Posts by John Staiger (Page 67)

Lesson 1. I was young when I started, and now I am (nearly) old. Today my children are 26, 25 and 22 years old. Words cannot describe my love for them and Lynda, but it is a love lived in time. Lesson 2. When God blesses you with children you are immediately thrust into a parallel universe. If there were any traces of the freedoms of single life left in marriage up till then, they were purged forthwith. Lesson 3.…

Leonardo De Vinci wrote, “Here be dragons” on a map that is known as De Vinci’s Globe. He wrote his warning in Latin, while other mapmakers of old adorned their maps with actual pictures of wild creatures. Thus, those wanting to travel beyond the borders of the known world were thought to have been given fair warning. Obviously, not everyone was dissuaded. It takes more than pictures and rumours to keep a determined pioneer at home. Going off the map…

“There are no atheists in foxholes” goes a timeless aphorism. Proving that at times of extreme fear and concern religion is brought to the surface of the most irreligious of souls. I met a veteran who told me that he had made promises to God in the heat of battle that was fuelled by nothing but terror. He said that those prayers and promises were of a world where everything was literally splitting apart around him. A world where his…

Threats, wars and disasters unite both nation and neighbours. The need to pull together for the common good motivates people to go beyond their previous limits. It is when the cost of the ravages of war or disaster are carried by some, but neglected by others, that resentment ends in the division. At the congregational level, we are continually engaging spiritual threats, wars and disasters. The devil is the first to cry unfair into our ears. He has a list…

Of all the weapons at Satan’s disposal to conquer the soul, deception surely rates number one in effectiveness. It’s the kind of weapon that demons wouldn’t even have to take a class to know how to best use it. All they have to do is simply appeal a man’s vanity and pride and let him do the rest. A man will sell his soul for fantastical promises if you can but convince him that he is better than everyone else.…

You are setting yourself up to fail if you attempt to win over sin and temptation by sheer will-power. The devil sees such acts of naivety coming for miles. Human willpower has been thwarted by the devil since Eden. And nothing has changed since then to make people any less susceptible to kidding themselves that they know better than God. Fear and failure are the twin dreads of Christian progress. Souls frightened into the realm of doubt find themselves stuck…

C.S. Lewis was right when he suggested that the happiest person in the world is a selfish person getting their own way. Understood in his assessment was that the opposite was also true. The most unhappy person in the world is a selfish person not getting their own way. In the heart of every selfish person resides an unforgiving spirit. Add to this a religious facade, and anyone in close proximity to them is in for a torrid ride. What…

How many times have you sat quietly with a friend as they have ranted nonsense? I’m sure that after a time or two, you probably didn’t take it too seriously, but instead let them ‘get it all out.’ Reasoning that if it is important enough, it can be discussed when the emotions have subsided. Knowing when to speak up and when to be quiet on any given occasion, calls for wisdom. Wisdom only mastered through sound instruction and sometimes bitter…

Two blows with a stick and water gushed forth from solid rock. That which was a life-sustaining miracle for Israel, was a disaster for Moses. His 40 years of desert wandering was to be made ‘worth it’ by finally crossing over the Jordan into Canaan. Sadly, it didn’t happen for Moses. God’s great Lawgiver disobeyed God and paid a heavy price. God told him to speak to the rock, but he struck it instead (see Numbers 20). Moses had allowed…

The first and only time I went to a gym was after working a ten-hour day in a very physically demanding job, I really couldn’t see the benefits. On occasions, I would tag along on 5 mile runs with a preacher friend of mine, but it was more for his sake than mine. Those days are long gone and I’m sure that a few hours a week at a local gym would do more good than harm. As for running,…