It may seem like a strange place to start an understanding of the laying on of hands but consider the role of animals in the ancient world. The practice of blood sacrifice is as old as humanity and considered by all who practised it to be an essential, sacred act to appease the gods.   Because most of us are not herdsmen or cowboys, the biblical concept of animal sacrifice is an abstraction. Those who raise herds and flocks know that there is a cost and commitment to raising animals for slaughter. Animals are graded, inspected, and nurtured for fetching a good price.   ..read more

  Do you know about the ‘S’ word? The one that some people have a hard time with. It is the word ‘submission’.   When people tell you that they follow no-one but Jesus, they need to consider that Jesus grew by learning obedience to his parents, by learning to serve the customers in the family business and the teachers in Nazareth. In learning submission and servanthood, he discovered the true nature of Father God.   To be careful and selective about whom you follow is necessary to grow in wisdom and authority.   When we talk about submission, we need to understand what it ..read more

  In time, a disciple would come to understand mysteries about God, the Scriptures, and the right way to live. A good rabbi would set up continuous learning opportunities. He would not merely explain everything in one sitting, but would invigorate their learning ability with questions, observations and joint problem-solving. The rabbi wanted his disciples to know everything there was to know about himself and paid careful attention to each student.   What was a disciple reaching for? What mysteries could they unlock by following their teacher?     Matthew 16: 13 Jes ..read more

  Should we trust someone who says they answer to no-one but God? It may sound like a good intention, but how exactly are they jointly fit to the body of Christ? How are they learning to follow Jesus without discerning His body in the Church? How can we truly be in unity with Christ and the Church if we make it our mission to prove that everyone is wrong except you?   Every disciple of Jesus is given authority to do Jesus’ work. It is God’s plan that the Church become the agency of like-minded followers that work cooperatively in the message and works of the Gospel.   So how d ..read more

  Last week, I was at home when there was a knock at my door. I’m usually suspicious of people that want to sell something or have a clipboard in their hand. Expecting that it could be a scam, I usually skip the small talk and say, “Who are you with?”   As it turned out, the young man with a badge was with Cogeco and he was seeing if I wanted a better deal on internet. Once I could see that he was legit, I opened up to his pitch. I ended up with faster internet for $12 less per month. He was happy for a sale, and I was happy for a legitimate deal.   Believe it or not, the badg ..read more

 Ten years ago I was involved in a video entitled 'The Elephant In The Room'. Norm Bishop was the men's ministry director for Western Ontario District of PAOC. He produced this video that helped men begin to reckon with the common struggle of pornography and its' trampling effect on a man's spirit.   Ten years later, I am grateful for ministries like Covenant Eyes, The Freedom Session, The Conquer Series, Celebrate Recovery and so on. Hope you find this disruptive and helpful. I watched it again and want every man to know that there is hope and redemption in Jesus.   Get well so ..read more

  There will always be a short-sighted, hard-of-hearing message that says sex is your right and that you can set the terms for whom, when, where and how you experience it. But that is inconsistent with the God who created it in high definition with high fidelity.     Hebrews 13: Honour marriage and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.     Sexual intimacy is a sacred communion between a wife and her husband. The Song of Solomon is a beautiful piece of love poetry that describes intens ..read more

  The world is filled with low resolution and low fidelity ideas about sex. The more we see and listen to the world, the less we have a clear picture of the true image. Whether you are married or single, you need the High God of Heaven who is faithful to you. You must abandon and turn away from the lesser idols of a world that cannot see clearly or hear God’s voice accurately.   The etymology of the word ‘lust’ often has the meaning of intense, strong desires. Desire and strong desire in and of itself is not a bad thing. There are examples of Jesus and Paul saying how they strongly ..read more

  I want to speak to Christians that are married about their sex life. It’s possible to be given to extremes and distortions that erode your fidelity.   One extreme is to view sexual acts in marriage as dirty, a necessary evil or unspiritual. The opposite extreme is to view sexual activity as the primary purpose of marriage and elevate sex to a godlike status.   I know of couples that have not had sexual activity for years. We understand that sex drives can increase and diminish and that two people can have very different states of readiness. While there may be physical and he ..read more

  To read the Scriptures with high resolution and high fidelity, you cannot miss the abundance of text where God speaks against idolatry and witchcraft or sorcery. A close examination of what these are reveals that the worshipper is abandoning the true God for something or someone lesser. The lower power is elevated to be like God and ultimately to replace.   A definition of idolatry is “anything we serve, love, desire, trust, fear, and worship…apart from God to give us love, joy, peace, freedom, status, identity, control, happiness, security, fulfillment, health, pleasure, signifi ..read more