Atoning Sacrifice by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on August 17, 2026 by Nancy J. Farrier

I recently studied the story of Josiah, King of Judah. I love his story—from the way he was saved as a young baby, to the way he was crowned king at eight years old, to the way he served and honored Yahweh. There is so much to unpack in his life and reign. 

Every time I read the story, I get hung up on what happened in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign. He would be twenty-six at that time, a young man who’d been thrust into being a ruler at a very young age. Since becoming king he’d destroyed the altars of Baal and broken the places of idol worship. He did his best to turn the people back to worshiping the God of their forefathers.

He also sent officials to restore the house of Yahweh. While they were doing so, a book was discovered—the book of law written by Moses. One of the officials brought that book back to Josiah, gave his report, and then read the book of law to the king. Josiah tore his robes and wept for all the ways his people had turned away from the word of Yahweh as laid out in Moses’ book.

After Josiah sought out Yahweh, he celebrated Passover. For the sacrifice, Josiah presented from his herds, 30,000 young lambs and goats and 3,000 bulls. His officials contributed 2,600 from their flocks and 300 bulls. Others contributed 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls. That’s a total of 37,600 lambs/goats and 3,800 bulls offered for sacrifice. (2 Chronicles 35: 7-9)

I grew up on a farm where we raised beef cattle. Every year, we would butcher two or three of the steers. My aunts and uncles would come over and we’d make a day of it. The kids played while the men did the heavy work of slaughtering the beef, skinning and gutting the animals. It was hard work, smelly, and only made bearable by the knowledge of what was to come and by the company of family. That was for two or three cattle. Not for thousands.

“And there had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah celebrated with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 35:18

Josiah did something that hadn’t been done by King David in his later years or by King Solomon, not since the days of Samuel. He provided a great atoning sacrifice for the people—one that involved hard work, was costly, and quite possibly was an aroma that only God appreciated. It’s impossible for me to imagine the number of priests and levites working together to make this sacrifice happen.

As I thought about this story, I wondered what I’ve sacrificed for God that was of that magnitude. I’ve sacrificed my time and energy on occasion—after all, I do volunteer at my church. I’ve given of my money and talents. But I’ve never given on such a grand scale, and I’m not sure how I would even begin to do so. What would a sacrifice of that magnitude be in today’s culture? What would require the sweat equity of even one of those priests during Josiah’s Passover? What would it even look like?

Well, it actually looks like Jesus giving His life for me on the cross. He paid that debt for me. He is the atoning sacrifice, the gift that is beyond description. He paid that price so I don’t have to do a yearly sacrifice to atone—or attempt to atone—for my sins.

What is my part in this? Do I blithely go about my way giving a little here or there, but mostly just living my life however I want? No. My part—our part comes in surrendering our lives first in order to become a Christian, but afterwards on a daily basis. We need to surrender our will instead of trying to run our own lives and ignoring what God wants. We need to figuratively tear our clothing in grief over the sins of mankind and our own sin. We must weep for God’s forgiveness, heartbroken that we’ve turned away from his guidance, mourning the fact that so many people have turned away from Him.

Just as Josiah’s heart was for Yahweh, we must likewise turn to Him. Every year. Every day. Every moment until He comes again.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Ephesians 5:1-2 LSB)

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RIP Brian Doerksen by James R. Coggins

Posted on August 12, 2026 by jrcoggins

On July 21, Brian Doerksen went home to be with Jesus. He passed away from cancer at the age of 60. Like many other Christians, I mourned.

Brian Doerksen was a contemporary Christian singer/songwriter/worship leader from Abbotsford, British Columbia. His songs impacted people across Canada and also people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Among numerous other awards, Brian received a Gospel Music Association Dove Award in 2003, only the second Canadian to receive the award.

Among Brian’s best known songs are “Refiner’s Fire” and “Come Now is the Time to Worship.” The song that has inspired and encouraged me the most is one of his earliest songs called “Faithful One”:

            Faithful one, so unchanging

            Ageless one, You’re my rock of peace

            Lord of all I depend on You

            I call out to You

            Again and again

            I call out to You

            Again and again

            You are my rock in times of trouble

            You lift me up when I fall down

            All through the storm, Your love is

            The anchor, My hope is in You alone

What strikes me about this song is that it starts and ends with a focus on God and who He is, not on our own struggles or experiences. It is, in every sense of the words, a worship song. And it reminds me very much of the Psalms.  

Brian and his wife had four daughters and two sons. His sons both have fragile X syndrome. He considered his sons a great blessing, and being a father drove him into closer dependence on his Heavenly Father.

I was not personally a friend of Brian’s, but, like many people, I felt I knew him, and I respected him greatly. And there were some connections. Brian was raised and mentored in a Mennonite Brethren church where I was later a member. As a writer and editor, I had the privilege of interviewing Brian at least a couple of times. When I recently looked up the article about him on Wikipedia, I was astounded to discover that two of the first four footnotes to that article referred to articles that I had written about him. Through those interviews, I found Brian to be both a great worship leader and a deeply devout Christian. He gained international fame but remained humble and accessible. I had been assigned to do a short interview, but I found that he had so much that was worthwhile to say that I stretched it into two long articles. What struck me was that Brian was essentially a worship leader. He was a great musician and songwriter, but he subordinated that to worshipping God. In one of those interviews, Brian said that all church music should be folk music. That is, he was convinced that music in church should be sung by the people, not sung to them by professionals.

