Peace and Joy
Peace and joy. Ideal states of being that are brought out and celebrated at Christmas and then like the lights and decorations of the season, it seems we put them away for the rest of the year. Much more than seasonal or even circumstantial states of being, peace and joy are to be the very hallmark of our belief in the Lord Christ that God sent as evidence of His love for us. (see John 3:16-17) And yet it seems
Giving and Forgiving
Forgiveness. The hallmark of devout worship and what we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. The question is, how can we come to that condition of heart and mind that is truly forgiveness? In the Lord’s Prayer we pray both that God would forgive us and that we would forgive those who are indebted to us. This forgiveness does not depend on our attitude toward God, but rather hinges on our attitude toward ‘those who are in debt to us’. At
Not Good Enough?
We often mistake the things that God wants from us for what we want to give to God. It seems that as humans we find it difficult to believe that in order to love God, we are not responsible for anything but to follow His leading and trust in His providence (John 3:16). And the Accuser stands ready to make sure we do neither. It seems that in our attempts at justification, we try to produce something that we think
Freedom!
“And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”! Taken at face value, an unambiguous, ringing and powerful statement of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in John’s Gospel. This freedom is taken (and mis-taken) in many ways. A contemporary reading would have us free to do what we want, when we want and that without inhibition, which is pretty much the standard dictionary definition. And yet when we look at the complete passage, Jesus’ statement is conditional
An angel…in work boots?
Squinting against the bright morning sun, it was his boots I first noticed as he approached; sturdy, no-nonsense, thick-soled, work boots they were. As I raised my gaze, I took in the supportive cane and the small dog he had in tow. In a fenced parking lot adjacent to a commercial district, I was somewhat surprised to see someone walking their dog. “How are you this fine day?” was his affable greeting, accompanied by a friendly tail wag from his
The Golden Rule
“We’re all in this together”. We see or hear this statement on billboards and in various advertising in these pandemically conscious days. However, this is not just the latest buzz word or catchy advertising phrase, it encapsulates a mindset, a way of living, the very ethos of community. Jesus’ injunction to his disciples was to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, words that we refer to as The Golden Rule. If we want to go further
A Sign for Our Times
KCCO, the abbreviation for ‘keep calm and carry on’ a phrase from posters used in England during WWII to help keep morale up and more recently amended with the putative ‘chive on’. A sign for our times. In the face of uncertainty and bad news, let alone the worrying and unfortunate ‘social distancing’, we do need to be reminded of the importance of resilience, perseverance, hope and above all, as Apostle Paul reminds us in the conclusion to 1 Corinthians 13
Abide In Me
“Abide in me and I in you” is the injunction of Jesus to his disciples in what is known as the Upper Room Discourse from the Gospel of John. In general conversation we would probably not say ‘abide’, but might say ‘continue to be present’ or ‘remain constant’, with the intent being that we would not be moved, no matter the events that surround us. Our world seems increasingly one of upset, of turmoil, of uncertainty and we look for
The Bible
What is the Bible? The Bible is a book, a collection of books actually, about 6 dozen of them written over a span of some 2000 years by about 3 dozen different individuals. It began with a simple quill or stylus dipped in ink with the characters and words marked either on animal skin known as parchment or a rough paper called papyrus. Typically comprised of individual sheets joined to form a scroll that was unrolled to read, copies were relatively
