“After coming into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11, King James Version.

Growing up, Christmas was a huge production. One week before the big day, we’d “break up” the house by disarranging everything.  Then, we’d clean the walls, windows, floor a everything in sight. A bit of painting following together with varnishing of the wooden furniture. On Christmas eve night, we “put away” the house for Christmas, that is, we cleaned up the house, put the furniture back in its place, order, hung lights and new curtains.

“Putting away” was an all-night, labour-intensive affair that usually ended in the wee hours of Christmas morning. When everyone got up on Christmas morning, the living room was spic and span, bringing a deep sense of satisfaction because we did it. We got everything ready for Christmas, on time. It was magical.

One thing was different to what we now see. Each person – parent and child – had a small gift in the gift corner because we didn’t have a tree or stockings. The reason: we were a large family and money was relatively scarce. We just couldn’t afford anything else. The outcome: we spent the Christmas season stress-free and guilt-free. What a gift in and of itself!

Now that I’m grown and have my own family, I do things differently. “No breaking-up” and “putting-away” of the house. It feels silly to have the house in disarray for weeks and leave so much to do at the last minute.  My Christmas house decorating is usually finished by the first week in December. That way, I can enjoy the fruits of my labour. A Christmas tree, a wreath, and few lights are all I need to get into the Christmas spirit.

These days, with my daughter all grown-up and out of the house, I struggle with something different: I want to avoid excess.

My husband and I have most of what we need, so we (mostly me) have a new way to Christmas shop, including gift-giving. We follow a simple rule: Give each other something that’s practical, that’s needed, and will be used. When we started, my husband tried it, and it didn’t go so well. He gave me a gift card to a spa forgetting that I don’t like to be touched, especially by strangers. It took me two years to drum up enough courage to visit the spa, and when I went there this year, the spa service had been discontinued. Be careful about the gift cards you give. You don’t want to waste money.

Talking about wasting money. It is so easy to do this at Christmas-time. We try to please so many people- friends, family, church members, and wind up spending so much money needlessly just because, we want to appear generous. The truth is, we must not put this kind of pressure on ourselves. We are the only ones hurt in the process.

There is a better way. I follow it and it works. I make a list and plan what I am going to buy long before I actually go shopping.  Then I set a “hard” budget that feels right for me, and stick with it. When I do shopping, if I didn’t plan for it, it doesn’t get bought. Having a budget doesn’t mean cutting out the fun; it just means focusing on what matters most to you and your family.

We also give our daughter a single gift from both of us, though she gets two cards. I listen to what my husband talks about and get it for him.  After three and a half decades of marriage, surprising him for Christmas is not high on my agenda.  For young family members, I like to give books or craft materials to promote learning.

I like to give cards so I usually buy some for friends and acquaintances. I get specific ones for friends, and boxed one for colleagues and acquaintances. Time-permitting, I sometimes throw in a few home-made cookies, and a pack of favourite teas or hot chocolate to say I care. We talk a lot about service and helping others, and yes, I try to give a gift to one or two seniors at church, and neighbours along with cards.

You can also donate to local charities or volunteer to share Christmas meals to the needy. This can bring so much joy, and it’s a lovely way to connect with the community, and spread kindness, especially to those who may be spending Christmas alone.

So, this 2024 Christmas, do your best to conserve and save money. Have a happy minimalist Christmas. We really don’t know what 2025 will bring. Something tells me that “challenging” might be a good word to describe it.

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Simply put, purchasing power refers to the financial ability to buy a certain of goods and services with an approved currency unit. During my childhood, the world was completely different from today. When you wanted to buy something from someone or somewhere, you either paid by cash or wrote a cheque. If you couldn’t pay with cash or a cheque, you could also go to a bank and mortgage something of value to get a loan to pay for the product.

Back then, I thought I understood a bit about what Revelation 13:17 meant regarding restricted purchasing power. Based on historical records, those who lived in the 1940s, during World War II, had a small sample of what will be experienced in the near future when there are strict limitations on purchasing power.

Through an enforced rationing system, federal government restrictions in the United States were placed on consumer products and people could not buy much of stuff like gasoline, oil, tires, shoes, sugar, meat, coffee, and a host of other items without federal government ration stamps.

Conversely, people could not sell goods without permission from the federal government. Price-fixing was done for both buyers and sellers, and there were very stiff penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for violators. Yet, a large black market sprang up and flourished illegally reducing the sting of the restrictions.