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This is How to Pray by James R. Coggins

Posted on August 5, 2026 by jrcoggins

What we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-14 NIV) is really the disciples’ prayer. It is not what Jesus prayed but a model Jesus gave to His followers for how they should pray. It is not a prayer to be recited mindlessly (although reciting it occasionally is not a bad idea), but an outline of the things that we should pray about. That we need this outline is obvious because too often our prayers follow an outline that reads something like this: “Our Father, give us today our daily bread, and forgive our sins, and deliver us from evil.” Let’s look at the individual elements of the model prayer that Jesus gave us.

Our Father in Heaven. Our focus should first of all be on God, not on our list of requests. We need to recognize who we are praying to. We are not praying to some idea of God of our own imagining or the god of some other religion, but to the true God revealed in the Bible. “Our Father in Heaven” has two aspects. God is our loving Father, the one who loved us enough to save us. But He is also Almighty God, the God who demands justice and judges what we do and what we think. And He is “our” Father, not just “my Father.” He is the God who loves and judges everyone in the world. We do not come to Him alone but in company with all other believers in all times and places.

Hallowed be your name. This is really a prayer or declaration of affirmation meaning “May your name be sacred, holy.” “Holy” means “separate” or “different.” This means that God is greater than other gods and that God is wiser, more righteous, more loving, and more powerful than we are and therefore worthy of worship. This prayer here follows the pattern of the Ten Commandments, God’s Old Testament covenant with His people. That covenant begins with establishing who God is (“I am the Lord your God”) and then states: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2,7). God’s name is holy. This petition in the Lord’s Prayer just asks that people (especially those praying) will recognize it. This phrase thus reminds us that when we pray, we should approach God with great reverence. 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This follows the pattern of the two greatest commandments—to love God and love people (Matthew 22:34-40). God comes first and then His kingdom because without God there can be no kingdom. A good example of praying for the kingdom of God is found in Colossians 4:2-4. Paul was in prison facing death, but he did not pray for his own deliverance but for the extension of the kingdom: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Praying for God’s kingdom to come is not a prayer for the end of the world to come. Rather, it is a prayer that God will be obeyed, in ourselves and in the whole world. It is not a prayer just for “out there” but also “starting in here.”

Give us today our daily bread. Prayer is not intended to force God to change, but it is submitting ourselves to God and allowing Him to change us. Nevertheless, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray for our needs. “Daily bread” should remind us of manna, the food God provided each day to the people of Israel in the wilderness. We would like to be able to build up a surplus in order to have future security, but our long-term security is Jesus, and we need to depend on Him each day. When Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000, He gave them food for one day, one meal. We should also take note of the “us” in this petition. The manna and the feeding of the 5,000 were communal meals. We should pray for daily bread for all people, and we are expected to share. If everyone prospers, we will prosper.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. The focus of the Prayer has moved from God to ourselves, but the model should cause us to reconsider our own prayers and our priorities. Do we pray as much for spiritual health as for physical health? There is only one petition here for physical health (Give us our daily bread) and three for spiritual health (Forgive us, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil). It is important and necessary that we pray for forgiveness but even more important that we pray for help to keep us from sinning. The petition for forgiveness is sobering. When we pray, “Forgive us as we forgive others,” we are really praying that God will condemn us if we do not forgive! The requirement for us to forgive others could not be stated more forcefully.

Lead us not into temptation. Testing is not seducing us to sin, although it can result in that. Teachers do not give exams so students will fail but so they can prove that they have learned. When Jesus asked Philip how they would feed a hungry multitude, “He asked this only to test him” (John 6:5-6)—Jesus asked a rhetorical question to examine Philip’s spiritual understanding. Paul posed a similar challenge in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” Peter told Christians that they should expect testing: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). The book of Revelation also talks about Christians facing testing: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10) and “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10). Some so-called believers fail the test: “Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away” (The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:13). But some pass the test: “Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test” (Romans 16:10).

When we pray “Lead us not into temptation,” is this a prayer that we will not be tested or a prayer that we will not fail when tested? In one sense, it is an admission that we are weak and in danger of failing if we are tested and therefore in need of God’s help. Jesus told His disciples shortly before they betrayed Him: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Paul advised: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). James taught: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:2-5).

Jesus Himself was tested in the wilderness by Satan and by the questions of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. In each case, He passed the test, and He can help us pass the test if we ask for His help.

Deliver us from the evil one. It is not just that we sin, but there really is an evil power that wants us to fail. The same evil power that seduced Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden also seeks to cause us to fall. The reality of this evil power needs to be recognized and prayed against. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). We cannot defeat the forces of evil on our own. Only God can do that, and that is why we need to pray.

