart from Islam and every other religion on earth is that it is entirely pessimistic about Man's ability to please God. But Christians shouldn't be pessimistic about the state of the world. Yes, there are troubles, but God hasn't let us fall into utter depravity and He also continues to shower blessings on an undeserving world such that here in the West we are richer than people 100 years ago could have ever imagined. So why then, does it always seem to us why this past year was a doozy, and this upcoming election is always the one that matters most? Turns out there are "7 laws of pessimism" – this is an entirely secular take, but one that Christians can read to take warning of how the temptation of ingratitude can so easily and sneakily come our way. The myth of sexual experience The world says it's important for dating couples to test their “sexual compatibility" before they consider marrying. But the data says God's ways are best – couples who were sexually inexperienced before marrying are more than twice as likely to be "very satisfied" compared with couples who were highly experienced. Courage: the virtue that enables all others If you were tempted, like me, to nitpick this title, then consider this question: is Love, without the courage to speak needed truth to a loved one who doesn't want to hear it, really love? Or is it courage, that enables true love? In this article and accompanying podcast, Jonathon Van Maren speaks to a particularly courageous woman, and new Christian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Two collections of Bible reading plans It's a new year, and, like many of you, that means I'm renewing my resolution to read through the Bible. And I'm looking to some good advice to: Pick a partner to read it with, to build up the positive peer pressure Don't sweat it if I miss a day... or a week – just continue on with that day's reading rather than trying to catch up. Engage with what I read – the point is to know God better, not mark ticks down. Nancy Pearcey on biblical masculinity and the Cultural Mandate Nancey Pearcey, author of The Toxic War on Masculinity, points to some pop culture ideas of what a man should be like – self-sufficient, isolationist, independent – and contrasts that with what the Bible says. ...

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Saturday Selections – Dec. 28, 2024

Click on the headings below to go to the linked articles... Scientist discovers “Cellular origami” This is insane: these cells can expand from just 40 microns long to 1,500 microns in length in an instant. That's the equivalent of a 6-foot-tall guy suddenly stretching from the baseline on the end of one basketball court to then, without moving, dunk the ball, not even on the opposite net, but twice that distance to the practice hoop 200 feet away. Click on the heading above to read the article or the video below to see this cell stretch. Hospitality: another command that's good for us Hospitality can still be intimidating, but this article assures us that "with practice, you’ll grow more comfortable with your guests, and there are tips and tricks that make it easier." Vetting kids’ entertainment isn’t a one-and-done As Brett McCracken highlights, there really are no kids' shows that you can rely on to stay safely propaganda-free. How divorce never ends A child of divorce on why divorce should be a last resort: "...divorce will affect your kids for the rest of their lives, well into adulthood. They will have split holidays and summers. They will have stepparents. Their kids will have step-grandparents. Whatever inheritance they would have been entitled to is often being divvied up with other spouses and their kids. More important than the money, however, is the attention they’ll never get because their parents are dating or remarrying or whatever. They will only be with one parent half of the year — if they’re lucky: we only saw my dad twice a year. They will have to choose who gets Christmas, forever. Or they will be bouncing around at holiday time with their kids, just like the old days." Where did the Flood's water go? Some critical questions get asked and answered so often they become "a PRATT. That is, A Point Refuted A Thousand Times." This is one of those. Interestingly enough, the unbelieving world has their own flood questions to answer. Why you should use the Socratic method when you witness (7 min) Ray Comfort shows the importance of questions when talking and witnessing to folks in the world. ...

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Saturday Selections – Dec. 21, 2024

The perfection of beauty Even if rap isn't a favorite musical genre, you may well be impressed by this, from Blair Linne, wife of Reformed rapper Shai Linne, with her introduction to his Attributes of God album.... It's amazing what happens when you repeat pro-aborts' arguments back to them In this exchange between a pro-lifer and a passerby, we see that we don't all have to be brilliant debaters to stand up for the unborn. The pro-choice side is horrible, so sometimes the best argument can simply be to get them to plainly state their position. And they may well be shocked at what they hear themselves say. Pastoral Q&A: How often should I confess my sins? "You could also simply take the two great commandments and ask: how did I fare in loving God with all my being and my neighbour as myself? Or you could think in terms of sins of omission and commission. Where did I fail to do what God commands today (sinning by omission)? Where did I directly contravene what God positively commands (sinning by commission)?" Does biblical submission of a wife position her to be abused by her husband? The biblical doctrine of male headship in marriage is being denounced as simply a means for abusive men to dominate and abuse women. But that's not true. You are your body "It’s odd that after years of being accused by atheists and materialists of being trapped in our spiritual fantasies and ignoring the real world, Christians now find themselves as the ones saying that the physical world – especially the human body – matters, is real, and is of utmost significance. But here we are. If Christ came in the likeness of men, if He promised to redeem humanity, and if our humanity includes the body, then our bodies really do matter." Russ Tamblyn’s unforgettable “Shovel Dance” (3 min) This is an absolute must-see (even if the movie it is from is not). ...

