Posts by John Staiger (Page 39)

I was 28 when I decided to go to the USA for the first time. The thought was daunting. Though not my first international trip, it was my biggest endeavour up till then. My destination was decided, I knew where I was going but had no idea of cost or possible dangers along the way. The travel agent was a natural. She took out a map (this was long before the Internet, laptops, and smartphones), and with pen in hand,…

O for the day when every Christian rises to greet the new day with a song of victory in their hearts. Praising God for victory over the consequences of sin and death. Victory over the worries of this world, and victory over the vanity of worldliness. The moment you were baptised, you entered the Kingdom of the victorious. And there you can stay through all eternity if you choose. Sadly, we Christians distract ourselves when we look for people to…

I can only pray that I would be brave in the face of a deadly enemy. I cringe at the stories of WWI soldiers being shot in the back by their own officers while running from the enemy. That could have been me. Its easy to talk about a brave story, but when a situation calls for courage, it is then that we prove the strength of that which resides within. Scripture tells us to “be watchful, stand firm in…

Be careful that the information that someone is pouring out in “confidence” isn’t already known by others; you might be branded a gossip. Such was the experience of one preacher who spent many heart-breaking hours consoling a man over “personal and confidential” matters. He was later accused by the man of breaking confidence and the relationship never recovered. The real source of the “gossip” turned out to be the man himself. His friends had simply noticed the changes in his…

Many Christians have a strange relationship with the word, “Fool.” Though they may think it, or even mutter it under their breath, they daren’t say it out loud because of these words from Jesus: “Whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22). Which behoves us all to contemplate why Jesus’ warnings against such an insult is so severe. A good place to begin is to ask, “If a fool is a fool…

I knew an old lady who was “Not one to criticise.” She always insisted that a person should hold their opinions on the shortcomings of another until they understood life from the other person’s perspective. However, her philosophy was known to be tested on occasions. Strangely, the targets of her rare displays of frustration all seemed to fit the same profile. They were old men who were separately, or collectively, described as “Cantankerous!” “Bombastic!” or “Ignorant!” It was hard to…

Henry Ford’s decision to double his car factory workers’ wages to $5 per day (a lot of money in 1914), changed the workplace forever. However, the increase didn’t come without strings attached. Ford believed that good workers must be good citizens. So, he employed inspectors to visit the homes of his workers to ensure that they lived clean and sober lives. Those failing the first inspection were given a chance to clean up their lives. But if signs of drunkenness…

The apostle Paul combines two classes of sins, one being immorality, and the other, greed, and calls whoever practices them, Idolaters! (Ephesians 5:5). This seems a far cry from any typical view of idolatry. Many stop at images of the Golden Calf in the Old Testament. I have always thought it strange that there are Christians who can’t bring themselves to classify those statue filled church buildings and Eastern temples as idolatrous; despite their worship rituals. It pays to ponder…

“Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). If there are two things that Christians are not very good at, they are “Righteous Judgement” and “Righteous Indignation.” Probably the saddest thing about some of the outbursts of anger that I have witnessed is that I felt the outbursts were justified. They seldom are! There is no shortage of things to be apoplectic about. Who hasn’t seen couples deliberately unpick the lives…

It is a man’s integrity that sustains him when he is slandered. Even his enemies, though likely to glory in his downfall, will first be faced with the evidence of his goodness before passing judgment. By contrast, every lie a liar tells us yet another millstone he hangs around his own neck. As brethren, we may ignore liars, but the enemies of the church mock our naivety. The worldly man may not care about his lies, but he most certainly…