Today, we are living in a completely different age. Cash and cheques have largely been replaced by cashless substitutes and online trading. I saw this firsthand on my recent vacation to the United Kingdom. In many train stations, there were no human attendants selling tickets, only machines that gave instructions about how to get them using your credit card or in London, your Oyster card. No cards, no service. Only cash, no service.

The situation was the same when I went to a tourist attraction or even the supermarket or pharmacy. The words ‘Card Only’ or ‘We are cashless’ greeted me. Through these experiences, I am beginning to see how easy it would be to out an embargo on purchasing power as predicted in the Bible.

In Revelation chapter 13, the Apostle John records an interesting and important prophesy about the closing moments of history. Two beast powers emerge to persecute God’s remnant people. The first, a hybrid beast, rises from the sea or populated areas according to Revelation 17: 5. This beast is made up of parts of three unclean animals in Daniel 7 implying that it is a successor of those animal kingdoms: the leopard, the kingdom of Greece, is strongly influenced by Greek philosophy; it has feet like a bear, Medo-Persia, pointing to the influence of Persian religion, Zoroastrianism and, particularly, Mithraism on it; and its mouth is like a lion, reminiscent of Babylon’s power and arrogance, especially that of King Belshazzar who succeeded King Nebuchadnezzar.

The second is a lamb-like beast which arises from the earth that will speak with intolerance like a dragon. Talking about what is generally believed to be the United States of America, the Bible says: “And he [the lamb-like earth beast] exercises all the authority of the first [sea] beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first [sea] beast, whose deadly wound was healed” (Revelation 13:12).

Notably, the earth beast, also named the “false prophet”[1] will serve the first or sea beast which receives the power, the throne and the dragon’s [Satan’s] great authority. Driven by the devil’s wrath, both beasts will seek to harm the remnant, followers of the woman described in Revelation 12:17, “who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.”

Continuing the divine prediction in Revelation 13:17, John states that there will come a time when the earth beast will issue a decree that “… no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” This suggests there will be a time when purchasing power will be fully restricted based on religious allegiance and will be directly related to “worship”, not of God but of a beast power.

Put plainly, very soon, a civil power will launch a global effort to persuade and force the world to worship the first (sea) beast by forming an image to it and then calling the world to worship that image. Through miraculous signs (Revelation 13:12), this civil power will convince most of the world to worship the sea beast thereby hoping to establish a religious monopoly.

Concerning this end-time prophecy, the inspired writer Ellen White notes: “In the last great conflict of the controversy … those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers, they will be forbidden to buy or sell.” The Desire of Ages, Ellen Gould White, pp. 121, 122.[2] Satan says … “For fear of wanting food and clothing they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.” Prophets and Kings, Ellen Gould White, pp. 183,184.[3]

We are clearly living in the time of the end (Daniel 11:45). Today, many are fearful, and trying to figure out what is happening in our world: Collapsing economies, non-stop wars and natural disasters; moral decline, diverse diseases; and dangers on every hand. Many, godly and worldly, believe that a terrible catastrophe is coming but God has not left us to wonder in ignorance.

The Bible provides us with a bird’s eye view of the future typified by persecution, a death decree, and the great time of trouble but in the end deliverance by a God who keeps His promises. So, let us loo to the future with confidence knowing that Jesus is coming soon to take us to heaven to be with him eternally. Remember, He who promised is faithful.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible verses are from the New King James Version.)

[1] See Revelation 16:13; 19:20; and 20:10.

[2] https://www.ellenwhite.info/books/ellen-g-white-book-desire-of-ages-da-contents.htm

[3] https://www.ellenwhite.info/books/bk-pk-contents.htm

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In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose “- the more things change, the more they stay the same. In this  month’s blog, I invite you to join me as we have some fun testing the truth about this saying. As an English speaker, I will have a conversation about the state of basic English Language today. How much has changed? How much remains the same? You be the judge.

The fun conversation is below.

“Hello “Are!” It’s been a while since I heard from you. Are you still there?”

“Yes, but quiet.”

” Alright, I’m checking in with you because I think you are being side-lined.”

“Why do you say so?”

“Well, I’ll tell you.”

At first, I thought it was just an oversight that you weren’t included in an email or invited to a conversation in which you should have been involved; but the evidence is mounting that you are not a part of the inner circle anymore. So, I believe it’s time to address the elephant in the room or the moose in the room as Atlantic Canadians would say.