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Saturday Selections – Dec. 14, 2024

Why you shouldn't lie to your kids about Santa... ...or else this will happen! For more lies check out this follow up. And for a more serious take on why not to lie to your kids about Santa, check out "Yes Virginia, there was a Santa Claus." Responding wisely to pop psychology Much that trades on the name of "Science" is trying to claim for itself that same credibility that we all found in our basic physics and chemistry classes back in high school. Drop that ball and it will fall at a steady 9.8 m/s² every time. But the "science" of evolution is not reproducible like that. And in the field of medicine, the human body is so complex that the same treatment on two different people could result in two very different outcomes. So there's certain science, and then there is a whole realm that shares this same name but which involves guesswork, assumptions, and even philosophy. Christians need to be aware that psychology isn't as measurable as physics –  it isn't that sort of firmer science – and it has, over the decades, had trends that at times were clearly unbiblical, like the 1980s self-esteem trend. Christian counselors that leaned too hard on popular psychology then baptized this trend with the biblical text "love your neighbor as yourself" and put a twist to it, saying self-esteem was important because you can't love your neighbor if you don't love yourself. Which isn't at all what Jesus was saying. This isn't a long article, and it is worth a slow read. Did Pangaea really exist? "Today, we have seven continents scattered across the globe. North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. But once upon a time, did all of these continents link together to form one single supercontinent?" More scrolling = more marital problems Smartphones are causing problems for our children, but did you know more smartphone usage is also associated with lower marital happiness, a higher inclination toward divorce, and infrequent sex? 5 ways the world would be worse without Christianity ...and number 5 is the big one. The one thing that'll free you from FOMO When you look upward, with a heavenly mindset, you won't be obsessed with FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out. God is better than anything here, so don't make your life about experiences – make it about Him. ...

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Saturday Selections – Dec. 7, 2024

Click on the titles for the linked articles... I want a hippopotamus for Christmas  If a boy wants a puppy for Christmas and his parents are reluctant, this might be what he should put on the top of his list – then a dog will seem like no big thing! Babies saved by the budget-conscious?  Elon Musk isn't pro-life, but in the name of government efficiency, he may help axe the hundreds of millions that Planned Parenthood gets from the government each year. If God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line, then yes, He can even use the pro-choice to save babies. Pray that it happens! How the Pill obscures God's truth in creation By divorcing sex from pregnancy, the Pill has obscured one of the most undeniable differences between the genders... and obscuring that difference has led to transgenderism, sexual promiscuity, children out of wedlock, the diminishment of marriage and motherhood, and the elevation of career as a means of finding purpose, meaning, and identity. 101 evidences for a young earth Whether it's elastic tissue from dinosaurs that supposedly died millions of years ago, or folds (not cracks) in strata that is supposed to encompass millions of years, here's all sorts of evidence for the Earth being way younger than the world insists. Preparing our children to suffer well (10-min read) There are things we can do to better prepare our children for the challenges and pains they will inevitably experience. Red Green is an inspiration! For all of us who struggle with home repair projects, Red Green shows us what amazing things a can-do mentality can accomplish. ...

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Saturday Selections – Nov. 30, 2024

What actually is fire? (8 min) In a "don't try this at home" spectacular, a BBC hosts tries to figure out what actually makes up fire. And the wonder of it is, there's kind of nothing to it. It's another marvel that God created for us to investigate – slack-jawed, we discover that the closer we gaze, the more wonder there is to find. How could 10,000 dinosaurs end up in just 1 meter of mud? "There is a layer of mudstone that is 1 meter (3 feet) thick and it stretches for 80-acres. That’s really shallow and really wide. But it’s filled with over a million bones. The big bones are at the bottom and the little bones are at the top, having been 'graded' through a gravity-sorting process." How to get things done: deal with interruptions Appreciated this – I'd never really thought through how the way I deal with interruptions had theological implications. Can Satan perform miracles? What Pharaoh's magicians pulled off in Exodus 7–8 has always had me wondering about the limits on what Satan can do. Clearly, his magicians couldn't do everything Moses and Aaron were enabled by God to do... but they did seem to be able to "create," at least in a sense. So can Satan do miracles? This gent makes a good case to think not. The case for and against visual depictions of Jesus Are images of Jesus violations of the Second Commandment? On top of the cases for and against detailed in the articles above, I'm going to add an additional thought: if you don't know one way or the other, you shouldn't do it. If something might be sinful, and not doing it is fine, then why would you risk doing what's sinful? Jay Adams explains that thought further in his article "What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do." Keith Green rebuts the other world religions in 1 minute He cuts right to the core. ...

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Walmart rolls back the woke

Walmart is rolling back more than prices. In late November, Walmart’s CEO John Furner shared that the company is pulling back from some of its “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) efforts. Walmart is the latest and largest example from a growing list of companies – John Deere, Ford, Target, and Lowes, to name a few – who have been walking away from DEI policies this year. Walmart’s decision made headlines because the company is the largest retailer and private employer in the USA, and the largest company in the world by revenue. DEI is a central plank of critical theory, an ideology that separates the world into categories of “oppressed” groups and “oppressors.” The ideology is now the guiding force in Canadian public universities and drives the agenda of “progressive” activist organizations and political parties, including most of Canada’s political leaders. Sadly, Christian families, churches, and schools are also ingesting this ideology, as it masquerades under the banner of opposing racism and hate. But we can see what it’s really about in what Walmart is now removing. Specific changes include plans to remove sexualized and transgender products that were targeted towards children. Walmart funds have previously been linked to groups that do drag queen story hours, but the company is promising to now ensure the community events that it supports are appropriate for children. It is also ending its participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which rates American companies based on their policies for LGBTQ employees. “This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America,” noted Robby Starbuck, an activist who has been very effective in calling out the woke activities of major corporations on social media. Starbuck had warned Walmart’s executives that he would be highlighting their woke agenda. This resulted in “conversations” and Walmart’s announcement followed soon after. The company clarified that it had been working on changes well before the Presidential election or discussions with Starbuck. For an excellent discussion on critical theory and DEI, be sure to listen to the recent Real Talk podcast interview with apologist Neil Shenvi....

