It’s income tax time again. And it seems to some that every time we turn around there’s another tax to be paid. There are property taxes, sales taxes, corporate taxes and , inheritance taxes, to name a few. Someone once said, “Beware! The price on the shelf is never what you end up paying at the check-out.” That’s good advice for all shoppers. It’s also good advice for life in general. Satan, or the Devil (whom many foolishly think exists only in our imagination) is called the “god of this world” in the Bible. He deceivingly represents his allurements such as popularity, amusements, indulgence in harmful habits and so on.as being good bargains. But at the end of life, as we come to life’s checkout, the hidden taxes are revealed, which include enslavement, addictions, broken relationship, and shattered lives. However, there is good news. Jesus promised “I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” He identified the recipients as those who have accepted Him as Saviour and turned their lives over to Him.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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An employee of the Dartmouth Value Village is an honest person and proved it by reporting thousands of dollars in cash found tucked inside a bundle of folded drapes last month. Police are trying to find the owner. If it isn’t claimed, the employee who found and reported the money, will receive it. If that happens, it will give credence to the motto- “honesty is the best policy.” The truth is that we should be honest even if it is not the best policy and does not reward us at the time. There is no more important area of life that calls out for honesty, than that concerning our spiritual condition.. God calls on us to be honest, even though it hurts to admit that we are sinners by nature and by choice, since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and even though it is humbling to recognize that it’s by grace we are saved through faith and that not of ourselves…”Thankfully though, when we are honest and humble, we find that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Last month Halifax Police and the RCMP foiled a planned massacre of innocent people in a shopping centre. This frightening event followed the fatal terrorist attacks in Quebec and Ottawa last Fall. Many Canadians are afraid. The Book of Luke refers to the last days, and “ men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. “ We live in scary times. But Timothy, in the New Testament, gives the antidote to fear for those who have come into a right relationship with God through faith. in Christ, writing, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. As Part of God’s family, we can say with Paul, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other created being shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What assurance and peace!

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Canadians have the right to physician- assisted suicide in certain cases. It is the subject of much controversy. The government of Canada has been given 12 months to pass legislation in line with the ruling. Suicide is an unpleasant subject to contemplate. It is also a matter that came up in the New Testament, but with a happy ending. In the book of Acts there is a story of a jailer who, was on duty when an earthquake took place. The Bible says, “… the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.” Fortunately for him, Paul and Silas, having been falsely accused, were in that very prison. Paul arose to the occasion and stopped him. The keeper then cried out, “What must I do to be saved” to which Paul answered with the life-changing message of the gospel, urging him “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” . That night the jailer’s life and his soul were saved. What a night! And that message is for everyone living today as well.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Statistics Canada says that Canadians are flabby and unfit, based on a comprehensive fitness survey which measured Canadians of all ages. It demonstrated a significant deterioration since 1981, regardless of gender or age. In particular, muscular strength and flexibility have decreased, and all measures of fat have increased. The report concluded that Canadians are becoming heavier, weaker, less flexible and therefore vulnerable to illness, injury and premature frailty. While we may not like the message, denying the facts is not the answer. We need to face reality and do something about it. On one occasion, the Apostle Paul was rebuked for telling the truth about the moral and spiritual character of mankind. He responded with the question, “Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” And in today’s world, often we shoot the messenger when we don’t like the message. For example, what is your response when you hear, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Or Jesus words, “You must be born again”?

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Alec Falkenham, a 27-year-old PhD student at Dalhousie University in Halifax is developing a topical cream that he says will make tattoo ink eventually fade away. The cream will be most effective on tattoos that are two years old or newer. This is very interesting, since from time to time, though not necessarily a health risk, some will want to remove unwanted or embarrassing tattoos from their bodies.. But the treatment reminds us of something that absolutely must be removed from our lives- wrong-doing and the guilt that goes with it. Acccording to the Bible, it can be. John wrote in the New Testament, “…if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Psalmist echoed that truth, writing, that those who turn to God may be assured that “As far as the east is from the West, So far has God removed our transgressions from us. “

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Lorna Dueck, host of Context TV has posed several interesting questions about the human conscience. One- How could young men in Dalhousie University Dentistry School not awaken to the fact that they were denigrating women by their posts on the internet? Two- what is happening to the human conscience? A very wise college president once said, “Your conscience is not your guide unless you have truth for your creed.” The denying of the existence of absolute truth by many today, may be the reason that so many people cannot use their conscience as a guide for their behavior. But it is possible to know the truth, and it is possible to know right from wrong. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” When we come into a personal relationship with Christ by acknowledging our spiritual bankruptcy and inviting Him to take control of our lives, we experience what He meant when He said, “ You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Today, March 17, 2015 many will observe what is known as St. Patrick’s Day. There are many legends about the man who has come to be called St. Patrick. It is known that he was a good man, who performed many deeds of kindness for others .But from his own writings, brief though they were, one little known truth about him is that he humbly acknowledged himself a sinner, in need of a Saviour. He recognized that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And his life’s work illustrates the fact that he was transformed by the gospel, and experienced that of which Paul the Apostle wrote, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, …all things have become new.” The result of that transformation is forgiveness, cleansing, and a home in heaven.. As we observe St. Patrick’s day this year, let’s follow in his steps and become God made saints, as the Bible defines a saint- everyone who has sincerely invited Christ into his or her life.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day. Irish people around the world revere his name because of the way he helped others with generous acts of kindness during his lifetime, about AD 385-461. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the 17th of March because It is believed that he died on that date. At a young age, he and a large number of others were captured by Irish Raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. He suffered much from hunger and cold. Later, he wrote, “I was 16 and knew not God. But in that strange land, the Lord opened , my unbelieving eyes and I w as converted.” All of of us too need to have our eyes opened to the reality of our spiritual condition, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only God can open our eyes to the truth that Christ alone is sufficient to forgive and cleanse us. Paul explained this eye opening experience when he wrote, , “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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“I’m being driven to distraction!” Those words are often heard in our driven society. Psychiatrist Dr. Edward Hallowell, in 1994, coined the term, “Attention Deficit trait” to describe those who suffer from this pressure-cooker work world. In his book “Driven to Distraction”, he says that causes for this disorder include addiction to electronic devices, distraction by the problems of others, and idea hopping. Dr. Hallowell says we need to re-train ourselves to periods of intense concentration, then allow the mind to drift. Good advice. The Bible also has good advice about dealing with pressure. The Psalmist wrote, “ Be still and know that I am God.” .”Isaiah assure us that “those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. “ And Paul tells us that, when we follow these instruction, “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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