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In Search of a Whatchyamaycallit by James R. Coggins

Posted on July 29, 2026 by jrcoggins

Years ago, we moved to a new house and discovered that there was an old-fashioned hardware store in our neighborhood. We found this store very useful, as the house we had bought was also old-fashioned and in need of regular maintenance. I have said before that as a handyman I am a good writer. Therefore, this store was a wonderful help. I could go in and say, “I need a whatchyamaycallit to fit on the thingamabob underneath the doohickey.” The old man who owned the store would nod thoughtfully and say, “I understand. I know just what you need.” Then, he would get a ladder, climb up, pull a box off the top shelf, blow the dust off it, and hand me the whatchyamaycallit that I needed.

Times have changed. The old-fashioned hardware store has been closed for a long time. In its place stands a massive hardware depot and home furnishings center.

The other day, I needed a new cover for a cold air vent for the furnace. I went into the massive store, found a twenty-something clerk, and asked where I might find what I needed. Instead of telling me to go to “aisle 142,” he looked as confused as I was. So, he pulled out his cell phone to access the computerized inventory database. But which computerized inventory should he choose—the store’s database, the chain’s database, or one of the many suppliers’ databases? And what should he enter into the search engine to indicate what I was looking for? Was it called a grill or a cover? Was it designed to cover a cold air vent, a furnace vent, a return vent, or a wall vent? Apparently, the computerized databases were unfamiliar with the term “whatchyamaycallit.”

After a few minutes of searching, which produced long lists of things I didn’t want, the clerk consulted an older, more experienced sales clerk, a thirty-something woman. She pulled out her phone and began a new search of the databases.

Finally, they managed to locate what I wanted. The problem was that the largest cover/grill they could find was 30 inches by 8 inches and I needed one that was 32 inches by 10 inches. They undertook more searches but again failed to find what I needed. I left that magnificent new hardware depot disappointed.

What the sales clerks and the computerized databases didn’t seem to know, but which the owner of that old-fashioned hardware store could have told me in an instant, was that cold air return vent covers are sold by the size of the duct opening they are designed to cover. So, a 30-inch by 8-inch cover is actually 32 inches by 10 inches.

There may come a time when computers and AI completely replace humans, but that time is not yet. The time may come sooner than I expect as computers become more intelligent and humans become stupider. Already, some writers (not me) are relying on AI to improve or even produce their articles and books, and editors are relying on AI to edit those writings. But when we reach the point where computers know everything and we know nothing, how will we know if what the computers are telling us is right?

This article was written with the assistance of AI. That is, it was written on a computer and posted on another computer. The ideas and words are all my own, although I confess that I did receive some inspiration from the hardware depot’s databases.

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Did I Hear that Right by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Nancy J. Farrier
Photo by River Fx on Unsplash

I am always a happy camper when my kids visit. I especially enjoy hanging out with my daughters. We talk non-stop, going from one topic to another, and we share a lot of laughs.

I remember one time three of my daughters and I went out shopping and then stopped for tea. While we were in the car, my youngest daughter began telling us about a person she knew who, having never been around animals at all, decided he wanted a cat. He spent a LOT of money to have a certain type of kitten shipped to him, but then knew nothing about how to feed or care for the animal. 

I had heard this story before but this time she had another episode in cat care to add. When I tuned in to the story, as she talked to her sisters, it went something like this:

“So, the kitten went in to get neutered because it was the right age, but we are all upset because the vet insisted on keeping the kitten in a coma for two weeks. Nothing we’ve been able to say will convince this man that he shouldn’t do that.” 

My youngest daughter’s statement elicited outrage from her sisters and from me. I tried to keep from saying much as I pictured this kitten in a continual comatose state. Surely, that couldn’t be good for the poor thing.

My daughter went on to tell how a mutual friend tried to find out the name of the vet who would allow such treatment, but the kitten’s owner refused to divulge that information. She and her friend were horrified, but couldn’t do anything. She said, “Who keeps a cat in a coma for two weeks just because they’ve been neutered?”

When she came to the point in the story where she said they convinced the owner to take the cat out of the coma when he was home and only put it in when he left, I lost my temper. I couldn’t imagine any medical professional allowing this.

I turned to look at her from the front passenger seat. “I think he should be reported to the police. This is abuse and the police will be able to find out the vet’s name. How could they ask this man to administer medication at home that would keep the cat in a coma?” I was furious.

Silence settled in the car as we pulled into a parking spot. Then one of my daughters laughed and the rest joined her. My youngest said, “Mom, I said they put the kitten in a cone, not a coma.” 

Embarrassment and relief rushed through me. A cone. Not a coma. The picture in my mind changed from that of an unconscious kitten to one where an indignant cat glared up at me. While the idea of a cat in a cone for long term is still offensive, since they wouldn’t be able to clean themselves, I didn’t see it as life threatening. 

I know there are other times when I’ve heard someone say something and misinterpreted, or misunderstood. I’ve found it’s best to do the following before spouting off and getting angry.