“Are” you’re plural, but when I search for you, I can’t find you even when you should be there. Your singular brother “Is” has taken over and this bothers me. In virtually every sphere – in written or spoken conversations; on radio and television, on the Internet and across social media – “Is” is there. He’s masquerading everywhere whether he’s right or wrong; whether he’s correctly employed or not; at the wrong time and in the wrong tense. He relishes your position so much that he spends every waking moment contributing to the slow demise of our English language.

A few notable instances come to mind.

Firstly, I’m convinced that most of the television media have sidelined you. Journalists and television anchors have been caught saying things like “There “Is” many things to report today”.  Even top, influential persons like ‘AC’ and ‘WB’ who once held your torch seem to have let you go for your partner “Is.” I know you should be there “Are” but alas desertion comes to mind.

Recently, I heard that many University professors, who for many years had your back, have also traded loyalties. Holders of Ph.Ds., Masters and, Bachelor’s degrees, no longer want to use you as part of their vocabulary. It seems like “Is” is reigning supreme.  What’s even more egregious is that you have started to be replaced not only in speech but in written publications. Editors, once known as the gate keepers of our precious English language seem to have forgotten how to use you. It feels like the worst thing in the world, and it is, in a sense.

“Are”, I must also let you know that your absence has caused me some mental distress as well as health issues. “Is” has been so prevalent and annoying that I develop a serious earache every time it’s out of place, and that’s way too often. In my view, “Is” is also guilty of verbal harassment and should be charged for creating an English language crisis, and given a stiff fine. My constant fear now is that prolonged sidelining will play with my emotions and imagination and make me question my sanity and self-esteem.

“Are”, are you crying?” I know this is sad but this is no time for tears. “Is” must be stopped immediately, and I have some ideas about how to do that.

Together, we must protest and call “Is” out in every radio and television interview, in every newspaper article, in every op-ed, column, book and magazine. We must troll the Internet to point out every instance where they have wrongfully usurped your position. We must also enter every classroom where he first gets introduced, and every boardroom where they claim to practice inclusion and diversity and insist that you get re-instated to a place of honour around the table. As a necessity, and this may be critical, we must hold parenting classes to ensure the next generation gets it right.

“Are” I know you can still fit in and add value to our conversations. That’s why I’m appealing to every self-respecting English-speaking person who knows grammar: “Let’s put “Is” back in its rightful place and let’s reinstate “Are” to its rightful place in our language. If we don’t “Are” would be gone forever and that would be a very sad thing.  There must be no delay or we’ll be sorry we didn’t take action sooner. The next generation must know you and your worth.  We all must see to that. ©2024 Margarett Enniss-Trotman

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What is the meaning of the word “Blessed” in Matthew 5:6?

Blessed is another word for happy, pleasant, or fortunate. Everyone is looking for happiness, a pleasant life, or good fortune. They pursue all kinds of things they think will make them happy, but they fail. It is like eating your favorite meal. You enjoy it and say, “I’m full. The yolk of an egg will burst me.!” However, in a few hours, however, you are in the pantry or fridge looking for something to eat, again.

Taking a closer look at the word “blessed”, I see other synonyms than happy like lauded, sanctified, consecrated, and holy. Substituting a few of these in the text, it would read like this: “Sanctified, consecrated, holy and lauded are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled.” Could it be this latter meaning that Jesus was getting at in the fourth Beatitude? A desire for all of us to be consecrated and sanctified?

What does it mean to “hunger and thirst after righteousness”?

If we must become holy, sanctified, and consecrated, Jesus says we must “hunger and thirst after righteousness….” Hunger is a sensation that stimulates a desire for food. Some people say they were born to eat because they are always hungry. I am not one of those people. Others were born hangry, but that’s a story for another time/blog!

Thirst, on the other hand, is a craving or desire to drink fluids. Everyone experiences hunger and thirst which must be satisfied because you can’t live without food and fluids.

“Righteousness” means right doing or uprightness. Jesus says, we must hunger and thirst after it. Yet, Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” What a conundrum! Or is it? No, it isn’t. You see, righteousness is an attribute of God which comes from Jesus that is both positional and practical.

While all have sinned, and there is none that’s righteous, believers have positional (imputed) righteousness because we are in Christ, our Saviour and He is in us. Romans 5:19 says. “… For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many will be made righteous”. Because of Christ’s death, our legal standing changes from unrighteous to righteous and our names are written in heaven with the tag, “Price Paid in full.”.

