Jack TheWordMan Ministries

05/31/2017

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. I doubt you have ever read a comparison like this of the OT and NT versions of Pentecost.

Why Stories from Different Cultures Are So Similar I grew up listening to Dutch folktales, read voraciously in English during my early years in Canada, enjoyed Brazilian stories in Portuguese, studied Canela legends, and know all the Middle Eastern Bible stories by heart. I wondered why stories from...

05/25/2017

That Dumb Computer! It happens to me almost every day. I’m working on my computer, tapping away at the keys, and clicking with my mouse, when suddenly, “Whoa! That’s NOT what I wanted!” Sometimes a line I want in bold print ends up in italics; at other times a whole page of writing disappears. Why d...

05/18/2017

God creates beauty, so do His children.

Canela People and Beauty They looked neat and tidy. We noticed it when we moved into the village to live with the Canela people of Brazil. Their appearance was clean and sharp and it wasn’t their clothes—they wore hardly any. Their faces, hair and bodies were striking, even beautiful. We had been in...

05/03/2017

“I’m sick.” Never thought I’d have to write those words to explain why I didn’t write a blog post, or failed to keep a speaking engagement. I guess there is a first time for everything. Today I had to forego a speaking engagement at the annual conference of the Canadian Council of Christian Charitie...

04/20/2017

The brave pioneer doing at "all by himself" is the North American cultural hero. But that is neither God's practice nor His plan.

The Story On Sunday morning, the tinkling of teaspoons in teacups was the signal for me to slip out of bed and join the fun in my parents’ bedroom. Settled between them with a cup of tea and some Maria biscuits in my saucer, I joined them to sip, dip and nibble. After fifteen minutes of joy, my Mom…

04/12/2017

Good Friday Jesus suffered for us. What are we suffering for Him?

“I wish all the Christian missionaries in Brazil were fleas,” the Brazilian government official said through gritted teeth, “I would squash them under my thumbnail like this!” pantomiming the action on the corner of her desk for the delegation of mission leaders who were seeking an appointment with…

03/30/2017

"To Canelas, we became Canelas, that we might win Canelas" 1 Cor. 9:20. Popjes version

The Story I was happily driving along a straight, smooth freeway with only light traffic. My car was on cruise, and I was listening to some smooth jazz on an FM station when I felt myself getting irritated. What was wrong? My train of thought was positive and still on its tracks. I wasn’t hungry or…

03/23/2017

Why Giving is Good for Our Bodies, Our Relationships, and Our Souls.

Canela Culture Recommends Generosity When we arrived among the Canela people of Brazil fifty years ago, we were struck by how generous they were. A hunter lucky enough to kill a deer, shared the meat among many relatives; and young men worked together for days building a palm thatch house for a rece...

03/16/2017

Some of our popular hymns teach a theology that tends to discourage people whose lives are not as lovely as the hymns suggest.

Many of us grew up singing “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before,” a popular testimony hymn, composed by Percy Crawford eighty years ago. Now that I’m older, I think, Oh, really? Trouble People's lives are filled with emotional ups and downs, including the lives of Christians. Yes, th...

03/09/2017

If the current trend towards anti-Christian legislation continues, Christians will need to stand solid in our faith and our responsibility to pray for authorities.

The Crash I was peacefully driving along a major city street in Edmonton a few years ago when a large Mercedes SUV suddenly accelerated from a cross street and smashed into the passenger side of my car. Whoa! I didn’t see that coming! I thought as I got out of my wrecked car. “Good thing your wife w...

02/14/2017

Here are a few of the many things I like about my wife. Sorry guys, she's already committed herself to me.

I fully agree with the truth of the proverb that says “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.” Proverbs 18:22 (KJV). Here’s why: once a man findeth a wife, from then on she findeth all the things he hath lost.” I don’t know if all women have a gene for finding th...