“It wouldn’t be Christmas without this,” the radio announcer said, then played the classic “White Christmas” by Bing Many of us have happy memories of Christmases that spell magic for us: a crackling fireplace with family gathered around, the glistening Christmas tree dressed in its best, and a snowy night while church bells ring out the old familiar carols. But Christmas isn’t really primarily about gifts, snow, or carols. Christmas is about giving. God gave His Son as the Babe in Bethlehem. Paul wrote to the Corinthian people of his day, calling Jesus “God’s indescribable gift.” The Bible makes it very clear when it says, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” One can celebrate Christmas without hearing Bing Crosby singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”, but we cannot truly celebrate Christmas without Christ, though many of us try. If we really want to have Christ in our Christmas, we need Christ in our hearts. That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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“I was like wow! Experiencing all those colours for the first time was indescribable!” Those were the words of Devyn Vasseur, a colour blind man, after he tried on special glasses made to correct colour blindness. An estimated 2.6 million Canadians are colour blind, and can’t perceive as many colours as those with normal vision. But now, a U.S. company claims they have created glasses they call EnChrome, that can open up a world of colour. Some vision experts are skeptical and not sure the new glasses really work. Sight is important, especially when it pertains to spiritual sight. Paul the Apostle wrote, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him; … because they are spiritually discerned.” The “natural man” speaks of those without Christ. Until He is in our lives, Bible promises such as “by grace are you saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works …“ sound like “foolishness” to us. But they are still true. That a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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“We are very proud of our Island athletes that have achieved the highest level within their sports. We have five athletes that have attended the Paralympic Games and three have earned medals.” That was a recent comment from Tracy Stevenson, the Executive Director of ParaSport and Recreation PEI, a non profit charitable organization established in 1974. The organization is run by a volunteer Board of Directors, whose mission is to provide recreation and sports opportunities for Islanders with a physical disability. They do not seem to regard people with disabilities as disabled, but as ordinary people who happen to have disabilities, and they treat them as full equals to all the rest of us. They see people with disabilities just a God sees us all. Dr. Luke, wrote in the Book of Acts, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” or , “God shows no partiality.” How good to know that the One Who made us all loves us all equally, regardless of our colour, race or problems. That a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Brilliant American Journalist Sydney J Harris, wrote in an article he called “A Caricature of Civilization, ” “It is man’s singular fate to know the he is an incomplete creature, a kind of monster and angel joined together, with the monster forever betraying the angel.” Harris wrote columns in 200 newspapers throughout the USA and Canada. In light of ongoing and recent acts of terrorism, his words are sadly appropriate for our times. Our Creator prepared this beautiful world for us, and planted Adam and Eve in the pristine Garden of Eden. They rebelled, and we follow in their footsteps. Describing this, Paul wrote, “Just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” But the story does not end there. Though we are incomplete, as Harris suggests, Christ’s love shown at Calvary, provides completeness. He promised, “I have come that they may have life, and … have it more abundantly.” That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Last month, November 11, we observed Remembrance Day. It is a time when we express our thanks for the men who gave their lives, in the battle to keep our world free. When we see the military men and women returning home, to be re-united with their families, we rejoice, but many sadly gave their lives for the great cause of freedom. It is the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do. But this old world has known an even greater liberation. It occurred when Christ gave His life on the Cross, to redeem mankind. His sacrifice at Calvary made it possible for all men to be set free. “I John, in his gospel was inspired to write, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. “ Someone wonders today if there’s hope for them, in spite of the way they have lived? An old hymn gives the answer- “There’s room at the Cross for you, Though millions have come, there’s still room for one, Yes there’s room at the Cross for you.” That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Dave Cooper is an Islander who is seriously ill. I have his permission to tell his story. A few weeks ago, I heard him talk to a small group about his medical condition. I was astonished by what I heard. Though his health is precarious, he is facing it squarely, he is not in denial. His attitude is positive, as he faces what is ahead for him. Surprisingly, his inspirational uplifting words did not encourage his listeners to feel sorry for him. Instead, all of us were amazed at his outlook regarding the future. How could this be? We learned that a number of years ago he realized he needed Christ in his life, because of Jesus’ words- “…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”. He had received Christ as His personal Saviour. He explained how he had become a Christian, had been forgiven, and learned that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Dave Cooper is a testimony that with Christ in our lives, we don’t need to fear the future. That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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The expression “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” means that the perception of beauty is subjective. There wasn’t much beauty to behold, in an old 1830’s farmhouse, standing abandoned in the field near Selkirk Ontario, But Earl Clemens, a retired Ontario Pastor saw more than broken windows, and a rusty metal roof. He purchased it, and he and his wife Marlene dismantled it piece by piece, and reconstructed it near Delhi Ontario. Earl saw, in that old house, beauty to behold of lasting value, not visible to the casual eye. In doing so, he was illustrating the greatest of all perceptions of beauty where there seemed to be none. That happened when God, seeing mankind with no beauty or value because of our lost spiritual condition, sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to purchase, dismantle and re-create. Paul described the results, when inspired to write, “Therefore of anyone is in Christ, he, or she is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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He was a big overgrown boy scout, who grew up without much of a chance. We’ll call him “Willie”, not his real name, because he was considered one of the bad boys of the community, constantly blamed for trouble, whether he was guilty or not. On one occasion, following an altercation, he was being blamed for something he had not done. He listened, fully expecting a verdict and punishment. But when the Scout Master said, “Let’s hear his side,” Willie started to cry, surprising everyone, because they had never seen him cry before. When asked what was the matter, he said, “Nobody ever said before that I had a side.” He was responding to the first love and fair judgment he had ever received. And how wonderful, to know that though we all do wrong, since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, “ and are all sinners by nature and by choice, the Lord Jesus reached out to us in love , and offers forgiveness, and life, by going to the cross in our place. That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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When did you first became aware of yourself? Dr. Taghi Modaress, of the University of Maryland has designed a study to show when children first experience self-recognition. Children between the ages of 2 and 5, when shown their image in a mirror, usually respond positively. But when shown themselves in a distorted mirror, they often run from it. Self-image can influence our life in a positive or negative manner. But more important than the image that we carry of our outer selves, is the picture presented in the Bible of our innermost being, or our hearts. It was Isaiah, the Old Testament Prophet who was inspired to picture us as “sheep gone astray.” And Paul wrote, that apart from a proper relationship with Jesus. “we are without hope and without God in this world.” When we are viewed in God’s mirror, and see our need, our prayer should be like David’s, “wash me and I will be whiter than snow… O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Recently Volkswagen car-maker recalled up to 11 million vehicles, following the scandal over its rigging of emissions tests. A while back Toyota had massive recalls, and before that it was GM doing it. In light of these recall issues, one enterprising church had on its billboard. “A car is not the only thing that can be recalled by its maker.” In fact, every one of us will one day be “recalled” by our Maker. Interestingly, when the Bible addresses the “recall” by our Maker, there is a difference between how it describes the un-prepared and the prepared. In the case of one person man who made no preparation for the next life, whose philosophy was “eat drink and be merry” we read, “this night your soul shall be “required of you.” Later, referring to a man who had made the proper preparations, it is said that “he was carried by the angels” into the next life. The Prophet Amos of old urges us all, in light of our inevitable “recall” to “prepare to meet your God.” Good advice. That’s a minute of truth!

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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