The attentiveness of shepherding has become more clear to me this year with our ewes and lambs needing extra care and help. On many days this has meant feeding animals four times a day and administering medication. One of our lambs, and possibly the mother, would not have survived without assistance at birth. Juliet and I have reflected on Isaiah 40:11 …
I grew up knowing I was loved. This was communicated through countless small actions and at times given voice in heart felt expressions of love. Once I left home I realised how significant this was. One of the few times the Father was audibly heard speaking to Jesus was a declaration of love, “This is my son, whom I love.” …
As I flew home I was thinking about this blog and being intentional as an everyday worker for Jesus. I had exchanged pleasantries with the person I was sitting next to and we had both settled into relaxing after being away for work. As I thought about being intentional, I felt challenged about engaging with the person next to me and so …
At times life can feel very ordinary. You might be devoted to God, faithful to your marriage partner, responsible and caring with your children, trustworthy and reliable as an employee, dependable and available as a friend. But none of this will ‘make the news’. Instead, what makes the news is the extremes – the highs (someone cures cancer, a movie star …
Friends have expressed shock, anxiety, pain and anger to the terrorist attacks in Christchurch. What does this mean for the future? God’s Spirit and God’s Word are both a comfort and a “compass” in situations like this, orientating us to God and his promises. It’s sobering to think that the shooter believed his actions were “right” according to his view …
We hate to wait. It feels like something evil, because waiting forces us to waste time doing nothing. Those stolen moments—full of potential—lost forever. So cruel! But not all waiting is bad. God created it. Abraham had to wait. He was promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, but he didn’t receive his promised son, Isaac, till …
The kingdom of Jesus grows as you and I take little initiatives to serve and love the people around us. This might be with family, flatmates, workmates, neighbours, friends or others we meet in the course of our daily lives. Jesus gave us the images of salt, light, yeast and fragrance to describe who we are in the world. These images portray challenges and encouragements. …
When God called the prophet Jeremiah he said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed (or gave) you as a prophet to the nations.” We are each in this world by design and with something to give. For Jeremiah this was challenging the people of Israel and the …
Christmas is a blockbuster way to begin the story of Jesus’ arrival on earth. It is packed with drama: an angel visits the unlikely mother-to-be to announce the pregnancy; the couple overcome a brief crisis of homelessness as she goes into labour; more angels sing in the sky like a firework display to some shepherds; star-following international VIPs acknowledge the …
After an intense time of serving, Jesus said to his disciples, “come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” I imagine laughter and lightness in their spirits as the disciples set off by boat on their wee break with Jesus. Perhaps like me, an invitation of rest sounds attractive to you. Instead of a quiet …