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Saturday Selections – Nov. 23, 2024

Click on the titles to go to the linked articles... Debunking the best proofs of evolution in 12 minutes Some of the best "proofs" of evolution have been shown to be overstated, or have disappeared entirely, in the 150 years since Darwin first published his book. Young men, don’t make that first sports bet! It's impossible to watch sports and avoid all the gambling ads. But if there was truth in advertising, then what they'd promise is, not excitement, but the chance to get money at the expense of others. Or, even more accurately, they offer you the chance to lose your bet, and possibility much much more if you get addicted. So, don't mess with this. How the Marshmallow Test can help you flee porn "We’re always at our strongest in our fight against sin when we see how it trades away God’s goodness for what’s much less satisfying." Caring for the adopted child Our kids' frustrating misbehaviors will often be a matter of déjà vu for parents who recognize they acted similarly when they were kids. But adoptive parents can face the additional challenge of dealing with behaviors they haven't seen before, perhaps because of their child's very different history, or physiological repercussions that might have come from having an alcohol- or drug-addicted birth mom. So how can adoptive parents be sensitive to their child's different needs, without succumbing to the temptation of just excusing bad behavior? Two biblical counselors offer some helpful biblical advice. It's time to rethink retirement The Bible doesn't speak to retirement. It does speak to becoming elders. Carrot juice is murder Babylon Bee is finding it hard to satirize our culture, because their mock-headlines are turning prophetic. This is an old Arrogant Worms song that has yet to be fulfilled, but it does seem only a matter of time. ...

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Saturday Selections – Nov. 16, 2024

Click on the titles to head to the linked articles... How knock-knock jokes are a problem for evolution (14 min) If you found a knock-knock joke carved on a rock in the forest, you'd know that it wasn't the result of natural forces randomly acting over time. And the origin of life is way more complicated than that! This winsome Intelligent Design presentation also highlights 5 problems the evolutionary account can't surmount. (This is worth watching twice!) The porn talk – 9 ways parents can lead children The first might be the biggest: cultivate the conversation – don't avoid it, seek it out. What two unbelievers got right about morality (10-minute read) Tim Keller on how two unbelievers – philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and historian Tom Holland (1968- ) – still recognize that without God there is no basis for right and wrong. The two-book fallacy... again (15-min read) God revealed Himself to us in one book, the Bible, and in a second volume too, which we could call the "book" of creation (Romans 1:19-20, Ps. 19:1-4). But some Christians buy into evolution because they think that this second book is every bit as clear and authoritative as Scripture. Practically speaking, that has them reinterpreting the Bible in light of what evolutionary scientists say they've discovered in Creation. But in this article, Dr. Lisle rebuts this belief and a particular gentleman who holds to it. He writes “If Shane disagrees with my conclusion that words are far superior in communicating truth than rocks and fossils are, then I would ask him to reply using only rocks and fossils – no words please.” Why do even kids' movies take God's Name in vain? Otherwise-family-friendly fare will routinely throw out an abuse of God's Name. Nobody blurts out Mohammad or Allah. No one drops an f-bomb. So why God's Name, so often? The folks at the Christian film review site MovieGuide.org offer their best explanation. The bee-apocalypse: there's always another scare Environmental groups have their apocalyptic bent, and reporters have their own "if it bleeds it leads" motivations, so when they pitch doom and gloom, we shouldn't just swallow their warnings. John Stossel is, of course, not free of his own biases, so caution is needed in ingesting his conclusions here too. But what he highlights that you probably didn't hear about before, is the human cost that comes with the pesticide bans that were pushed. In our fallen world, there is no perfect, negative-free solution – there are always tradeoffs – so we need to hear about the other side, which is on offer here (Prov. 18:17). ...

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Married = less likely to be depressed

Want to reduce your chances of being depressed? Get married! Well, maybe not so fast, but a recent study in Nature Human Behaviour did find that married and cohabitating couples are less likely to be depressed. They looked at more than 100,000 participants across the USA, the UK, Mexico, Ireland, Korea, China, and Indonesia, and found that those who did not live with a partner had a higher chance of depression, a finding that researchers suggest might be due to more social support, more access to economic resources, and the positive influence of spouses on each other. As marriage is declining in our society, this study offers a clue into why depression rates have simultaneously been climbing. It’s not surprising that healthy relationships are beneficial for mental health, but the number of Canadians in these close relationships is declining. Data from Cardus’s Canadian Marriage Map show a steady decrease in the percentage of married couples from 1981-2021. While the percentage of common-law relationships has grown during the same period, the overall percentage of people in either married or common-law relationships has declined slightly as well. In particular, the data shows a steady rise in Canadians aged 20-34 who are not married or common-law, demonstrating younger Canadians are less likely to be experiencing the benefits of these close relationships. As Christians, we might be uncomfortable that the Nature Human Behaviour study lumped cohabitating couples in with married couples, but we can still see here that even “marriage-like” relationships demonstrate the great blessings that God built into the institution of marriage. These relationships still point to why God created marriage as a good thing. Just as Adam knew that being alone in the garden was not quite right, many people also experience that doing life alone is difficult. Unfortunately, so many nowadays are hesitant to enter into this commitment, often as a result of the troubled relationships they see around them. Here Christians can take a role in inviting others to witness the radical vulnerability and respect that a God-directed marriage can demonstrate....

