The wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, can sometimes seem unbearable. Through tough times, we can start to wonder if he will ever return, let alone in our lifetime. But now is NOT the time to give up, lose faith or stop believing the promise of our Heavenly Father. 2 Peter exhorts us [...]
It occurred to me recently whilst moving house, that I have so so much, despite considering myself a minimalist! Clearing out what no longer served me – giving it away, donating to charity or disposing of it – was a thoroughly therapeutic process. I felt calmer, like I’d made more ‘space’ in my life to [...]
When Hannah had experienced God’s goodness in giving her a son (Samuel) in answer to her prayer, she poured out her heart in thanks (1 Samuel Chapter 2:1-10). And not only that, but Hannah proved the genuineness of her gratitude by giving the young child back to God for His service in the Temple - [...]
In Galatians 6:3 we read “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Likewise, in the book of Luke, Jesus tells a parable. He says that when we are invited to a wedding feast, we should take the lowest seat, not considering ourselves above anyone else. If we don’t, and [...]
With a second lockdown now in place, you might feel we are back to where we started last March. The phrase “back to square one” comes to mind. There is some confusion about the origin of this phrase. It was used by radio sports commentators in the 1930’s to help listeners follow the progress of [...]
Have you ever been lost? Really lost? I got lost in a thick fog in some lanes near my home some years ago. Even now, I can remember the relief of reaching the welcoming lights of the main road. Many of us can feel lost, especially in these difficult and worrying times, and even amongst [...]
We’re currently in the midst of apple season. An apple can look like the picture of perfection on the outside, but inside can be inedible, ‘rotten to the core’. Just like humans, apples can ‘go rotten’ for many reasons - external influences like bacteria and fungi, or infection by moths (anyone who’s ever eaten a [...]
In the recent presidential debate, the US president was told to “shut up” by his opponent. Politicians today seem to expend a lot of energy pulling each other down rather than uniting to deal with the huge problems that exist in the world today. When Jesus as a religious leader was on trial and in [...]
When a former British Diplomat, Kim Darroch was being interviewed on Radio 4 recently he used the phrases ‘over promise and underdeliver' and 'under promise and overdeliver’. In the current Covid crisis he believes the present government are too quick to promise things they are unable to deliver. That has certainly been true about testing [...]
The humble, not the self-assertive… When Jesus said, in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, who was he talking about? Clearly, he was not referring primarily to those whose lot in life is to be materially poor; nor does he seem to have had in mind those who are poor-spirited [...]