  1. Wait. Don’t say something you will regret. Take time to consider what you heard to see if it’s worth being upset or offended over.
  2. Pray. Spend time listening to God and asking His advice. God always hears not only the correct conversation but He also understands the intent of the heart. 
  3. Forget or Act. Depending on the first two steps, sometimes I’ve realized what I heard didn’t amount to anything. Once in a great while, I have trouble letting something go. Then I find it best to go to the person and talk to them one-on-one if at all possible. Many hurt feelings and disagreements can be avoided using these steps and by approaching a person with humility.

I’m hoping the next time I hear something like “they put the cat in a coma for two weeks,” I will ask if I heard that right before I get furious for no reason. 

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And Finally by James R. Coggins

Posted on July 22, 2026 by jrcoggins

Churches are made up of people, people with their own unique gifts, ministries, strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. They have differing relationships with each other. They move around, leaving some friends behind and meeting new ones. The book of Colossians ends with greetings from and about some of the Christians acquainted with Paul, offering brief glimpses of their lives (Colossians 4:2-18).

We know the most about Paul, of course. He was a courageous and dedicated preacher of the gospel, who could occasionally be overly judgmental. There is the unknown Tychicus, the messenger entrusted with carrying this letter to the Colossians and a similar letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:21). There is Onesimus, an escaped slave returning to his master (Philemon). There is Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, who travelled with Paul from Macedonia to Ephesus to Jerusalem and to Rome (Acts 19:29, 20:4, 27:2) and who was now evidently imprisoned with Paul. There is Mark, who abandoned Paul on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:13) but who later came to be trusted by Paul (2 Timothy 4:11) and wrote a Gospel. There is Jesus Justus, about whom we know nothing else, except that “Justus” suggests that he had a reputation for being righteous. There is Epaphras, who first brought the gospel to Colossae and founded the church there, although how he could be working hard for that church while he was with Paul in Rome is unclear. Was he bringing help to Paul on behalf of the churches in Colossae and other nearby towns? Was he lobbying the Roman government on behalf of those churches? Was he laboring in prayer for those churches? We don’t know. There is Luke the doctor, who travelled with Paul and who wrote the books of Luke and Acts. There is Demas, who later deserted Paul because he loved the world (2 Timothy 4:10). There is Timothy, a young and promising pastor who was sometimes insecure and fearful, in need of Paul’s encouragement, and who co-wrote this letter. In Colossae, there are Nympha, probably a wealthy woman who hosted a church in her house (there being no church buildings then), and Archippus, who, like Timothy, seemed to need encouragement to keep serving in the church. Different people, with different gifts, ministries, strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. Some were more prominent than others. Some were wealthy, and others were slaves. Some were Jews, and some were gentiles. Some failed, and some failed and were restored. Some were bold, and some were timid. Some travelled widely, and some stayed in one place. But all had this in common—they were followers of Jesus, and they served in His church.

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Water for Life

Posted on July 16, 2026 by dtopliff

In Judaism, a mikveh (or sometimes mikvah) is a ritual bath for purification and cleansing to prepare worshippers or suppliants to enter the temple. The name means “collection of water.” The water must come from a natural source such as a lake, river, lake, ocean, or rain, and must be unmoving, not flowing. The Mishna, the Jewish code of law, defined its requirements. The structure itself had to be square and be entered by descending steps to deeper levels so the person could gradually dip to immerse him or herself for cleansing. 

The immersion ritual goes far back in Jewish roots. Every major site in Israel, has mikvehs for worshippers to use before approaching the synagogue or temple sites. In the early Tent of Moses/Tabernacle times, the ceremonial cleansing was accomplished at the brazen (bronze) laver. 

However, from the time of John the Baptist, the ceremony changed from cleansing in unmoving water each time people came to worship to a (usually) once-only baptism immersion in the Jordan River’s muddy but moving water instead of in Jerusalem’s religious capital. Baptism became the outward sign the of the believer’s inward forgiveness and removal of sins, confirming their new life within.  

At Magdala, the early fishing village on the Sea of Galilee where Mary Magdalene lived, excavations have revealed a beautifully preserved mikveh. Excellent photos and explanations of it are found at this YouTube link https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2227322350983895. This photo shows more.

This photo below shows an excellent mikveh at Qumran where the Essenes lived, worshipped, created, and copied the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

At the Lord’s instruction, when Moses led Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land and needed water, he was told to strike the rock once (as a sign of the Lord’s redemption for us), and water gushed out.

In II Kings, when those in the School of the Prophets found their water spring undrinkable, the Lord told Elisha to sprinkle salt in the water. That made the unusable spring become healed and drinkable.

In Bible lands where water is essential to life, the Lord provided water but also taught us to immerse in living, flowing streams representing our new life in Him rather than to remain in static, unmoving waters.

These verses in Isaiah 3:2-4a say it well. “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord.”

