A businessman saw a fisherman sitting beside his boat relaxing. “why aren’t you out fishing?” he asked. “Because I’ve caught enough for today.” replied the fisherman. “Why don’t you catch more than you need? “ “What would I do with them?” asked the fisherman. “sell them, make money, grow rich like me.” Said the businessman. The fisherman replied, “ Then what?” The businessman replied, “why sit down and enjoy life. “ What do you think I’m doing now ? replied the fisherman. When the love of money, ease, materialism become the paramount things in our lives, God has a warning for us. He says, “We brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it….if we have food and clothing, we will be content…people who want to get rich fall into temptation…for the love of money is the root of all evil.” Note that it does not say that money is the root of all evil, but the love of money. It is better it is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Bullying is apparently rampant all over. In a recent edition of Chicken Soup For the Soul, Kathryn MalKnight recalls a bullying incidents she experienced in the 5th grade, which included physical and emotional abuse. In one of these events she lost it and screamed, at the bully, “I hate you, I hate you!. Then later, when Kathryn was in the 8th grade, she recalled the earlier memories, but without anger and pain. She had come to realize that by hating the bully, she was only hurting herself, not the bully. So she forgave him and let go of the pain. The Bible speaks much of forgiveness. Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers of his day, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” The greatest need that any one of us can have is to experience God’s forgiveness. And we can all have that by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the Cross. Then we can cry out, “I am forgiven!”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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Looking in a mirror can sometimes be shocking- a reality check. We may see someone who is too tall or too short, apple shaped or pear shaped, or perhaps our nose is all wrong. Maybe we have a double chin or protruding ears. So we try to improve the image by accentuating or hiding, reducing or enlarging darkening or lightening and yet we never quite look the way we wish. How much better to just look our best and accept what we cannot change, remembering that “man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” When we are in a right relationship with God, by accepting His loving forgiveness and salvation, changes happen on the outside as well as the inside. Our lives and faces can project peace, joy, goodness, faith, patience and self control. So the next time we check our mirror, it would be prudent to also read the Bible and take time for God’s “ reality check.” And if we’re willing to make needed changes, He can do that.

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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If you receive a gift certificate, you can go to the designated store and receive the monetary value in merchandise-free, with no cost to you. The price has already been paid by someone else. In the same way, we can all receive a gift certificate from God. We are spiritually bankrupt because “all have sinned” and without the ability to purchase forgiveness, cleansing and entrance into heaven. The Bible says, it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy that He saves us.” And even more bluntly, we are told “all our righteousness are as filthy rags.” But the good news is that Jesus went to the Cross for all of us and paid our sin debt for us. Paul put it simply, that “Christ died for our sins…” Because of that wonderful act of kindness and love, He has a gift certificate ready for anyone who will sincerely ask for it. His gift certificate begins with the words, “God so loved….that He gave His only begotten son…”

Pastor Alex Rockwell
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In a recent Dear Abbey column, a lady told of an incident at a drive through restaurant. The line was long. A man in his work truck waited to enter the line, but nobody would let him in. So the woman who was in the lineup stopped her car and allowed him to go ahead of her. He did, and was served. When she was paying for her order, she learned that her meal had been already paid. The man had left more than enough to cover her charges. We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. The song called “Cups of Cold Water.” Has timely words.- “Healing the widows and orphans in their needs, Healing the sick ones and binding hearts that bleed, Feeding the hungry this we must surely do. By this we serve Him and demonstrate His love.” And the greatest good we can do is to share the story of Jesus and His love with others.. John, in his letter underlined that with the words, “this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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The story of Cinderella has been told countless times over the years. It is now being brought to life again in a new movie. Columnist Alan Cumming, in the Globe and Mail observes “Some stories keep being told because they need to be. They are about the human condition and therefor have as much to say and are able to challenge us as when they were first written.” What makes some stories great is their ability to be re-told, re- interpreted and remain relevant. No doubt some stories do need to be re-booted, but there is one story that does not need to be reinvented. It has remained relevant for over 2,000 years. I refer to the story of God’s love to mankind as told in the Bible. What could be more relevant to our chaotic world than this? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” No wonder Fulton Oursler and many since have called it “The greatest story ever told.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Harley Lawrence died on Oct. 23, 2013, in a bus shelter fire in Berwick, Nova Scotia. Two young men have pleaded guilty to his murder. Lawrence was doused with gasoline and burned alive in a bus shelter, where the homeless, mentally ill man had been sleeping. This poor man lost his way. The question that rises from this terrible tragedy is, “How can these people be reached before something this horrific happens.?” In the time of Jesus, there was a case where some leprous outcasts called out to the Saviour- “Master, have pity on us.” The Lord’s compassionate heart was moved to help them. There are desperate cries all around us, but are we listening, or are we so caught up in our own affairs? On one occasion, Jesus, encountered a large crowd of needy people. Matthew, in his gospel described Jesus response with the words, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” How good to know that by coming into a proper relationship with God, by putting our faith in Christ, we can say confidently, with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Shelley Golay, of Wyoming, lost Jim, her husband of 28 years in June 2014 at age 53. So Shelley was shocked to receive a special gift from him this Valentine’s Day, eight months after his death, Golay says she received flowers with a card that read, "Happy Valentine’s Day Honey. Stay Strong! Yours Forever. Love Jim." When she looked on the back of the card, she found her husband’s cellphone number. "That was very emotional," she said. "I knew it was him." Contacting the flower shop, she learned that Jim had gone in that last Valentine’s Day and had said, ‘Just send her flowers for the rest of her life.’ Golay said the flowers "means to me that his love never ends… He set up such an amazing gift for me to receive…” What a beautiful illustration of the never ending eternal love of our Heavenly Father. It is the love of which Jeremiah was inspired to write, telling all God’s children, “ Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love…”Later John, in his gospel added, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Thomas Huxley, famous biologist and self-avowed humanist, recounts an amusing experience. He had finished a lecture series in Dublin Ireland. The following morning, Huxley took a horse drawn taxi and presuming the driver had been given his destination by the hotel doorman, said, “Drive fast, I’m in a hurry.” Before long he realized they were headed in the wrong direction at break-neck speed. Leaning forward, he shouted, “Driver, do you know where you are going?” “No sir,” replied the driver, “but I’m going very fast.” Sounds like our world, where so many are going at a terrific speed, but their destination is unknown. Rollo May, an American psychologist and author once said, “It’s ironic that humans run f aster when they have lost their way.“ We’d Better stop, look and listen! Solomon, writing in the Proverbs said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Great advice for then and for all time.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Bees build 10,000 cells for honey, 12,000 for larvae and a special cell for the Queen Bee. They keep an ideal temperature in the hive by beating their wings The tiny bee will cover 20 square miles to extract nectar from flowers. Quite an amazing creature to have arrived as an accident of the evolutionary process! Don’t you believe it! An intelligent designing God made this very efficient insect, created the universe, guides the planets without collision all through the ages. He has revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus. The Book of Genesis tells us “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” John wrote, “And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Yes, we can know this great God, our Creator, by admitting our spiritual need and inviting Him into our lives for forgiveness, and assurance of a home in heaven. What an opportunity!

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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