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Lost and found: God’s guiding hand in seeking and finding a missing girl

Just before going to bed on a Thursday evening in mid-September, Michelle Dykstra read a Facebook post by a mother whose six-year-old daughter had gone missing. Earlier that evening, around 6 pm, Oaklynn Schweder had disappeared from her home on the Skin Tyee Reserve, an isolated community in northwest BC. Her mother, Gail Skin, shared the devastating news on social media as the RCMP called in a canine team to help find her. “I felt for her, because she is only six” recalled Michelle, a mother of three who lives just outside of Houston, BC. “I couldn’t sleep very much that night.” Not only is Oaklynn young, she is on the autism spectrum and is non-verbal. To make it even more challenging for searchers, she would sometimes hide in unusual places or up in trees. Adding to the urgency, nighttime temperatures around Oaklynn’s home dip below zero, and the surrounding wilderness teems with wildlife, including bears and wolves. Oaklynn was still missing the next morning, and the updates kept coming back negative. Search and Rescue teams throughout British Columbia joined in, along with the Canadian Rangers and the BC Wildfire Service. In addition to specially trained dogs, the RCMP deployed thermal-imaging drones to try to spot Oaklynn’s heat signature in among the trees. As more help was brought in, media outlets from across the country picked up the story of the missing Indigenous girl. Heart for the lost Unable to stop thinking and praying about Oaklynn, that evening Michelle talked to her husband Tim about whether they could help. They had never been involved in a search before, but they lived just a couple of hours away and felt a strong pull to do something for Oaklynn. “I really did feel like it was definitely put on my heart” Michelle reflected. Saturday wasn’t possible because Tim and their son Owen had to work all day, but they decided that if she was still missing Sunday, and if the search and rescue teams were open to volunteers, they would go out to help (even though they don’t normally miss church). In spite of a team that grew to 600 searchers carefully sweeping the area, by Sunday morning Oaklynn was still missing. The searchers were professionally coordinated, using GPS plotting to ensure every part of the land was covered. By this time, hopes of finding Oaklynn alive were diminishing. Michelle was restless and eager to start searching. They filled a vehicle with Tim, Michelle, their children Owen and Morgan, along with Tim’s sister Mandy Jaswal and her two sons Mica and Carson. Providential frustrations In spite of their eagerness to help, they were frustrated by one snag after another. A forgotten coat resulted in a short delay, which resulted in a missed bus ride, which in turn resulted in a missed ferry across Francois Lake. By the time they got to the search area, they missed the team that headed into the bush and had to wait to be called. They spent the next three and a half hours eating bannock, drinking coffee, visiting, and helping out with things like hauling groceries to the search teams. And then a search coordinator passed their group over, as he was concerned that they weren’t experienced enough for the bush. It was afternoon when they were finally called to search, and they were put under the lead of Glen Franz, a search and rescue volunteer from their home town. Two volunteer firefighters also joined their group. In their designated search area, they were to walk 5 meters apart from each other back and forth, to cover a grid over the land. Only ten minutes in, they hit another snag. The search leader was having trouble finding his location on the map and realized that they had started in the wrong place on their quadrant. By this time, they decided to keep searching from where they were, in the hope of going back later in the day to get the area they missed. The problems didn’t stop there. The devices that the search and rescue team was relying on to chart their progress had almost run out of battery. And there were strong winds gusting, with trees falling regularly. It wasn’t until later that day that they began to see that all of these worries and frustrations were actually the means by which God was guiding them exactly to where they needed to be at just the right time. Calming the wind Although dogs, GPS devices, helicopters, drones, and about 1,400 searchers were all devoted to the singular goal of finding Oaklynn, Michelle turned to another “tactic” – going to God. “I remember walking through the bush just praying, ‘Bring her out! Just show her to anybody. We've got hundreds of people out here. If she's hiding, just bring her out.’” As they walked, they saw bear signs everywhere. Tim shared that some searchers even had to climb into bear dens to look for Oaklynn. Although they at first felt they might turn around a corner and just find her, after hours of searching it sunk in to Mandy that: “the only way that a kid is going to be out here, especially since she is only wearing socks and a t-shirt…is if an animal dragged her over here…. Your brain just goes somewhere else to try and prevent you from the pain of thinking of that.” At 6 pm the organizers informed the searchers that it was time to call it a day and head back to the base. They were only half done their search area when it was shared that their GPS search devices were almost out of battery. They were given the option to end their search. Mandy reminded the group that they still needed to go back to the corner where they were supposed to have started. She insisted that they search there so it wasn’t missed. The group agreed, but they also discovered it was the most challenging land in their area, with a steep gully and a lot of trees blown over that weren’t easy to cross. Recent rain made it all very slippery. “We all went up to the top of that gully,” Michelle said, “just so that we could all get together