Lord, I am busy. There are bills to be paid and chores to be done. My work is demanding, and the hours are long. I have meetings to attend and deadlines to meet. Now is the time, while I am young, to climb up the career ladder and to make my mark. I may be single, but I am not always available. Lord, I am busy, but this I promise… Read More »Lord, I Am Busy
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again? Not really. This piece is not about a fantasy adventure created in the bowels of an opium-dependent mind. And just to qualify – “men” also means “women”. So the thing is, I was reading the Book of Esther and about all the central characters whom we know: Queen Esther, King Xerxes, Mordecai, Haman, the bad guy,… Read More »All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men
Dear Lord, I have a somewhat strange proposal. But I think that when considered, you will find my rationale very reasonable. Lord, I know that we as Christians must share in the sufferings of Christ. I know that one of the unavoidable things about life is suffering. I also know that although you may not actually cause the suffering, you use it for the benefit of your Kingdom. Natural disasters,… Read More »Dear Lord, No Suffering Please!
Our eight-month-old nephew is fascinated with everything. He loves buttons, lights, smiles, and pigeons. Babies learn at an incredible rate. Their fascination drives their learning. This drive somehow dwindles as we get older. I wonder what it would be like to keep the same baby-like fascination throughout life, enthralled by the simple, the bizarre and the new. Constantly being interested and constantly learning. Ongoing learning takes humility. When we think… Read More »The Key to a Long Life
When Billy Graham passed away last week, several people sent me the following quote: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” When I read it, I recognised it to be from the writing of… Read More »Billy Graham Was Unoriginal
Over the last several years, I have had the privilege of leading discussion groups on forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the hardest commands of Jesus to practise, especially if the other party is unrepentant or doesn’t acknowledge that they have done wrong. But there are consequences for those of us who choose not to forgive. Here are a few: 1. Jesus will not be fully Lord of our lives The… Read More »3 Things That Will Happen If We Do Not Forgive
We were discussing the topic of love and appreciation recently when a man got up and unashamedly said, “I have never said ‘I love you’ to my wife.” His statement took me aback. As someone who likes to say “I love you” to my wife and family as often as I can, I couldn’t fathom why anyone would never say it. “Everybody says ‘I love you’, but they don’t really… Read More »I Love You Out Loud
Recently, as a church, we have been looking at the question: What is a healthy church? We began by looking at three diseases that are affecting the church body today. 1. Obesity Every gift we are given, we keep to ourselves. We are selfish with what we have – time, relationships, money and the Gospel – and we get fatter and more immobile. 2. Malnourishment We are neither nourished by… Read More »4 Diseases Affecting the Church Today