Target is closing all of its 133 stores in Canada, throwing over 17,000 employees out of work.. The drop in prices of furnace oil, gasoline and diesel, while benefiting some, is hurting others. In light of these ominous economic signs, the words of one man are relevant. He said, “I pulled my blanket tighter around my shoulders and snuggled in the warmth of my family, my job, my education, my good health, my financial security. But the winds of change whipped at the corners; the cold of the future pierced my cover and I shivered. Suddenly my blanket was ripped from my grasp and I stood exposed in all my fears. Then I looked up to Him. Slowly I was enveloped with certainty. His Son Jesus had promised, ‘My peace I give to you. Do not be afraid or troubled.’ I was warm.” As secure as we may feel outside of the Lord Jesus in our little “security blanket,” someday it may be ripped from our grasp. But we don’t have to face the future alone We can allow the Son of God to wrap us in His love as our Saviour and Lord. Then we will be warm.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Albert Einstein was four years old before he could speak. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school. Walt Disney was once fired because his boss said he had “no good ideas.” Maybe you got up this morning thinking, “my life is going nowhere fast…I’m a failure.” But are you leaving God out of your thinking and out of the equation-God? Did you know that the Bible teaches us that His love is for everyone, and that when our lives are put into His hands, He is able to make us productive and successful. When we admit our spiritual bankruptcy and ask for His forgiveness, God provides not only a home in heaven some day, but He also give us power to live a useful, productive life here and now. He told Isaiah to write, “I the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, fear not, I will help you” and He inspired Paul to write, “ my grace is sufficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in weakness.” He makes winners out of losers.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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In the early days of the American West, one of the greatest fears was prairie fires. So settlers would burn off a section of land, and be safe there because fire could not come where the ground had already been burned. In the Bible, fire sometimes pictures God’s judgment. When Jesus died on the Cross, He took the judgment for all our wrong doing. When we place our faith in Him, all our transgressions are atoned for. As with the prairie fires, God does not extract punishment twice. That’s why we can be righteous in God’s sight. Many sincere people find it difficult to understand how anyone can know for sure they have a heavenly home waiting them in the next life. They consider anyone who claims to have that assurance is a “holy Joe” or a” holy Josephine” and a self-righteous bragger. That’s because they may not be aware of two great Bible verses that tell us that it is “Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to God’s mercy He saves us.” And that “Jesus “bore our sins in His body on the tree.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Communications experts tell us that the average person speaks enough words to fill two books of 300 pages each month- 24 books each year. That’s a lot of words- a lot of “connecting.” Unfortunately , with all our words, James, writing in the New Testament reminds us, “out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing.” We need to remember the “wonderful words of life” found in the Bible. There, God promises to forgive, cleanse and fit us for heaven -“If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead…” This is the promise to “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, “Surely, there can be no better way to use our words than call out to the Lord for His blessings. We are exhorted in an old song, to “count your blessings, name the one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Let’s use our words to call on the Lord, and then to praise Him for all His blessings.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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John Wilkes Booth became infamous when he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. But Booth had a very different older brother, Edwin. While waiting for a train, Edwin saw someone slip and fall off the platform. He quickly rose to the occasion and pulled the man to safety, saving his life. Who was the man he saved? Robert Todd Lincoln, the oldest son of President Lincoln. a soldier in the Civil War. One brother chose to help save a life, the other chose to take a life. The Bible speaks much of choices. In Deuteronomy God said, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life.” Later Joshua wrote, “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” And Paul spoke of life’s greatest choice, writing, “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Each one of us must make the choice of either eternal life or eternal death.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Imagine 40 different physicians from many different countries, speaking different languages, writing independently of each other, over a period of about 1500 years, compiling a textbook to treat diseases. Imagine the contradictory medical theories combined in one volume with the newest scientific methods? Would you choose a doctor using such a book to treat you? But there is a Book written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different authors from different countries with no errors or contradictions. It is God’s inspired Word, the Bible. Moses, wrote the first five books of the Bible 1500 years before the last book, Revelation, was recorded. But they were just as modern as the writings of John, written centuries later, because God’s Spirit was superintending its construction and preservation. Peter, states that the Bible “never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. ”We can trust the Bible. It reveals Christ’s death and His opening the door to forgiveness and heaven.

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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“Just think, if Dad were alive, he would be 116 years old today. Born in 1899.” A Maritimer wrote those words to her brother recently, contemplating the passing of time. It is a subject that impacts every single person on the face of the earth. It is reflected in songs such as “till the end of time”, “and in slogans such as “time waits for no man.” Our Bible also has much to say about time, as in the book of Galatians where we read, “…when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…to redeem..” As you and I enter the second month of 2015, in this violent, unpredictable world, prudent people will think much about time, its passing and of the future. One New Testament book reminds us, “…it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” But John tells how to be ready with the words of Jesus, “…he who hears My word and believes on Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Bob Douglas, of Edmonton got tired of looking for work, so he decided to look for Garbage, calling himself a back lane moocher and garbolologist. He picked up anything from popsicle sticks to motors, then repaired recycled and sold them. Obviously he realized that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In this hectic, confused world, sometimes we look at ourselves and conclude “my life is really messed up this time. I’m of no value to anyone, including myself.” If you are thinking that about yourself today, I am glad to remind you that God does not share that view of any one of us. Paul wrote “God demonstrates His love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He also described how, we can experience that love and transformation no matter what we have done, when we humbly and honestly turn to Him writing,” to him who…believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness…”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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Rush hour in Charlottetown PEI can be slightly annoying. But smile when you think of rush hour in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. In these areas of high traffic, rage sometimes erupts when drivers cut others off. Or you can become trapped and wait endlessly. Similarly, in our lives sometimes we feel we are trapped and see no way to escape We become stressed with all the accompanying side effects. Paul the Apostle certainly had causes for stress. He was beaten, wrongly imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned, left for dead. However, he learned the secret of contentment in those circumstances, realizing that God is greater than our circumstances. As a matter of fact, Paul once wrote, “all things work together for good, to those who love God…” So the next time you get into a trapped situation, when tempted to panic, look beyond the situation and trust the Heavenly Father. He has “all power in heaven and earth.”

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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“Stop acting rich and start living rich like a real millionaire.” That is a statement in a book written by author Thomas J. Stanley, PhD. He speaks of people who prefer to become rich rather than just acting rich. He counsels, if you want to become a real millionaire, look for quality not glitter and squirrel away your savings. That’s an interesting philosophy which, I’m sure will stimulate quite a few of his readers. It would be considered good advice for this life, if that is your goal in life. But it is much different when we consider being rich in the life to come. Jesus advised, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.” In another place, Jesus asked rhetorically, “what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul? Good question. Remember please, you and I are going to live somewhere forever. Are you living for time or eternity

Pastor Alex Rockwell

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