and then leave.” Given that it wasn’t dark yet, the group wondered if Oaklynn had been located. “The thought came to my mind that maybe they had found a body,” said Michelle. They later learned that the search was called because of the strong winds and the danger that falling trees posed to the searchers. Michelle carrying Oaklynn out of the forest, with the team assisting Then, for just two or three seconds, everything got quiet – the static on the radio stopped, and the wind fell silent. As Mandy explained, “All of a sudden were like, ‘Did you hear that? We heard something, Mom, it sounded like a kid!’” The others listened too, hoping it wasn't just an animal. When they heard the noise again they all started calling Oaklynn’s name. That’s when they heard a response coming from the bottom of the gully. They all heard it. None of the adults remember climbing down the gully, even though it had just been a major chore to climb through it. They said it felt like they were transported there. “I just kept hearing ‘I see her, I see her,’ and I couldn't see her till the last second,” recalled Michelle. “So I just kept running. I could not see her until I got around this bunch of trees, and then all of a sudden there was that log, and she was standing behind it, and then she sees me, so she took a couple steps, and I'm full on running, and I just grabbed her and then sat down on the log. It was like, what just happened? What happened?” While Michelle held the little girl, the others rubbed her feet to warm her up, checked her for injuries, got her some warm clothes, and gave her something to drink. They were amazed to find that, other than looking dehydrated, being covered in berries and grime, and smelling like urine, she looked to be completely unharmed. Tim described the occasion as joy all around. Michelle kept saying “thank you Lord!” Their team leader used his radio to report “subject found,” to the disbelief of those at base camp. And then Michelle proceeded to singlehandedly pack Oaklynn through the forest, with the rest of the team holding back branches and helping her over trees. They were so close to the base camp that they could even hear the cheer of the crowd when they were told that Oaklynn had been found and was okay. Just twenty minutes later and they were back to where her mother and father were anxiously waiting. The mom’s reunion with Oaklynn was caught on video and has been viewed on Facebook over 3 million times, in addition to the TV reports that used the footage around the world. But what wasn’t captured was Michelle and the team that God providentially used to find Oaklynn. Recognizing Providence As Tim, Michelle, Mandy, and their children recounted the day’s events, they kept coming back to the same conclusion: God was orchestrating every detail, even the mistakes and frustrations, to allow for the joyful reunion of Oaklynn and her loved ones. If they had started searching where they were supposed, to, they likely wouldn’t have found her because she was moving steadily and wasn’t even in their search area when they actually found her. They also thank God for the young ears of their children, who were the first to hear Oaklynn, even though she couldn’t speak and even though she was more than 100 meters away. Likewise, they praise God for calming the wind and radios so that they could hear her voice. “So all these little glitches, all these little things, all the little breaks, all the perfect timing up to the point of the wind stopping. Like, Who stops the wind?” asked Mandy. “It's obvious, right?” Confessing Providence The previous Saturday, when Michelle was still at home folding laundry and thinking about Oaklynn, she recalled how so many Christians athletes who competed in the Summer Olympics used their platform to give glory to God. “I was thinking, if there’s any chance, I would make sure I would glorify God, right? Because you’ve got to do that.” The day after Oaklynn was found they were invited to a feast organized by the local Indigenous band to thank the many people involved in the search. There was singing, drumming, and speeches, including a mix of traditional native spirituality and Christianity. “The person at the mic asked ‘Does anybody else want to say anything?’” recalled Michelle. “And everybody else is quiet. And then all of a sudden, I'm like, ‘Wait, no, I do. I have to say something.’” Although she is fearful of public speaking, she took the opportunity to share with everyone that it was God who orchestrated all of this. She recalled how she had prayed while searching, and how God directed everything to work together so that Oaklynn was found. Her testimony was shared on Facebook live, and part of it was quoted in their local newspaper. Rejoicing and weeping In Matthew 18, Jesus shares a story of a man with a hundred sheep, one of which goes astray. When he finds it “he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” The searchers shared how vehicles were honking on the ferry ride as they returned from the search, and how they received numerous texts and messages of joy over the news that Oaklynn had been found. Although their children slept well that night, Michelle and Mandy shared how they both had a hard time sleeping, and experienced their share of tears in the days following. By Wednesday, Michelle was back to doing laundry. “I find the sweater that I was wearing, and I pick it up, and it was just this strong smell of pee, like urine, and I just start crying like crazy. I completely broke down.” Later, she went “to bring laundry from the washer to the dryer, and I find the sweater again, and it doesn't smell like pee, and I'm crying again, and it's just a complete mess.” The group admitted they had a hard time in the following days, feeling like a piece of them was missing, since they put their heart out for Oaklynn and now she is back with her parents and doesn’t even know who they are. In many ways, that is exactly what love is. Photos by Mica and Mandy Jaswal....

