Author: Ann McCallum
-
THE NARROW ROAD Read Matthew 7: 1-14
In my ministry centre, which used to be a Police Station, we turned the former jail cells into a prayer room. As I walked around the building praying, these words caught my eye on the prayer room wall: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord Almighty (Zech 4:6) Think…
-
Hosea 11 A Personalized Paraphrase
INSERT YOUR NAME IN THE BLANKS, and use whatever gender is appropriate for this to be meaningful to you. “When _______ was a child, I loved her, and out of bondage I called my daughter. But the more I called her, the farther she went from me. She sacrificed to idols and burned incense to…
-
WINTER IS COMING: Read Psalm 1
About a month ago, I was reading about “The Blessedness of Winter” in Richard Foster’s book ‘Prayer’. In it he describes a tree losing its outer covering to expose all the imperfections and irregularities of the tree. That really resonated with me, since I am approaching what I expect will be a winter season…
-
WAITING FOR GOD: A Contemplation
The extended summer this year has been nice in many ways. One of the things I’ve enjoyed is the lack of wind and the mild morning temperatures which mean longer walk times for me. I get out to the rail trail as early as I can, and lately that means it’s before dawn. I use…
-
What are your idols? A Personal Reflection on Ezekiel 8
Today’s reflection comes from Ezekiel 8. Please pray, as you begin, and ask the Lord to show you what you need to see, what He wants to say specifically to you. Read Ezekiel 8: 1 – 6 Here Ezekiel, who is in exile, is sitting in his house in Babylon with the elders of Judah…
-
Idols in the Temple Read Ezekiel 8
I had been feeling like I wasn’t really hearing from God lately, and I was getting desperate. When I go on my annual 2 weeks of spiritual retreat, I do my very best to spend as much time as possible alone so I can seek God and hear from Him, especially so that I can…
-
Moving vs Stagnating Read Hebrews 12:1-12
I had been feeling pretty agitated; lots was going on and none of it seemed to be working out very well. I was away on a weekend with a group of teens, helping a camp get ready to open for the summer. I was really hoping this time away would help me refocus and get…
-
DUMB & DANGEROUS Read Matthew 21:28-32
Towards the end of February, when we had a few days of mild weather, I decided to take a spiritual retreat day and return to Inglis Falls, a place I often hike in the summer. It’s an area I know very well. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do any serious hiking at the…
-
Read Luke 11: 21-26 Part 1 Protecting my house
The context of this passage is an accusation that Jesus is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub (see v14-20). It’s good to have that backdrop, but I want to focus on the other two sections of this discourse, being (1) the strong man guarding his house and (2) the empty house. I…
-
Read Luke 11:21-26 Part 2 Filling the empty house
A few days have passed since I had my encounter with the Lord, the Stronger One, who had taken my self-armour and freed me from my dungeon (see Pt 1). Today I ‘accidentally’ read the wrong passage for one of my devotional books, and read Luke 11:21-26 again. This ‘accidental reading’ indicated to me…
Christian Contemplative Journey 