Positional righteousness must also be accompanied by practical or behavioural righteousness. The latter is righteousness in our nature and it is imparted to us as we are sanctified through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.  This sanctification happens over the course of our lives, and becomes evident in moral uprightness and the fruit of the Spirit.

Thus, when Jesus said, we must “hunger and thirst after righteousness”, He is saying we must develop an appetite, a craving and desire, for righteousness which He will give us, positionally and practically. In other words, just as God has built within us a continuous desire for food and fluids to support physical life and health, we must cultivate a craving for Jesus, our righteousness who foster our spiritual life and health.

The Filling 

What happens when we hunger and thirst after righteousness? Jesus says, “…we will be filled.” Filling, in this context, speaks to satiety or satisfaction and indicates there is emptiness or a void that must be addressed. Notice, however, that Jesus does not say with what we will be filled, nor from what source we will be filled.

That said, we know that God loves to fill the empty. With Jesus’ first miracle, He turned water to wine by asking the guests to fill six empty water pots. The woman at the well came to Jesus with her life empty and He filled it by offering her living water. The multitudes were starving, and the disciples wanted to send them away, but Jesus fed them until they were filled, and they had leftovers!

From the foregoing, we can conclude that righteousness is activated first by a desire to know Jesus personally. Secondly, “The same Spirit that filled the Temple lives inside of you (1 Corinthians 6:19). This shows that the Holy Spirit is the One who fills us with the power and the enabling to live righteously in this world.

God has provided all that we need to satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst for righteousness. So, how can you be righteous? Believe on the Lord Jesus. How can you be filled? “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). For what are you hungry and thirsty? God wants to fill our lives with what is best. That’s Jesus.

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Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11- 12).

In English, a “sojourner” is a person who resides temporarily in a particular place or a sojourner is a person who lives as a foreigner temporarily in a place that is not his permanent home. Today, someone may go to a foreign country to live for a couple of years with the intent of returning home. This person is a sojourner. if the person does not intend to return home and becomes a citizen of the foreign country, s/he is not sojourning.

The Bible teaches that all people are sojourners here on earth, and believers in both the Old and New Testaments viewed themselves as pilgrims who were living as temporary guests on earth longing for their permanent and eternal home with God in heaven.

In Psalm 39:5, the psalmist David states,” Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!” A few verses later, he declares, “I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers” (Psalm 39:12).

To the New Testament believers, Peter wrote, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul”(1 Peter 2:11).

In Philippians 3:20, we learn that “our citizenship is in heaven, and James 4:14 describes the temporary nature of our lives as “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

The author of Hebrews explained that those who trusted God in ancient times as recorded in the Old Testament “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth who make it clear that they are seeking a homeland… and desire a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

While people acknowledge the fleeting nature of life, believers understand themselves to be sojourners. Not only do we know this earthly life is temporary and that eternity with Christ awaits, we often feel like we are, indeed, strangers living in a strange land.

If you are a child of God, you too must be a sojourner since this world is not your home. As the common saying goes, we are in the world but not of the world” (John 17: 15 -21).

What do you need to know to travel well to that country called heaven. Here are four aspects of a Christian’s sojourning that it’s worthwhile to remember.

• First, there is the certainty of the homeland at the end. While we don’t know much about most of the details of our homeland (what it looks like; whether there will be buildings etc.,), we know there is a homeland. Jesus said. “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back to take you to be with me” (John 14:3-10). I am excited about that and I cannot wait to see what he has prepared. I know it will be fabulous!

• Second, we do not always understand everything that happens on our journey but God does. On earth, we will experience good times, often very fleeting, and there will be storms, elemental and spiritual. We will not always understand why, but God expects us to trust in him.

For instance, when God commanded Noah to build an ark because He was going to cause it to rain and destroy the earth, the request must have been perplexing because he did not know what rain was nor what it looked and felt like because it had never rained upon the earth. That said, Noah trusted God, obeyed and he and his family were saved.

Also, consider Daniel, a great prophet of God. When God gave him an end time prophesy to record for future generations, he obeyed though he did not understand the meaning nor when ye events he recorded would happen. Daniel said, “Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said,” My Lord what shall be the end of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel for the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.”” (Daniel, 12:8-9.

Both Noah and Daniel trusted the Lord. We must too and remain confident That God knows what Heis doing.

• Third, our pilgrimage to heaven requires sacrifice. As sojourners on this earth, we understand that our best investments are those that have eternal value. Jesus told His followers, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6: 19-21).