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Is it job creation if government is doing most of the hiring?

COVID brought with it huge government expenditures, and the end of the crisis didn’t end the growth of government. Over the four years of 2019-2023, there was a steep increase in new government jobs, contrasted with relatively little growth in the private sector. Data compiled by the Fraser Institute reveals that new jobs created by the country’s federal and provincial governments increased by 13 percent, more than three times greater than the 3.6 percent increase in private sector jobs. But it is the contrast between the provinces that is the most striking. Alberta and Nova Scotia, run by conservative governments, both had a greater percentage of growth in the private sector. Compare this with BC, where under the NDP, government jobs grew by 22% compared to just 0.5% for the private sector. In their report “Economic Recovery in Canada before and after COVID,” the Fraser Institute compared the data with five previous recessions and slowdowns and found that “none of those recoveries were nearly as reliant on job creation in the government sector.” Governments have always been interested in growing – 3,000 years ago the Lord warned Israel that the king they were demanding would want all sorts of servants (1 Sam. 8:11-18) – and times of hardship are often used to justify larger government reach. Checks and balances, including elections, are a crucial part of restraining a government. Unfortunately, in recent elections, the public has been rewarding parties who pledge to increase government debt rather than rein it in....

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Saturday Selections – Nov 9, 2024

Letters from war In remembrance of the many who fought for us... Ants build landmarks for navigation Ants have brains a quarter the size of a honeybee's brain and yet they can navigate across salt plains that have no landmarks. This is a bit of a technical read, but it rewards the effort. Minuscule marchers though they might be, ants shout God's glory. Use any of these 8 phrases every day, and you’re more emotionally mature/secure than most A secular psychologist pitches 9 phrases, but as John Beeson noted when sharing these, one is not like the others "(but I'll let you spot which one is problematic)." His two favorites are "Am I like that?" and "Let me think about that before I respond." Can a Christian be a lawyer? (15-min read/ 25-min listen) The short answer is, yes, of course. The longer answer is, yes, but the job does come with some real challenges. Looking for a loving dentist "Can you help me find a loving dentist? I’m not interested in a loving person who simply hates plaque and cavities. I do not want him to offer wise suggestions based upon what he knows about teeth. Instead, it would be nice for him to just agree with me about my teeth and my diet. I don’t want anyone who will suggest mouth wash, flossing, or brushing – or make me feel badly for not using them. In fact, I simply want one who will agree with all my decisions related to my mouth." The trust about Auschwitz guards Jordan Peterson on how the Holocaust was caused by "ordinary men." We've reviewed Ordinary Men, the book Peterson mentions. ...

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Alberta to ban men from women’s sports

The Alberta provincial government has proposed legislation to prohibit male athletes who claim to be females from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Their “Fairness and Safety in Sport Act” (Bill 29) would apply to most amateur competitive sports organizations in the province, including public and private school leagues, as well as college and university athletics. While about half of all U.S. states have similar laws, this would be the first time that a Canadian province would issue a clear delineation against such unfair and potentially dangerous competition. God made men and women vastly different from each other, and part of this difference is that men are typically bigger, stronger and faster than women of the same age. When males compete against girls and women, the competition is often one-sided, with predictable results. Average male athletes become champions and record-setters when they stop competing with boys and instead race, box and wrestle against girls. In addition to the lack of fairness, such competitions can be dangerous, especially in sports that encourage physical contact between participants, or where a ball or puck is involved. In one high-profile case in North Carolina, high school volleyball player Payton McNabb was badly injured when a male opponent spiked the ball at her head, resulting in a concussion and neck injury, and long-term memory problems and headaches. McNabb has become an outspoken advocate to keep women’s sports for female participants only. Anyone who has witnessed male swimmers dressed as women competing against females can attest to how unfair the competition is, and how clear it is that these men have an enormous physical advantage. Sports leagues for youth are often divided by age categories: we would not expect a 17-year-old to compete against 12-year-olds! Common sense dictates that males should not be permitted to perpetuate the fantasy that they are females, by acting in a way contrary to how the Lord made them. That's all the more obvious when their act hurts not just themselves, but others too. In Romans 1, Paul reminds us that those who rejected the Lord “became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Citizens of Alberta may be thankful that some of this foolish thinking may be discouraged by this legislation....

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Saturday Selections – Nov 2, 2024

The robot repairman inside you (12 min) In the latest must-see episode of Dr. Michael Behe's "Secrets of the Cell" series, we look at some of the amazing repair mechanisms inside the cell. That our cells have so many different ways of breaking down, and need so much upkeep, creates another “chicken and egg” problem for evolutionists. As Dr. Behe explains: “You can’t have one without the other. The first life necessarily had a complete maintenance system. And just like so much else we’ve seen about the cell, its remarkable repair machines, which sustain you every moment of your life, are products of forethought and purposeful planning. That is, they are products of intelligent design.” Behe's "Secrets of the Cell" series should be required viewing in our Christian schools. For more, check out Season 1 and Season 2. YOLO and FOMO forget you don't only live once (5-min read) This is a bit of a philosophical read, but one worth considering for our own sake, and to help out our kids. When they are battling FOMO because they have to choose to do one thing or the other, or we're contemplating that we not likely to ever go on an African Safari, it's worth remembering that this life is not all we have – God has given us eternity! Euthanasia for homelessness? When you can call murder "medicine" what reason could you give not to extend the metaphor and see it as a medicine for other societal "ills" like homelessness or loneliness? And as this AP News report details, it is happening in Canada. What they don't offer is the only firm line that can be drawn to prevent such abuses - the biblical understanding that life is a gift from God, and therefore not ours to dispose of as we will. "The committee noted that legally mandated safeguards likely were not met in nearly 2% of cases. Despite that, experts say, no doctors or nurses have ever been prosecuted." The state of Christian persecution God has no interest in hypocrisy (Isa. 29:13, Amos 5:21-27), which is one of the Christian basis's for religious freedom – God doesn't want us forcing anyone to go to church, or compeling them to say what they do not believe because He isn't interested in fakery. That's not true of many other religions, including our culture's secular religion, which demands we use "preferred pronouns" no matter that we all know better. Just do it anyway! That's why, then "...over 365 million Christians, or about one in seven globally, face high levels of persecution today, including one in five Christians in Africa and two in five in Asia. And it’s getting worse. In 2023, 4,998 Christians were martyred, an average of over 13 per day." The pot experiment has been a disaster "Legalizing pot correlates with a rise in auto crashes, as well as property and violent crimes. Also, despite the fact that this is now a multibillion-dollar industry, legalizing pot has grown rather than reduced the black market. Promises of health benefits have also proven to be more smoke than substance. Pot’s most devastating impact has been in the arena of mental health, which has declined to epidemic levels in the U.S. This is largely due to the increased potency of pot that is sold today..." Fade to black One that'll grow on you. ...