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A Firsthand Account of Unimaginable Brutality and Renewed Hope by James R. Coggins

Posted on July 15, 2026 by jrcoggins

Someone has said that the death of one person is a tragedy but the death of a million people is a statistic. The point is that when the number of victims gets that large, people cannot comprehend the tragedy, while looking at one victim in detail brings understanding and revulsion at the perpetrators.

Some months ago, Ghazaleh Nozamani and Darci Reeves contacted me for help in publishing a book called I Dared to Dream.

The promotional description of the book is as follows: Growing up in the heart of Tehran, Ghazaleh Nozamani’s childhood was shaped by the 1979 Islamic Revolution that shook Iran and the cultural restrictions that followed. In this deeply moving memoir, she chronicles her struggle with societal expectations and her rebellion against rigid religious and gender norms. With resilience and courage, she attempted to navigate the shifting political landscape. At twenty years old, she found herself imprisoned, tortured, and nearly broken by the forces determined to silence her. She endured unimaginable suffering and almost lost hope. But each time she was ready to give up, something beyond her intervened, bringing light into the darkest moments and guiding her toward freedom. This book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the mysterious ways in which hope and grace can find us, even when we least expect it.

The book is Ghazaleh’s story. She enlisted her friend Darci Reeves, a gifted writer, to help tell the story in English, and I contributed editing and layout work. The book has now been published through Kindle Direct Publishing.

I have been a professional writer and editor for forty years, and I have rarely encountered a book as powerful and as moving as this one. The news media have reported on the tens of thousands of people brutalized, tortured, and killed by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This book provides a deeper understanding of the magnitude of that brutal statistic through the eyes of one of the victims. I commented to Ghazaleh that more than once I had been brought to tears during the editing process. She apologized for that. I responded that there must be something wrong with anyone who could read this book without crying.

One of Ghazaleh’s most telling insights is her realization that the shocking atrocities she experienced were perpetrated by other human beings, ordinary human beings.

The book does have a happy ending. After a long journey, Ghazaleh Nozamani was able to reach Canada and build a new life in a free country. She is the founder of Love Without Borders, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping refugees and newcomers and vulnerable citizens in the community.

I Dared to Dream by Ghazaleh Nozamani as told to Darci Reeves is available through Amazon.

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Submission by James R. Coggins

Posted on July 8, 2026 by jrcoggins

The world of human beings cannot function without organization, and every organization needs to have leadership, someone with authority to make decisions. This whole concept is suspect today. People have had too much experience with unjust, corrupt, authoritarian, and oppressive people in power. But the concept remains valid.

In Colossians 3:18-4:1, Paul talked about how authority structures—the relationship between those in authority and those under them—should work. He gave several examples: husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves (bosses and workers). Nowadays, people reading this passage tend to get focused on just the husband-wife relationship and argue that marriage should be egalitarian, with both partners having equal authority. Unfortunately, this argument distracts people from paying attention to Paul’s main point. On the other hand, the marriage relationship is clearly one that needs addressing. The attempt to make marriage “egalitarian” might be one reason so many modern marriages end in divorce, if that means that both partners insist on doing things their way instead of working together and finding ways to compromise. On the other hand, the idea that the husband should be the boss in a marriage has led to very serious problems. To be clear, this passage does not tell husbands to maintain an authority position over their wives. The instruction to submit was given to wives, not to husbands. Husbands are told only to love their wives. Husbands who think it is their job to maintain an authority position in a household are faced with a dilemma. How are they supposed to achieve this? A husband could use force to dominate his wife. That does not work so well. We call such husbands abusers, their wives suffer, and the husbands often rightly end in jail. The husband could loudly demand that his wife obey him. That also does not end well. The only way that a husband can be the head of the house is by earning his wife’s respect and love. Real authority has to be earned, and that, oddly, leaves the power with those who choose to submit to that authority. Leaders can only lead if others are willing to follow. God Himself does not force people to submit to Him. He just demonstrates over and over again why He is worthy of our love and obedience. Finally, I would suggest that it is up to the marriage partners to work out the authority structure in their marriage, without anyone else telling them what to do. They are the ones with the responsibility to make it work. They have the most to gain or lose. And that is pretty close to an egalitarian position, one based on cooperation and self-sacrificing love rather than self-centredness and competition.

Furthermore, the problem in our world is not that women will not submit to their husbands but that none of us wants to submit to anyone else. And that leads us to consider Paul’s central teaching in this passage. As I said, we should not get distracted from Paul’s main point. The fact is that most people are both in positions of authority and in subordinate positions, often at the same time. In Paul’s example, a father has authority over his children but is under the authority of his boss at work. The boss in turn is under the authority of the government. And so on.

Paul was not talking about who should be in authority. He was simply accepting the authority structures that existed in his day and telling Christians how to function within them. What he was concerned with was how those in authority and those in submission should act. Since we all are in both situations, both teachings are valid for all of us.

