Thanks so much for visiting the website and supporting the momentous occasion, the unveiling of the Berliner Kehler Clan book that the cousins have been working on for some time now, and also for allowing me to share with you very briefly on the subject: “Faith of our Fathers”.
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
So, some of you may have already seen the “Kehler Clan” book that has been put together and has been filled with so many great pictures of our grandparents, uncles and aunts, and cousins, so many I never knew even existed!
You know, I found it interesting, when I thought of all the things that our grandparents might have encountered in their lives, leaving their homes and acquaintances in Russia, travelling such a great distance across oceans, and just like the Hebrew people, they too were going into a strange, and an unseen land with many different customs and languages.
They surely must have been thinking about what the future held for them and their families when they came to this new land of Promise: Canada, hoping for a new start, in a land that they had never seen before.
Now, we do know from some of their history that “faith” was a very important aspect of life to many of our ancestors, and was likely a key factor for them coming to Canada in the first place.
At our home, we were said to be raised in the “Many-a-night” ways, and most of us attended Mennonite Churches and Sunday School of one kind or another. There were so many different Churches here, and that was something I never did understand!
But many years later, after I came to a personal faith in God in 1985, I started to learn more about what that faith meant for our lives, and how it should influence us in our work, and in our daily lives, and also in our homes with our families,, and not just when we were at Church on a Sunday morning.
I learned that my faith in The Lord Jesus, resulted firstly in the forgiveness of all my sins, and with that, the peace that I experienced as He assured me of that hope of an eternity with God when my time on earth is done. But further I learned, that He is also my sustainer: daily providing all of my needs, He is my shelter to whom I can go to in the times of trouble and hardship, He is my teacher: showing me how to live this new life, and He is also my intercessor: even praying for me when I don’t know what to pray for!
I found that He really does have a plan and a purpose for each one of us as we trust Him with our lives!
So like our fore-fathers may we too place our faith in the One that can make a real difference: not just now, but also for all eternity.
May I encourage each of you: let’s not stop there though, let each of us make sure that this “Faith of our Fathers” is taught and is passed on to each of our children and their children as a personal faith of their very own!
May God Bless each of you and your families; and please enjoy the rest of this website!
Peter A. Kehler, a Berliner Kehler, Pastors at Bow Valley Christian Church and resides in Calgary, AB.