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John Rustad, latest conservative leader to promote IVF

During the last month’s provincial election campaign, BC Conservative leader John Rustad promised that, were he elected, he would expand access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) by funding a second round of treatments. The NDP government had previously pledged to fund one round of IVF, starting in 2025. Rustad’s pledge made him the latest conservative politician to promote IVF. South of the border, less than two months earlier, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump promised to get IVF treatments covered by insurance companies or by the government. Then, in September, US senator, and fellow Republican, Ted Cruz put forward a bill that would penalize any state governments that banned IVF. Why has the political right come out for IVF now? The impetus might be an Alabama Supreme Court decision back in February that initially looked like it might stop IVF. The decision allowed couples to sue an IVF clinic for the “wrongful death” of their frozen embryos who had died in a storage accident. The ruling wasn’t a full acknowledgement of the personhood of these preborn children, because the parents could have killed these same children without consequence. But for the IVF industry, it meant that if they killed these children against parents’ wishes, they could be sued for a wrongful death. And when these frozen children are protected and treated even a little bit like the children that they are, then the IVF industry can't function because killing these children is a standard part of IVF "treatments," with far more embryos killed or frozen than are ever born. So three of the state’s IVF clinics put themselves on pause as they sorted things out. Sadly, “conservative” politicians were among those who came to their rescue, the previously pro-life Ted Cruz among them, proposing legislation that would shield the clinics. With IVF in the news, the formerly pro-life Donald Trump promised to make IVF free. Rustad took the trend north of the border with his own “pro-family” pledge to double the current government’s IVF pledge. If there is a silver lining to the NDP getting back into power in BC, it would be that Rustad won’t be able to implement his pledge, and perhaps Christians can get him to reconsider before he makes it again. As even the Alabama courts’ partial protection of the frozen preborn shows, the IVF industry can only operate when we ignore the humanity of the embryos being created. What's also evident is how badly the Church needs to speak out about the horrors of IVF, if even “pro-lifers” and conservatives don’t understand it is not pro-family to freeze and murder preborn babies. We have reason to hope they might even listen....

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Saturday Selections – Oct. 26, 2024

The key to happiness Jewish commentator Dennis Prager makes the case that gratitude is the key to happiness. He makes a good case, but as Christians, why would we think that would be? Prager goes a little stoic - expect nothing, and you will never be disappointed. But I suspect it is more a matter of seeing the world as it actually is. Everything good we get is truly undeserved, and a matter of God's grace. So when we respond in gratitude, we are responding as we have been designed to do. That is, in fact, getting very close to our purpose, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. See no Creator? Evolution blinds scientists from searching for function in supposed “vestigial” organs "Vestigial organs" are presented as evidence of our evolutionary past – these are organs we don't use now, but which are said to have served a function back in one of our earlier evolved states. The human "yolk sac" is one of these. But like other supposed vestigial organs (and our supposed "junk DNA"), that scientists didn't know its function doesn't mean it didn't have a function. Turns out this yolk sac is very important to fetal development. This is another example of how evolution hampers science. It's because they don't understand Man as "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14), that evolutionists weren't motivated to go look for the purpose of this organ. In their ignorance, they presumed it was only an evolutionary dead-end. The remarkable Katharina von Bora, wife of Luther God used a couple to spark His Reformation... How not to be a grumpy old woman "My ninety-eight-year-old mother recently passed away after living with me for three years. When I spoke at her memorial service, I said, “You could not do what I did for an easier person. She was grateful, cheerful, and never complained.” Watching her made me wonder what sort of old person I will be. Churches hold parenting retreats, marriage conferences, and seminars on managing finances, but have you ever heard of a church that offered a seminar on how to grow old?" Lessons from the USSR on sexual morality The communists blew up the family, and they paid a price. Should Christians celebrate Halloween? 3 points to consider... (5 min) "You’re in a conversation and someone says, 'Christians shouldn’t celebrate Halloween. It’s a pagan holiday that glorifies evil.' What would you say?" ...

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This time the liberals are leaving – congregations depart CRC over orthodox turn

As many as 24 congregations will disaffiliate from the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) after its Synod 2024 made clear that disagreement with the federation’s official positions on homosexuality will not be permitted. At its federational meeting in 2022, the CRC had accepted The Human Sexuality Report, which affirmed the traditional Biblical teaching that homosexual sex is sinful and clearly forbidden by Scripture, and that that Confessions already condemn such actions as sin against the seventh commandment. The question that Synod 2024 ruled on was how the churches would deal with congregations that did not agree with this adopted teaching and allowed practicing homosexuals to remain office bearers and members in good standing. Synod 2024 ruled that: “churches which have declared themselves to be… in protest… regarding synod’s decisions shall be entered into a one-year process of discipline requiring repentance and a move toward restoration with CRCNA positions, or towards disaffiliation.” By requiring repentance of these churches, Synod 2024 essentially called it sinful to affirm that homosexual behavior is permissible for Christians, and affirmed the clear delineation that Synod 2022 had adopted. Remaining “in protest” is likely not an option for churches that disagree with these decisions: they are being asked to repent, or disaffiliate, within a one-year period. In October, The Banner reported that at least seven churches have officially indicated a desire to disaffiliate from the denomination, while Religion News Services suggested that “at least two dozen” would do so. The CRC consists of just over 1,000 churches, and around 290,000 members, so these numbers represent a very small percentage that may increase in the coming months. Interestingly, one congregation, Mountain View CRC in Lynden, WA is leaving despite The Human Sexuality Report, and not because of it. According to The Banner, they said that the same “hermeneutic that allowed for women in office has helped pave the way to other wrongful interpretations, namely the roughly 30% of Synod that promote full inclusion of practicing LGBT people.” Readers of Reformed Perspective are likely familiar with decisions by the CRC that tended towards a more liberal view of Scripture, especially in allowing women to become elders and pastors. It is refreshing and encouraging to see the denomination take a firm stand against our culture’s celebration of sexual sin with this clear, Biblical stance....

