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Life in Haiti means that sometimes I wake up with ants scrummaging through my computer keyboard. Or it means that sometimes we don't have electricity. Or other times still we don't have water to shower with. In the daytime right now, the temperature rarely drops anywhere near 35'C... with the evening low being right around 30'C. I walk pretty much everywhere, which means I'm always sweating. If I walk down, I just have to walk back up again - which means I sweat even more. More often than not I sport some sort of sweat stain on my clothing. Each person who travels here to Haiti would go away with a million different stories. Everyone will have different experiences baed…

"Have faith in God." Four words that form the most powerful admonition. So how do you do you have faith in God? The New Testament pays a great tribute to Abraham, the "man of faith." His name appears 30 times in the gospels, 8 times in Acts (5 in one sermon), and 32 times in the epistles. When a New Testament writer wanted to teach a lesson on the nature of or importance of faith, Abraham was the model. So how did he do it? In summarizing his life portrayed in Genesis, I've developed what I call the Abrahamic Absolute: "A long obedience in God’s direction fosters a faith that does a world of good." God called Abraham to begin…

Have you ever found yourself in a place you had previously been decades earlier, and yet it seemed as though only a day had lapsed? That was my experience early this summer. My father had a cottage built on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario in 1961. For years, my childhood summertime meant living at the cottage from “school’s out” until “school’s in.” It was two months of sun, sand and swimming. My family and I traveled 3,600kms plus to vacation at that cottage again. On the first day back I sat on the beach and watched children play in the sand. Seagulls soared overhead in the breeze. The laughter of swimmers drifted to shore carried by the waves. Sandpipers…

I am an Andy Andrews fan. I was inspired by “The Butterfly Effect,” and the “Traveler’s Gift.” Andrews’ style combines history and biographies in brilliant ways. He educates and entertains. In “The Final Summit” Andrews does it one more time. The book, at 226 pages, is an qhick read. It flows well. I read it in a couple of hours. As such, it’s the kind of book you may read 3 or 4 times, master “a Coles notes” version of your own, and use it as a motivational code of values. “The Final Summit” is the continuing story of David Ponder, a character developed by Andrews in “The Traveler’s Gift.” Ponder, now 74, is grieving and depressed by the sudden…

North Pointe has 13 people from our church family deployed to Afghanistan. One of them is Bryan McCulloch. I asked him if he would give us some insight into what its like to serve in Afghanistan. 4 July 2011 Life in Afghanistan is all you could hope for. I have my own 2m by 2m bed space, equipped with a bed, dresser and an even layer of dust on everything in the morning when I wake up. When I have a vehicle, I drive in the right hand side of the car. If it’s a standard vehicle, I drive badly in the right hand side of the car. This is unfortunate when I have to share the road with vehicles…

A GREAT commitment to the GREAT commandment and the GREAT commission makes a GREAT Christian. The GREAT Commandment Mark 12:28-31 - “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The GREAT Commission Matthew 28:18-20 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to…

Guarantees in life - death and taxes - are two, as the old saying goes.  When it comes to the future, our best action is to make things "more likely."  Will it be more likely that your life will be better because of certain choices?  If something good was more likely to happen because you made a choice, wouldn't you make that choice? "Home Pointe" is our initiative to make it more likely through North Pointe that: couples will create a thriving marriage. parents will introduce their young children to Christ in the context of their home. parents will launch their teens as devoted followers of Christ. In the weeks to come we'll be rolling out new online resources to…

When you support North Pointe you have a hand in changing the world.  You help keep boys and girls from being homeless, you educate and give opportunity where none would exist, you train indigenous pastors to minister in areas where only they can go, you help heal a generation torn apart by genocide, and you inspire believers with your faith and generosity.  Thank you!  To learn more about one of the following missionary families, visit our "Missions" page. http://www.northpointechurch.ca/index.shtml Elmer and Sherry Komant - Kigali, Rwanda - pastors, church planting, sports academy, training centre Brian and Val Rutten - Addis Abba, Ethiopia - church planting, training pastor The Village of Hope - Harare, Zimbabwe - caring for orphans of AIDS/HIV,…

Many books are written; many books are read. It is much rarer that a book is written that profoundly impacts its readers. “Jesus, My Father, the CIA, And Me” by Ian Morgan Cron is one such book. I finished reading it a week ago, have been telling people about it ever since, and plan on recommending it widely to friends and family in the weeks and months to come. A biography and testimony of man who desperately sought the love of his narcissistic, alcoholic father throughout his childhood, Ian’s story offers broad appeal to those who were raised through the 1960s and 1970s. It is really the story of two men: Ian’s father, a larger than life man who gained…