First, those under someone else’s authority were instructed to submit and obey. When those in a subordinate position do not obey, when people decide to break the law for instance, then the organization collapses, and chaos ensues. However, those in the subordinate position are to submit “as is fitting in the Lord.” This is a reminder that God is the ultimate authority and those in a subordinate position can refuse to submit to an earthly authority in order to obey the ultimate authority, God. But this cuts both ways. Those in a subordinate position must do their work “with all their heart,” not primarily to please earthly authority figures but to please God. This requires much more because God sees everything, including the heart, and cannot be fooled as earthly authorities are.

Second, when we are in authority, Paul said that we should love those under our care, be careful not to embitter them, and treat them fairly. This is a heavy responsibility, and this is where many in authority fail. They become unjust, abuse their power, and seek their own benefit rather than the benefit of those under their care—and seeking to benefit others is what love is all about. Jesus taught His followers: “Those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45). Again, Paul reminded those in authority that they are not the ultimate authority. They might have authority over those under them, but they are required to rule in accordance with the rules and guidelines set out by the one in authority over them, God. They were also reminded that God will reward or punish them depending on how well they submit to and obey God—and that includes whether they follow God’s instructions on how to treat those under them.

A boss who loves and cares for those under him or her, serves them, and treats them fairly is more likely to be respected and obeyed. A subordinate who works with all his heart is more likely to be loved and cared for.

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Happy Birthday! by James R. Coggins

Posted on July 1, 2026 by jrcoggins

As an historian, it has not escaped my notice that two nations are celebrating their birthdays in the same week. Canada celebrates on July 1 and the United States on July 4, which is somewhat surprising since Americans generally like to be first.

The US was actually born first, in 1776, and is now 250 years old. Canada was born in 1967 and is 159 years old. You would think that at that age, Canadians and Americans should now be acting more like grownups.

The United States was born though a brutal eight-year war known as the War of Independence (by Americans) or the American Revolution (by the British). Much depends on your perspective. Canada was born through a boring and equally brutal three-year process of political meetings. The more extensive military history of the US is one reason both the Canadian armed forces and Canadian criminals still import most of their weapons from the US. In exchange, the US imports comedians from Canada (Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Leslie Nielsen, Tom Green, Phil Hartman, Seth Rogan, Rick Moranis, Michael J. Fox, etc.), which might explain why some Americans think Canada is a joke.

The symbol of the United States is the eagle, majestic, powerful, and deadly. The Canadian symbol is the beaver, a rodent who cuts down trees, builds dams, and has a warm fur coat.

Our two nations have much in common besides their birthdays and geographic location. Both of our national anthems start with an exclamation of surprise: O (O Canada, O Say Can You See…). Both nations’ “alternative” national anthems are prayers. Americans sing “God bless America.” Canadians are less demanding in their prayers, asking only, “God Save the King.”

Many Americans believe that their nation is uniquely chosen by God to bless the world. Canadians have no such delusions. Religion plays a much larger role in American politics than Canadian politics.

Canada and the United States have much different religious histories. The early immigrants from England to the US tended to be “dissenters” from the established churches. Therefore, the United States did not have many Roman Catholic immigrants (mainly Irish and later Hispanics), and the US tended to expel Anglicans after the War of Independence (leading the remaining Anglicans to relabel themselves Episcopalians). Because of the lack of competition and the evangelical revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, evangelicals became the largest Christian stream in the United States. Evangelicals still make up about a quarter of the American population. That does not make the US a Christian nation, but it does make evangelicals a significant voting bloc, involved in politics.

Immigration to Canada was more often sponsored by European governments. As a result, historically, the dominant religious movements in Canada were Roman Catholicism (especially in French Quebec) and mainstream Protestant denominations (such as the Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Methodist/now United Church) in the rest of Canada. Due to fears of Roman Catholic/Protestant conflict, Canadians have generally chosen to keep religion out of politics. They have thus come closer to achieving the separation of church and state that Americans proclaim in principle. In contrast to the mainstream denominations, evangelicals have remained a small minority in Canada, only about 10-12% of the population. In recent years, Protestant and Roman Catholic church attendance has largely collapsed, and evangelicals face a society that might be nominally Christian but is largely non-religious. Because of their relatively smaller numbers, Christians in Canada often have a better understanding of the need for Christians to “live for God in a pagan country.”

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A Model Prayer for Others by James R. Coggins

Posted on June 24, 2026 by jrcoggins

In writing to the Colossians, Paul indirectly provided to us a model for how to pray for others. The first thing he did was to thank God for the Colossians and their faith: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” (Colossians 1:3 NIV). This is something many of us do not do often enough. In our eagerness to “fix” people (especially our relatives and friends), we neglect to thank God that they exist, that they are in our lives, and that there are good things in their lives. Those good things might be faith in God, they might be movement toward faith, they might be just the reality of God’s love and the possibility that they might come to faith, or they might be a range of gifts, talents, and blessings that God has given them. Before trying to fix people, we should first appreciate them for who they are. 

