Pat Bell

Each April for the past three years, our household has received a picture postcard from the office of the Grey County Weed Inspector. The cards advised of an invasive plant called Wild Chervil that threatens forage crops. The postcards ask … Read more

Let's read again the account of Christ at Gethsemane just before His arrest, but this time, watch the words "nevertheless" and "but". Luke and Mark also recount Christ's "nevertheless … but" prayer. In our English Bibles, two different … Read more

During Lent, I meditate on the prayers that Jesus prayed for us before He went to the cross. The Charles H. Gabriel hymn My Saviour's Love drew my attention to Christ's prayer in Gethsemane. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the … Read more

In Eugene Peterson's book of daily devotionals, Praying With the Psalms, more than thirty of the 365 readings are about praise for God. Peterson's comments in the September 17th devotional were like a cold, wet washcloth to the face as I … Read more

Twice in one month, I was aware of being called "nice". Both situations arose as unexpected challenges. The other people involved had a reasonable expectation that I could be impatient and disparaging. Instead, I applied Christ's Golden … Read more

A simple gift from a seven-year-old boy prompted this devotional. When I visited his home, Jacob presented me with a braid. He had made it by untwisting blue nylon rope, then reworking the strands. Singed knots fused the fibres at the … Read more

When Eugene Peterson wrote about Psalm 89 in his book of daily devotions, Praying with the Psalms, he shared: The psalm as a whole is a study in proportions. The jagged intensity of the complaint (vv. 38-51) is set in an expansive … Read more

Some of our questions about why pray and how to pray begin to find answers when we look at the apostle Paul's instructions about prayer found at 1 Timothy 2:1-4 within a conceptual framework of: make statements on behalf of … Read more

A couple of years ago during Advent, I became fascinated with the angels in the Christmas story. It's no accident that angels have become a popular Christmas decoration. Here is a summary of what I found in the scriptural reports of angels … Read more

As a frequent user of e-mail and a frequent maker of prayer, I began to liken prayer to e-mail. I saw that my prayers are always "To: God@heaven.org". Sometimes I send "Cc:" — copies of my prayers to my friends by asking them to pray as … Read more