There’s a song by Paul Simon with a line that is worth noting. Now I don’t consider “Rhymin’ Simon” to be one of the great theologians of our time, but in this instance at least he stumbled into a trustworthy saying: you don’t have to lie to me, just give me some tenderness beneath your […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Christian Living
Three Cheers for Graduates!
If you are graduating this year, good for you! Graduation represents finishing . . . something a lot of people find hard to do. To broaden the words of the great apostle Paul, you have “finished the course.” I congratulate you. Your IQ, your exam grades or your class of degree do not interest me […]
Read MoreTherefore!
I’d been a squash player for many years, though I had never had a coaching session in my life, until… ‘Steve!’ boomed the voice of George, the squash club’s professional coach, as he peered into the court half way through a game I was probably losing. ‘You’re holding that racquet wrong!’ Hmm! ‘What do you […]
Read MoreThe Wellspring of Eternal Life
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. There’s an important truth in this statement from the lips of Jesus; one that we as Bible-believing Christians must not miss. Eternal […]
Read MoreTaste and See
I don’t know how you plan your shopping, but if you ever do a big shop in a supermarket, you’ll probably come across someone offering samples of this and that. If you time it right you can eat a pretty good lunch just by wandering up and down the aisles looking lost (which happens to […]
Read MoreSolitude: A Vital Factor in Growing Closer to God
I often smile when I read the gospel of Mark. He loved the word immediately. It appears again and again. Mark reminds us that Jesus’s life was packed with people and pressure like you and I have never known. But he also records that “in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got […]
Read MoreThe Name of the Game Is Change
When you boil the Christian life down to the basics, the name of the game is change. Those who flex with the times, who refuse to stay rigid, who resist the mould and reject the rut . . . ah, those are the souls distinctively used by God. To them, change is a challenge, a […]
Read MoreThe Father’s Presence
My office sits at the end of my garden. Often, when my children get home from school, that is where I will be. Working on a sermon, or perhaps doing some planning of some sort or another…my head in several books. As they enter the house, their Mum reminds them to not disturb me. “Daddy’s […]
Read MoreSharper than a Two-Edged Sword
Just between you and me, I have always been a little bit nervous about Hebrews 4:12. The thought of being probed by a sharp sword isn’t the most comfortable of ideas. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of […]
Read MoreSeasoned Wisdom for the Seasons of Life
If you were told that you could have dinner with three people out of anyone you could name – the chance to bounce questions; to float ideas; to gain some understanding – whom would you choose? One of my choices would be Solomon. What a character he must have been! What stories he could tell, […]
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