Second, Paul prayed, “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives…growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (1:9-10). Paul had already stated that the Colossians were Christians and knew God, but he prayed that that knowledge would increase, that they would learn to know God better, that they would be drawn closer to God. Of all the things that people on our prayer list need, this is the starting point. People need to know God and be in a deep relationship with Him. That needs to be true before anything else can happen. Jesus taught, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39). It is only when we love God first that we can go on to love our neighbor. Jesus added that “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Jesus also taught that, rather than worry about food and clothes and other physical things, we should “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” and then Jesus added that if we do this, “all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Third, Paul prayed that the Colossian Christians would “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work” and “have great endurance and patience” (1:10-11). That is, he prayed that they would live out their faith in Jesus in daily life.

Fourth, Paul prayed that the Colossian Christians would be “giving joyful thanks to the Father” (1:12). That is, he prayed that they would be thankful as he was.

What is not present in this prayer is what we commonly pray for—health, a job, money, success. They are the “other things” that will be added if we do the first things. Paul truly had his focus on heavenly things, not the physical things of earth. He had his priorities straight.

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The dreaded challenge of bikeriding the 39th Street hill

Posted on June 18, 2026 by dtopliff
a girl’s mountain biking really fast down hill. Please check out my other images 🙂

Sometimes life is like being 11- or 12-years-old and bikeriding down our town’s dreaded 39th Street hill as a rite of passage. Those brave enough to try stayed on and rode down the steep hill at top speed or joined the ranks of those who crashed and sported broken arms or legs.

We all knew we needed to try. It’s not the kind of thing you tell your folks. They would stop us. You don’t even tell your friends. I didn’t know myself until the day I launched.

I’d wanted to make that ride for years but wasn’t brave enough. I’m still not sure how it happened on the actual day. I stood on the brow of the hill, inching my bike wheels forward one quarter turn at a time, when suddenly momentum ruled, gravity took over, and I had launched. I grabbed the handlebars and held on for dear life to stay on or hit the pavement while my bike rolled on without me. Speed created so much wind, my hair flew straight behind. Scenery blurred as I could only focus on the pavement.

Highway engineers had built a giant cloverleaf at the bottom of the hill where it met the four-lane interstate joining California with Canada. Cars and semis whizzed by. My bike shuddered like a demented broco as it rode the high outside edge of that curve showing me the deep valley of Leverich Park waiting on one side or the freeway unspooling ahead. At top speed, I managed to shoot onto the interstate, somehow missing traffic, and quickly pedaled to the shoulder. Time stopped while my heart slowed until I could breathe again. I’ll never forget that sensation.

Legs shaking, I slowly walked my bike back up that same long steep hill. On our next school day casually mentioned that I had survived the ride to join the ranks.

Sometimes, life feels like that. When I visit my hometown, I always return to 39th Street Hill. It doesn’t seem quite as steep, but the memory still makes my heart pound and my skin tingle.

We all face 39th Street hills to defeat or be defeated by. I didn’t fully know Jesus the day I took that flying ride, but I asked Him for help. He’s my best life preparation for challenges. And I try to listen when He speaks sensible warnings about the ones I shouldn’t try.

This picture is from time in Denmark where there aren’t many steep hills and every citizen is a bikeriding master.

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My Father’s Faith by James R. Coggins

Posted on June 17, 2026 by jrcoggins

My father was a man of few words. He had attended and supported churches all his life. He lived a moral life. He was a good husband and father and a kind and gentle man. He said grace before meals. But economic circumstances had limited his formal education, and he was hesitant to articulate his faith.

I do remember that once he heard some children in our neighborhood mocking another child for being Roman Catholic. My father took his children aside and told us never to do that, never to make fun of someone else.

Because he rarely articulated it, it was hard to know exactly what my father believed. But occasionally I caught glimpses.

One evening at bedtime when I was quite young, I wanted to ask my parents something. I walked into their bedroom and there saw my father kneeling humbly and quietly at his bedside, praying. I was struck deeply by the humility and reverence evident in that scene.

My mother was a lifelong Sunday school teacher. She taught all ages, from young children to senior adults. On Sunday mornings, my father would drive my mother and the children to Sunday school at our church a few blocks away and then return home. There was no adult Sunday school class he felt comfortable in. After Sunday school was over, my father would drive back and join us for the church service.

I don’t think we ever questioned what my father did during the time when we were in Sunday school. Later, I went away to university, coming home now and then on weekends. There was no college and career Sunday school class in my home church, so one Sunday during Sunday school, I stayed home with my father. This gave me an opportunity to see what he did. He did not watch television. He did not do any chores. He just sat quietly in the living room. There was an overwhelming sense of reverence and peace in that silent place.

I don’t know how much my father read the Bible. I do know that after retirement he read the Bible all the way through, twice.

In his last few months, my father was hospitalized with a brain tumor. He did not want to die and was tearful when we visited with him for the last time. My mother visited him every day. She read the Bible with him, and he said that helped. Finally, she said that it was similar to what often happened in their house—my father would go to bed first and my mother would stay up a little while longer to do some chores. That also helped. My father passed away silently and peacefully. I have every expectation of seeing him again.

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Avoiding What God Hates by Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Nancy J. Farrier
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash

A few weeks ago, my pastor incorporated Proverbs 6: 16 – 19 in his message.

