If God, Why Evil? is a well crafted book by Dr Norman Geisler of Veritas Evangelical Seminary in California. The chapters are easy to read by both scholar and lay person in any church. Geisler guides the conversation from the conception of evil and on to a number of other issues many of us have had. For example, ever wonder how Adam and Eve knew what death was as God described it to them? Ahh, then check out appendix 1. But enough of reading my thoughts, pick up the book yourself. Geisler doesn’t give all the answers but he does allow you to hear questions that have been asked for centuries and he tries to help the modern evangelical enter the discussion.

Blessings as you read!

Kevin

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.  Available now at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I had lunch with a new Christian today. He’s bright, articulate, funny, and desperately seeking how to make Christ the Lord of his life. I’ve been studying Philippians 4:8-9 this week and couldn’t help but share it with him. In this passage Paul reminds each of us that we need to work on two things – our heart and then our actions.

Check out these verses in Philippians. Once we begin to orient our minds then our actions will follow. So, don’t worry about your ”bent” to want evil, filth, and garbage in your life. That truly is a reality of the fall. However, those desires can be diverted if your heart is oriented to God and obedience flows out from there. Blessings.

A few days ago I sent out word to some ministry friends about the position becoming available. A ministry colleague of mine phoned me yesterday and was excited about the fact that our church had this position and made a recommendation of a young man to us. After our conversation I realised the incredible power that came in this personal recommendation.

Please pray for our church as we continue to seek God’s leading. Our students mean the world to me and so we will pursue a quality leader for them!

This past week I took an afternoon and read Sergio De La Mora’s book The Heart Revolution. This book has been slowly percolating in my mind over the past few days and as I reflected on its content I realised something – I was being hit by a SPONGE! The Heart Revolution is a great idea that should have been an article, not a book. The book is a collection of 40 readings which are aimed to help you ”respond to God’s call in your life and allow Him to revolutionize your heart.” (pg 29) The struggle for me was that the first half of the book felt like each day repeated itself – different Bible verses & different life stories but the same message. This may have been Sergio’s goal but to an avid reader it will come across like a lack of content.

The book did have some redeeming qualities. In the last half of the book Sergio makes an attempt to reorient the understanding of his audience surrounding issues like money, sex, marriage, and the Christian life. Many of these could be used individually to help a neighbour, friend, or Christian brother or sister as they are struggling with an issue. Sergio does speak from considerable life experience as he leads Cornerstone Church in California.

If you are looking to be inspired I’d suggest alternative options for a Sunday afternoon of reading. However, if you are truly in a place of pain, strife, or self-defeat then this book is worth picking up. Sergio’s testimony of coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is worth the purchase in and of itself. 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.  Available now at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

So if you love soccer, this is a great night viewing!  Check it out.

Now I know summer camp isn’t for everyone. But for the majority, Christian summer camps offer an incredible place to get away from the busyness of life, issues that might exist with family and friends, and normal daily routine in order to realign oneself with God. For me that happened in the summers of 1992-1995 at Muskoka Bible Centre (formerly Muskoka Baptist Conference) where God used a number of key adults, speakers, and the location itself to speak into my heart.

Kaj Ballantyne, Senior Pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Muskoka was one of those guys. Although a few years older than I, he allowed me to hang around his group of friends where I learned to rock climb but more importantly learned a lot about God and life in casual conversation. Kaj was instrumental in my choice of Bible colleges and even to consider ministry in general.

Roger Wong was another one of those guys. He was my supervisor for a summer as I began in youth ministry and seeing this man’s heart for God, life, and students excited me to continue on my journey of ministry. He also saved me from some crazy stunts along the way!

Matthew Kerr, Associate Pastor of Worship and Small Groups at Faith Baptist Church in Huntsville, ON is another one of those guys. Matthew and I hung out for several summers together at MBC and he was one of those guys who was a shining example of integrity and faith. I so appreciated his friendship through my teenage years.

Camp is a place where God speaks and students can hear. My life was changed in those four summers. Why not check out a camp this summer? I’ve always loved MBC. Check it out at www.muskokabiblecentre.com .

In 2009 we had students in grades 6-12 engage in daily devotionals through two separate books. During that year we had discussions with students, their parents, and several educators. We discovered that students have an overwhelming sense of guilt for not being able to do a devotional each day. Those of us who have been in ministry for any amount of time understand that devotions are not a natural thing and for many of us the need to create a quiet time is a daily, weekly, and monthly goal. In light of all of this we began to ask about how many days a week a student could engage in devotions without feeling overwhelmed, falling behind, or guilty. The resounding answer from all spheres was four!

So, you’ll notice in the devotional books we produce that we aim to have kids do four daily devotions each week, read one day of additional material, and then fill in the information they learn on Sunday mornings and during midweek programs. More detailed than you thought, eh?

www.gogabbit.com

Check this out! It might be the best $20 you ever spend. Group Canada says this about the Gabbit, “Studies show that families who have at least one faith conversation per week are much stronger in their faith and have closer relationships. Although every parent might dream of this kind of connection, it isn’t always easy to do.

But Gabbit changes all that! This handy little gadget makes it easy and enjoyable for parents and kids to have meaningful conversations and deeper relationships. Building strong Christian families has never been so much fun!”