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Saturday Selection – Oct 19, 2024

4 minutes of penguins being brave and cool In this clip, penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff for their very first swimming experience. And while, admittedly, some are only doing so because of those jerks in the back pushing, most are up for taking that very brave first step. One of the most remarkable features of early Christian manuscripts The earliest documents show Christian scribes were already showing reverence, in their copying, to the name of Jesus Christ. Is in vitro fertilization (IVF) pro-life? Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? Say that out loud and it is quite the mouthful to consider, but it is an important question for Christians to ask when it comes to the unborn. And that's especially true now, in light of the recent political popularity of IVF, with both Donald Trump, and BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad pledging to make it affordable. The Christian pro-life position is that the unborn's worth – and everyone else's worth too – comes from being made in God's Image (Gen. 1:26-27). This isn't something we grow into, or increase in, but is simply an attribute given by God. That we are all made in God's Image is why the just-conceived embryo is as valuable as the fetus, newborn, toddler, teen, and adult. It is also the only basis for equality. This Christian pro-life position stands in sharp contrast to the world's evaluation of human worth, which bases it on what we can do. They might differ on what exactly we need to be able to do to be worthy of life – some insisting it is consciousness, others saying it is viability, brainwaves, a heartbeat, or being able to feel pain – but in some form or fashion the world says human worth is based on being able to do something and if you can't do it, then you aren't deemed fully human yet. The linked article is an op-ed from a conservative but not Christian publication. What's worth noting is how this "pro-life" piece leaves it as an open question of if we believe that an embryo is a person. I'm not trying to throw this writer under the bus – they are raising an issue that few are willing to even discuss – but read through this asking yourself if, at the end of it, you are left thinking the "discarding" of 1.7 million embryos from 1991-2012 is anywhere near as horrible as the murder of 1.7 million newborn, or elementary-aged, children would be. If you don't – and I'll admit to that feeling too – it is only because you and I don't really believe that what we say we believe about the unborn's worth is really real. But it is real. So we need to stop being doubleminded (1 Kings 18:21, James 4:7-9). There is a pressing need for the Church to speak with clarity against the horrors caused by IVF – especially because conservative leaders might actually listen to us – but God's people will only be able to do so if we're willing to submit our own feelings and thinking to the Lordship of Christ. How the Internet made vibes more important than arguments (10-min read) For Christians, truth must matter. But in our culture, it's all about impressions now: "The vibe world is Memes over messages. Aesthetics over arguments. Relatability over rightness. Feelings over facts. Mood over meaning...If I care about issue X and can find evidence a certain candidate somewhere, at some point, said he shared my view on issue X, I can permit myself to support that candidate (even if elsewhere he said he doesn’t support issue X, or said he supports issue Y that contradicts issue X). Incoherence is an electoral asset in the internet age. What matters more than coherent views is a compelling vibe. Politicians know this...." The seat of scoffers There is a lot of scoffing online because it is easier to tear down than it is to build up. So in your intake of social media, what is your diet of scoffing compared to wisdom? Your sense of hearing is a masterpiece of engineering (6 min) There's nothing to indicate this was made by a Christian, but if evidence alone could change a man's heart, then this video (and the accompanying article – click the title above) most certainly would! This looks at our hearing, and any time we dig down into the workings of our body, God's genius becomes all the more evident the further we explore. Some technical terminology means the video requires a little effort to stick with, but it rewards the investment! ...

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Stats Canada: birth rate now at just 1.26 children per woman

Statistics Canada is reporting that the country’s birth rate has dropped to among the lowest in the world, at just 1.26 children per woman, and British Columbia leads the downward trend with a birth rate of just 1 child per woman. To put these numbers in context, for a country’s population to remain stable – neither growing nor shrinking – each woman needs to have, on average, 2 children – one to replace her, and one to replace her spouse. The real number is even a smidge higher at 2.1, to account for children that don’t make it to adulthood. But outside of Nunavut, at 2.48 children, no province or territory is even at replacement level. Saskatchewan is next best, at 1.63 children. So how might this impact Canada’s population over the coming decades? For simplicity’s sake, we’ll drill into this using a sample population of just 100, with 50 men and 50 women. If each of these women averages 1.26 children, then in one generation we’re down to a population of 63. Let’s round that up to 64, or 32 men and 32 women. If those 32 women then average 1.26 children each, we’re down to a population of just 40. In just two generations we’ve seen the population drop by 60%. Applied to Canada’s current population of 40 million, that would see us drop all the way down to 16 million in two generations. So why is Canada’s population still growing, and growing fast? We’re up by more than a million over just the last few years! This is due to an influx of immigrants – more than a million over the last few years. The growth isn’t coming internally. Massive immigration is one short-term means of forestalling population collapse, but it isn’t a long-term answer, because birth rates are falling all over the world. And if the population decreases everywhere, there won’t be immigrants knocking on our door. What’s the solution? Everyone seems to be looking to the government, but to this point, no program in any country has done much to slow the decline. The case could be made that the government isn’t the answer, but it is part of the problem – every childcare program meant to make having children easier needs to be paid for with higher taxes, and higher taxes make it that much harder to get by for one-income families where a mom wants to stay at home. So what is the answer? Our culture needs to turn to God, not government. Do we sometimes find that a hard message to share? Well, thankfully, God is making it easier for us, by “platforming” us via the size of our families. It used to be you'd need to have 6 children or more to stand out, but now just 4 will give you an opportunity to let your light shine as people ask why so many? We can glorify our God, and help our country, just by speaking to the blessings He has given us in our children. This chart is adapted from Stats Canada’s “Fertility indicators, provinces and territories: Interactive dashboard” posted to StatsCan.gc.ca on Sept. 25, 2024. Used with permission. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product....

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