Posts from June 2015
Forgiveness too soon
Like many of you I saw the video footage on television of the response of that congregation in North Carolina (US) that lost nine members to a fatal shooting. It seemed to me that the response of the congregation made bolder headlines in the newspapers than the actual tragedy itself. What blew people away was the ability of the family members of the deceased to extend forgiveness to the alleged gunman. In court they testified to their pain but they…
Elisabeth Elliot
Sometimes the Lord very graciously allows us to see just a little something of the fruits of our labours for the Kingdom of Christ. I had one of those very precious moments recently. An email from a colleague mentioned that a certain man and his wife and children had begun to attend the church he presently serves. The reason the man decided to come to that church was because somewhere in the distant past I had been the pastor there…
Still Human
Jesus once quoted some words from the Psalms that have often left me more than a little mystified. He was debating with the Jewish leaders who challenged him because He had dared to claim that He was God – one with the Father. As they are about to stone him for the sin of blasphemy Jesus says, “Whoa! Hold on a minute! Doesn’t God say in the Bible: ‘You are gods!’?” (Westy’s paraphrase). So is the Bible teaching us that…
Books
Solomon once wrote: “Of making many books there is no end…” (Eccl.12:12). I’m tempted to add: “Of the reading of many books there is no end either…” except that it wouldn’t be true – because one day I will read my last book and my reading will come to an end. Maybe Solomon didn’t get it quite right either – unless he knows something that I don’t: that there will be books written in God’s new creation. Maybe! I was…