Have you ever thought that God could use three small words to draw someone back to God? That is exactly what happened in my life. I first made a commitment to follow Jesus on Explorer’s Camp when I was 11 years old. From a nominally Christian family there was little support for my new found faith. I continued to attend Sunday School, the school Christian Union and read my Bible for a few days each Read more…
Truth can often be a hotly contested concept. Closely related to the idea of trust, it can easily assume a fundamental significance in how we view another person. We are brought up to ‘tell the truth’, and trust is an integral part of any successful relationship. Conversely, if we consider someone untruthful, and thus untrustworthy, this can seem like a major character flaw. Yet on the public stage, and especially in some political arenas, truth Read more…
Our passage today is a familiar one that reminds us of our search for the pearl of great price who is Jesus. Or, for some, the treasure was stumbled upon in our searching some purpose in our lives. With reflection, in a world that was lost, part of God’s plan was to send His son Jesus on the greatest restoration mission of all. To seek and save the lost. You and me. Jesus’ mission which Read more…
Who do you speak for? As we live out our lives, talk to others, act in our communities, our lives speak loudly to those we meet. We are a species who thrives in community, interacting with others, reflecting dominant behaviours and learning from each other. It is often the people who have walked alongside us in the everyday of lives that have guided us most in our faith. In the hustle and bustle of everyday Read more…
The writer sets the context for our passage at the end of the previous chapter when He says that we need to be ready at all times doing the things of Jesus and being like Him. In this way the world will come to know Him as they see us reflecting His nature and purposes in the world. Our readiness is not one practising for a set time, or place inspection, but making the focus Read more…
An Invitation to stillness “For God alone My Soul Waits in Silence” Psalm 62:1 This week our readings, reflections and prayers help us to consider the importance of other people in helping to guide our journeys of faith and discipleship. Here, at the start of the week, you are invited to spend times in stillness with God. You may wish to use these times to ask God to show you the people who Read more…
In verse 12 of Acts 3, we find Peter addressing some onlookers. These people have just seen Peter and John healing a lame man at the temple gate and people are in awe and shocked at what had just happened. And then Peter proceeds to tell them why they are wrong for being surprised. He gives us a very brief description of those final days of Jesus but yet Peter is explaining it by telling Read more…
We live in an age where efficiency and productiveness are pursued with vigour. It’s right, of course, that we should not want to be wasteful with our precious resources. But does this apply also to our working out of the gospel in our lives: our mission to the communities around us? Worry too much about whether particular seeds will bear fruit or not, and you will be bound to miss out on some fruitfulness. Of Read more…
When I was advised to omit salt from cooking it took a while to get accustomed to but it was only when someone else, months later, cooked for me that I immediately sensed the intensity of the effect on my palate. I then couldn’t get rid of the taste. It lingered determinedly on! When Jesus exhorted His disciples to be the salt of the earth, He used this basic, every day and yet infinitely necessary Read more…
In December 2016, a 29-year-old man was murdered. He had been an alcoholic since his teens. One day I had a conversation with him and he said he would be a Christian but he was too embarrassed. So I ask myself: “What is it we Christians do that is so un-cool or toe-curling to non-Christians?” I prayed with Mark on the street that day and kept praying I’d see him again. Nine months later we Read more…