The cackle of a hen is a promise that she has laid an egg. But my farm boy experience taught me that sometimes the cackle was a false promise – no egg could be found. Christians put a lot of emphasis on experiences, and rightly so. Christian life is a new life that must begin with … Continue reading The cackle or the egg?
Christianity
No room for boasting
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “For we brought nothing into this world” (1 Timothy 6:7). The Apostle was talking about material things, but I don't think it does his words any violence to say that no one of us came into this world with any pre-qualifications for … Continue reading No room for boasting
Follow on to know the Lord
A teenage girl is convinced that she is pregnant and about to become the mother of baby Jesus, even though her mother, her doctor and an ultrasound all assure her that she is not pregnant at all. Why is this news? I suppose the media think this is one more way of poking fun at … Continue reading Follow on to know the Lord
Raised eyebrow Christians
I was going to write supercilious, but that's just a fancy latin word meaning raised eyebrows. So I decided to speak plain English. There was a time in my mid-twenties when I was quite sure that everyone who claimed to be born again thought they were better than anyone else. Then there came a time … Continue reading Raised eyebrow Christians
Let there be light
This is the time when darkness is winning the battle with light. We now have 13½ hours from sundown to sunrise, in another 2 months it will be 16½. It feels like our bodies and our minds slow down with the increasing darkness. For some people, this actually becomes a state of clinical depression, known … Continue reading Let there be light
Radical thinking from an archbishop
Liberty of thought is an impregnable fortress that no human power can force. Violence can never convince, it only makes hypocrites. When kings take it upon themselves to direct in matters of religion, instead of protecting it, they bring it into bondage. You should, therefore, grant to all a legal toleration. Not as approving everything … Continue reading Radical thinking from an archbishop
Unto the hills around
Unto the hills around do I lift up my longing eyes; O whence for me shall my salvation come, from whence arise? From God, the Lord, doth come my certain aid, From God, the Lord, who heav’n and earth hath made. He will not suffer that thy foot be moved: Safe shalt thou be. No … Continue reading Unto the hills around
A series of coincidences?
We wanted to have children – and definitely more than one. I was an only child and my wife had been raised as an only child by her aunt and uncle. We didn't think that was the ideal way to grow up. We had been married less than a year when another young couple from … Continue reading A series of coincidences?
Fame is a dream
Fame is a dream– the praise of man as brief As morning dew upon the faded leaf; The summer sun exhales the pearly tear, And leaves no trace of its existence there. Seek not for immortality below, But fix your hopes beyond this vale of woe, That when oblivion gathers round thy sod, A lasting … Continue reading Fame is a dream
The key to success or failure in missions
This is from a book first published in the 1920's. I first posted this excerpt in 2013 and believe it deserves a repeat. “From what has already been said it is manifest that St. Paul did not go about as a missionary preacher merely to convert individuals: he went to establish churches from which the … Continue reading The key to success or failure in missions
