Tag: god
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Warning
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6) This morning I watched one of my daughters excited with her friends in the school…
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Burning in the darkness
Christingle The darkness of the early evening pervades the icy streets, despite the glow of city lights. I walk with my family up a high street and into a rectangular churchyard. We tread carefully along an unlit path and past a collection of vintage gravestones, looking somewhat foreboding in the shadows. Then we duck to…
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Cross fire
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) I’ve had a picture in my head recently of the front of a boat ploughing through blue waves in bright sunshine. Suddenly a cannonball fires from an unseen force…
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Mightier than the thunder indeed!
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; …
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Thoughts about Philemon
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. (Paul’s letter to Philemon) I was thinking about job titles this morning. A quick browse of the LinkedIn social media channel for businesses comes up with a lot of positive, seemingly powerful positions: thought leader,…
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You are a letter from Christ himself!
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3: 2-3)…
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The law that brings life!
“… because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2) I can recall various experiences attending courts of law as a district newspaper journalist years ago, reporting on different types of criminal and civil cases. Some of these moments…
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Just respond to this
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16) I don’t sleep well most nights. A single awakening moment seems to fire my brain into full thinking mode and I am often awake from 4am…
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Navigating Sargasso upon a storm-tortioned sea
“They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:41 Sargasso, streams of yellow or brown carpet seaweed grapes, entrapping an area of the North Atlantic Ocean – defines the so-called ‘Sargasso Sea’ with no land boundary where four oceanic currents conjoin; known mythically as…
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The tightrope of faith
Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. John 12:2 There are certain ‘definites’ in life, which are reassuring. The death and resurrection of Jesus and the grace, the hope of the gospel, are absolutes we can rely on through the ups…