            “There are six things that the Lord hates, 

seven that are an abomination to him: 

            haughty eyes, a lying tongue, 

and hands that shed innocent blood, 

            a heart that devises wicked plans, 

feet that make haste to run to evil, 

            a false witness who breathes out lies, 

and one who sows discord among brothers.”

I can’t count the number of times I’ve read this passage and studied the words and thoughts, but for some reason the first thing listed jumped out to me—haughty eyes. The pastor explained this as eyes that look down on someone else, a way of elevating yourself.

Websters definition of haughty is: “having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior.”

At first, I discounted the thought the I might be guilty of doing something God hates. I don’t feel contempt for people or superior to them. I don’t see others as being inferior. Or do I.

Since that Sunday, I’ve found that phrase creeping into my thoughts at the oddest times, reminding me of what I’m doing wrong. I believe this is something we all struggle with, sometimes without realizing what we are doing.

So how are we guilty of the very thing God hates? By looking down on others. While this is an uncomfortable thought, we all do it. In fact, I’ve come to realize the haughtiness of our attitude is so ingrained in us we react automatically and without thought.

Have you ever rolled your eyes—physically or mentally—at someone for something they’ve said or done? Have you ever had a negative thought about someone’s dress or size or gender choice? Have you ever thought about your perfect church attendance or the fact you attend Bible study more than someone else? Or even the fact that you read your Bible daily when others don’t?

All of those involve having haughty eyes. In most cases we don’t mean to look down on others or to elevate ourselves, but just having those thoughts puts us in danger of embracing something God hates. 

I don’t know about you but I’ve found I have these thoughts pop in my head at the inopportune times. Out of the blue, I will be struck by a judgmental thought toward someone. Maybe it’s a homeless person or someone who is too loud or someone who annoys me for whatever reason. I can’t seem to stop those thoughts from coming.

So what do we do? We don’t want to continue to offend God. We don’t want to offend others. We don’t want to look down on people. But how do we change?

First, confess this as a sin before God. We must be sincere in our hearts that we want to change—to be more like Christ in our attitude toward others.

Second, ask God’s help to change. God is faithful to help us when we ask. The change may not happen overnight, but as time goes on and we are more aware of our attitude toward others, asking God’s help will bring change to our hearts. Our outlook will change.

Third, consider discussing this with a godly friend. It helps to have someone come alongside and encourage us as we walk through a time of change.

I do love messages that give me food for thought even when it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to have haughty eyes or to displease God. Instead, I leave you with these verses from Psalm 139. They are a prayer to me.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! 

Try me and know my thoughts! 

And see if there be any grievous way in me, 

and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 23-24

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You Died and Were Raised by James R. Coggins

Posted on June 10, 2026 by jrcoggins

There is an interesting image in Colossians 3:1-4. Paul said, “Since you have been raised with Christ…” (3:1). This refers to what Paul said previously in Colossians 2:11-12, that our “whole self” was “buried with [Christ] in baptism” and that we “were also raised with him through…faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Jesus was crucified, died, was resurrected, walked again on the earth, and then ascended to the throne room of God in heaven. What Paul was saying is that we Christians died to our old sinful way of living when we accepted Jesus. Baptism symbolizes our death but also our new life—we go down into the water as if we are descending into a grave but then come up again. As Jesus was raised from the dead, so we, His followers, have also been raised from the dead. But Jesus did not just rise back to life on this earth. He then ascended to heaven. Paul was saying that we, too, have ascended to heaven.

Now, we know that we are still living on this earth. So were Paul and the Colossian Christians. Paul was not denying that. But Paul was saying that our hearts and our minds should be in heaven. The problem with the false teachers in Colossae was that they were focused on the physical things of earth—food, the body, time. Paul said that we should be focused on the things of heaven—compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, unity, peace, and thankfulness (2:12-15). We should focus on our relationship with God and on what will last into eternity. We should have an eternal perspective.

Paul was also saying that our “life” is in heaven with Jesus and God. That is where we are heading. We might not be all there yet, but we are in transition, we are on the way. Eternal life does not start after we die. It already started when we were born again into faith in Jesus. We are already what we will be—children of God. And so we should act like it.

Robert Browning wrote a poem called “An Epistle Containing the Strange Medical Experience of Karshish, the Arab Physician.” In the poem, Karshish encounters Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. What strikes him is that Lazarus, having died and gone to heaven and then returned to earth, now has a heavenly perspective. If his child becomes very ill and his physical life is in danger, Lazarus does not seem concerned at all. However, a word or gesture suggesting that the son’s spiritual life might be in danger concerns him greatly. That is what it means to have a heavenly perspective. Karshish describes the situation as “Heaven opened to a soul while yet on earth”—and that is precisely the situation Paul was saying every Christian is in. We have seen heaven, we have encountered the living God, and it should profoundly transform the way we think and act. We should think and act as Jesus thinks and acts and as those already in heaven think and act and as we will think and act when we are in heaven.

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