  As an athlete must sacrifice to condition his body, we must also sacrifice to discipline ourselves to be faithful to our Lord. To this, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-26).

• Fourth, faith and faithfulness will keep us on our journey to heaven. Having presented Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah as faithful pilgrims, the writer of Hebrews says: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland” (Heb. 11:13-14). We also know that the promise in Revelation 2:10 is certain: “Be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

The journey may seem long and grueling at times, but God is faithful and He will take us to our heavenly home. So, keep walking, trusting, trying, and resisting. Do not lose heart. We are nearing home. Very soon, we are going to soar above the clouds straight into our promised abode. Let’s be faithful!

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As the two-plus year pandemic wanes, many are wondering about getting back to normal. We look back on the past, what we once had or did with nostalgia and imagine it better than it actually was. So, we once again start to yearn for exotic places, long-haul flights, and place names that evoke romance and adventure. Others yearn to welcome back the familiarity of protests, riots, and poverty marches that give their lives a sense of purpose.

The newly freed Israelites also faced this longing for the familiar as they gathered around Mount Sinai, waiting for their beloved leader Moses to descend. Although the Lord had been revealing to Moses how Israel should worship, the Bible records a shameful story of worship gone amuck.  As Moses was on Mt. Sinai for an extended time, the Israelites asked Aaron to “make gods” to lead them. Aaron complied with this request, gathering gold from the people and moulding a calf-like image, mounting it on an altar so the people could offer sacrifices and celebrate feasting, drinking, and “pagan revelry” (Exodus 32:1-6).

In violating the second commandment, the Israelites were re-shaping their relationship with God in light of that which was familiar to them, namely, idolatry and revelry. They wanted to worship the LORD through means of a visual symbol that might well have been used for worship in Egypt or other pagan nations in the Ancient Near East. This is why Aaron could describe their pagan celebration as “a festival to the LORD” (Exodus 32:5).

As I begin to reflect upon this sad story in Exodus 32, I find it easy to turn up my nose at the Israelites, thinking of them as idolatrous and even foolish. But then I think of how we often do the same thing in our walk of faith. The old life we left and its temptations lure us and invite us back and sometimes we succumb. We forget that the lure of the familiar is powerful, a deadly thief, robbing us of our new life in Christ of its grace, joy, and victory.

God’s people must not fall prey to the same thing. the same thing. Paul asks in Galatians 4:9, “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?” Our answer must be that we won’t do that. We won’t go back and mix idolatry with the worship of the true God like Israel of old did. We must not go back to old religious views that say we can earn our salvation based on the righteous works that we do. Why, because “all our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).”

Very soon life as we know will become very unfamiliar for good. There will be strife, pestilences, persecution and a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” (Daniel 12:1). Nothing will be as we remember it to be. Are you ready for this time? As trouble approaches let’s get ready because it’s but a prelude to the future joy in heaven that is beyond our wildest imagination.

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The 2020 Tokyo Olympics just ended, and what glorious performances have we seen from the athletes of all countries! From Simone Biles fighting through mental health challenges to win bronze on the balance beam to Alicia Abrams of Guyana giving it all her might in the 400 meters semi-finals and Caeleb Dressel coming away with a 5-gold medal haul in swimming. These athletes all showed up and competed valiantly and, in a sense, ‘won’ because they focused on what they could do versus what they could not.

What about you and me? As we face life’s challenges, we too need to focus on what we could do rather than what we cannot. Nothing good comes from spending time on things you do not have. Say, you have to work at home because of the pandemic. You hate it. Rather than expending time and energy on what you dislike – the distractions, lack of concentration, and loneliness at times, think about all that’s good about being able to work from home – no travel time and traffic jams; gas savings which means money in your pocket; being able to take a nap during the day – and give thanks.

Similarly, the pandemic has resulted in many restrictions on normal life day-to-day but there is a lot we can do like learning a new language, converting a hobby into a business venture, or becoming a DIY-ER to finish a project at home.

So start now with what you can do. Empty your language of the things you cannot do, are not able to do, or would not be allowed to do. If you are going to put your energy into living life successfully, it is better to focus on what truly matters. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived agrees: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you” (Proverbs 4:25, NIV). If the heart represents the core of human desire, the eyes determine the direction and focus by which we pursue those desires. The Bible writer r appeals to us to keep our eyes on the path and not on the distractions that surround us. So Focus on what you can do and not on what you can’t.

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